tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358633035110069050.post3315340412973912173..comments2023-12-27T23:00:43.438-05:00Comments on Monday Morning Crisis Quarterback: Gallows Humor in the Qatari Diplomatic CorpsNaomi Zikmund-Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09503425475917614385noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358633035110069050.post-22368906395735852052010-04-09T15:21:04.192-04:002010-04-09T15:21:04.192-04:00Edwin -- you are of course correct. All my "...Edwin -- you are of course correct. All my "he's only human" explanations only go so far as to explain why anyone could have let those words come out of his mouth. They don't excuse the series of horrendous judgments that he made, especially, as you note, as a member of the diplomatic corps. OTOH, my understanding is that people try to smoke in airplane lavatories all the time, so I'm guessing he really didn't expect to get caught!Naomi Zikmund-Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09503425475917614385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358633035110069050.post-52045684161114630412010-04-09T11:13:08.120-04:002010-04-09T11:13:08.120-04:00It's nice to read about an alternate perspecti...It's nice to read about an alternate perspective on events rather than the same regurgitated "facts" we get from standard media, and I'm appreciative that you've taken the time to think about the Qatari diplomat as a person rather than "a generic middle eastern terrorist type".<br /><br />But the other thought here is that this person is a diplomat. He was reportedly making a regular consular visit to a Denver prison in order to speak to someone who had been accused of being a terrorist. He really should have known better. And he should have exercised some diplomacy - not assumed that he could get away with smoking in a bathroom because he has diplomatic immunity (really? he had to smoke on a 4.5 hour flight? How did he get here from Qatar?), not assumed that he could make a joke about terrorism in this nation's ultrasensitive shoot-first-and-ask-questions later mentality.<br /><br />I think that it's actually fortunate that he was detained by air marshals instead of regular citizens; the latter could have gone vigilante and he would have ended up very hurt.<br /><br />What I expect from those people who serve our government overseas (yes, naive, I know) is at least an attempt to understand the local culture and to put the country's best foot forward. Even if you assume it was just a poor attempt at wry humor in a high stress situation, this Qatari diplomat clearly did neither.Edwin Aokinoreply@blogger.com