Hiding in plain sight!

When the word 'crime' is brought up, a dark abandoned alley in the dead of night comes to mind, where a person is walking and looking over their shoulder for any danger than might be lurking in the dark behind the garbage bins only to be leaped upon with no warning and have all worldly possessions taken or in many cases, your very life.

What I have to say to this is: not any more! We now live in a world where someone can be attacked in the middle of the afternoon on the busiest streets in town. Of course, this isn't news to most city dwellers - it happens all the time. However, and this is the point that I'm trying to make, people just don't care any more. People lose no sleep whatsoever when they stand in the middle of the street and watch as a violent at-knife-point mugging is unfolding before their very eyes. As immoral and unethical as this practice is, I find myself doing the same when I'm put in those situations.
Therefore, we are faced with a moral dilemma. If someone is being mugged in front of us (which in many cases turns into accidental murder as the result of a struggle) should we do anything to stop it and risk being injured or even killed ourselves for the sake of a complete stranger whom you don't know would do the same for you if the tables were turned, or should we simply watch in silence under a cloud of shame?

I was faced with this question just a few days ago when I saw across the street a beggar who held a young boy (also a beggar, judging by his appearance) at knife point demanding the few pounds that he had just managed to beg out of a woman in her Lexus. There was not a doubt in my mind as I stood there and watched this happen that I was doing anything wrong. I wasn't about to risk my life for a child who would eventually die of s horrible disease from living inside a garbage dump. Which brings me to next quesrtion: is it immoral to put the lives of the higher classes before those of the less fortunate? Is a beggars life any less precious than that of an aristocrat? I know the theoretical answer to these questions, however the reality of the matter is very different, as you might have all guessed.

Finally, it is in great sadness that I admit to you that even though this happens in plain sight of everyone who interacts with the living, there is no solution in sight because people are by nature selfish and would put their own well-being before that of their fellow man.

Back to School :'(

In just four days I shall embark on the first day of my second year at university (college of dentistry to be exact). What makes this year more significant than the last is simply that now I'll be going to the actual medical/dental campus instead of being a freeloader at the college of Science. This is when I can actually become a part of the so-called dental community that I'm supposed to become a part of eventually.

As exciting as the academic part of my transition is, there is a reason more compelling for me which makes this transition all the more exiting. In the past year, I've come across some of the older classes and gotten an idea of what the next years of my college life will be like in terms of both academia and socially as well. I'm looking forward most to meeting the older classes whom I've been told are a lot more open that my own class in terms of who they allow themselves to mingle with/talk to, etc...in other words: people who are more "free" than my own class [refer to previous post with the title "free" for more information..lol]

Now allow me to be sarcastic...can it be that there are female members of my society out there who willingly shake hand and look into the eyes of the opposite sex? Do they dress so provocatively as to allow one to imagine what they would look like under suck clothes which still cover every inch of their bodies?? Is this all possible?...

Anyway, I'm simply hoping to find people with a higher level of sophistication and intelligence than the people to whose company I've been unwillingly subjected to for the past year.

Sometimes thing's aren't what they seem...

I know I have a whole other blog that discusses stuff like this, but since that was a practice blog, I'm going to post it here.

FACEBOOK: Friend or foe?

Facebook has become, at least in the arab world, the center of the lives of all its youth. No one between the ages of 13 and 25 doesn't have one (or more) accounts. It has infiltrated people's lives like an incurable disease, that continues to infect people as time passes. By this I mean that it is the number one - no exageration there - cause of any personal arguments or quarrels in the area...sometimes even on the professional level.
First, there's the issue of photos. When is it okay to post a picture of someone, and when is it not? Is there some position that is not allowed or something? also, is there some sort of guideline for commenting on photos that we should all know of? When is a joke simply a joke and when is it an insult. Why do people begin to treat each other like dirt when one deletes another from a friend list? Why should it matter? Does text have a tone, and can it be misunderstood or taken as a compliment or an insult at will? All these questions have been running through my mind because of a recent incedent because the hellhole that is facebook.
All this being said, I have no intention of deactivating my facebook account. As bad as its effect is on people's social lives, it's also a good tool to keep in touch with certain people. However, I maintain that facebook has and will always have a more negative effect on people that a positive one. Also, I intend of deleting most of my photos very soon - I for one can do without the daily drama of facebook and facebookers...

Ramadan: A month of worship?

It's been nearly a month since my last post, therefore I apologize. But in my defense, I've been quite busy (that and the fact that I had begun to run out of material.)
However, with the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan (during which Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset) I've found myself with more spare time than I would have liked. As always, one would expect that during this month that society become a utopia, since people should (the keyword here being: should) refrain from cursing or swearing of any kind, sex in any way shape or form, or any action that would be considered sinful or wrong in any way. Although it may sound good on paper, the reality of the matter is that as hard as people might try, it never works. In other words, people just don't practice what they preach. In fact, I hear more swearing and derogatory secual remarks during fasting times than any other time of the year, and when you tell that person what they're doing wrong, a typical answer is: "well, if she cared about religion then she wouldn't dress like that in front of a man." or anything similar.
Then of course there's the issue of praying in the mosque. People who are supposedly going to the mosque in order to worship a holy God simply go there to get into fist fights with other worshipers to get to stand in the places closest to the Imam.
Ramadan has become a sales pitch for many businesses nowadays, where a casino that offers prostitues and wine on one night will offer you a copy of the Holy Quran on the next. Not to mention the endless parade of cheap soap-operas that flood the satellite television during the month of purity and fasting.
In the end I just wanted to ask you a question. Is Ramadan actually the month of worship, or has it simply become the month of hypocracy? you decide...

Afterthought....

As an afterthought of the post about the 3 idiots I mentioned 2 posts ago, I just wanted to say that I saw the movie I said I would see (the one with the thick-haired Ahmed Mekki was in).
Perhaps I judged him a little prematurely. The movie was mediocre enough for me to not want to leave early, and was quite funny as well. Despite the few parts that were incredibly lame and boring, it was an okay movie. However, too much of the same thing isn't good either.
I mean, his predecessor, Mohamed Sa'ad, made six consecutive movies with the exact same story line and plot - eventually, and to my relief, people got bored of it, so as funny as this movie was, I don't want to see it over and over again.

Update

About the whole message from the girl thing...

At first I thought it was some kind of moral dilemma she was going through, since she's known to make such a big deal out of absolutely nothing at all, but now I realized the reason was far more pathetic than that, if it can actually get any more pathetic.

A few days ago, a mutual friends, who happened to be male, made a few sarcastic comments on her photos in retaliation for a few comments that she had posted on his (The fact that she posted pictures of herself on her profile is enough to make me think she's not as simple minded as the rest of the girls I know, which I soon found to be completely false.)
After reading the comments, the girl posted this on his wall:

"Why don't you just stop commenting on my photos because I'm not amused, and I'm starting to get sick of you!"

note: in my opinion, the comments were perfectly respectable, and didn't deserve such a post.

The mutual friend then posted on her wall:

"Thank you very much for your decency. I wouldn't have expected anything else from a girl like you!"

Then he blocked her. After that, she sent us all the message that I posted below.
Knowing how petty and incredibly childish she is, I came to a conclusion: She did it simply to save face. To say that she deleted all the boys from her profile, instead of saying she had a fight with one and he blocked her first.

What surprised me most wasn't how stupidly ridiculous this quarrel is, but the fact that exactly two months ago, the same girl went absolutely ballistic when another mutual friends "embarrassed" her by posting in public that he disapproved of her posting his picture without his knowledge. If it was such a big deal then, then why did she post on the guy's wall like that? I don't get it.

I'm glad I found out what was going on because frankly it was driving me nuts, haha! But there's no way in hell that I'm getting between these two after all those fights I've seen from the sidelines. I'm definitely sitting this one out (Which is going to drag on all the way to the next academic year because we won't see her till then).

An update on my previous post: Since I'm only allowed to message the girl for things concerning college stuff, I can't ask her through the internet. And since, of course, I don't have her number, I won't be able to contact here. So I'll wait till september 20th when the new year starts to ask her what's going on in her head.
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Has it ever occurred to you that in a society as far behind in everything such as that of Egypt, people are so easily manipulated. Especially by the media. I mean, every once in a while a new fad comes along that EVERYONE is obsessed with, and imitates all day and night long.

For example, about two years ago the infamous "actor" if he could be called that, Mohamed Sa'ad (BOTTOM PICTURE) emerged out of thin air to captivate the ignorant minds of millions with his moronic display of complete idiocy in what he dared to call "movies". Something out of a two-bit TV horror flick, Mohamed Sa'ad managed to penetrate the homes of every lowlife in the country. Within days of his first "movie's" release, he skyrocketed to stardom, with everyone copying lines from his films, and imitating his "comedic" gestures which resembeled that of someone who should have been put into a straight jacket long ago.

Next came the worst of them all, the singing "sensation", the "king of our generation", Tamer Hosny (MIDDLE PICTURE). Anything he says is immediately transformed into religious doctrine. Teenage girls seem to worship the toilets he sits on, and his movies, no matter how boring and rediculous, always become amazing successes. He is called the "role model of all Egyptian teens"...well, if an ex-con, plagiarizer is what Egyptian youth is supposed to be, then so be it. It makes me sick to my stomach every time some stupid simple minded girl talks about how cute he is, or how amazing he is - when in fact he's nothing than a hairy gorrilla who insists on exposing his chest and underarm hair to the world.

Last but not least, Ahmed Mekki, (TOP PICTURE) a newcommer, whose new movie was just relesed today. Since he's new, I don't have much to say about him. I'm going to see his movie tomorrow with friends to see for myself. But I'm sure that once the Egyptian youth find the next idiot to worship, he'll be put on a distant shelf with the rest of the lowlifes like himself.

Does it have something to do with the economy? Do people's intellects simply evaporate into nothingness because of poverty? What has made us so gullible and stupid, so easy to manipulate, so willing to mindlessly imitate everything someone else does or says as if it were something sacred?

I recently received this message on my facebook account:

"el msg di lkol el shabab elly homma dmn my friends 3al facebook
ana karart ykon profily "GIRLS ONLYYYYYY"
ana msh 3yza 7ad yz3al mnni,di ra3'bty w wallahy msh waraha dafe3 sha5sy 2tgah 2y 7ad fikom
ento fe3lan kolokom nas mo7taramien w kan sharaf lya enny 2t3araf 3alikom..
w blnsba lzamayly fil college ana 3'ayart el privacy w t2daro tb3atoly msgs low fi 7aga b5sos el drasa
ana bgd 2sfa :(
bs ana shaifa enno da 27san lya
nice to know u all w salam :) "

roughly translated:

"This message is to all the boys who are on My Friends on facebook. I've decided to make my profile GIRLS ONLY. I don't want any of you to get upset, and I want you to know that it's what I want and that I harbor no animosity towards any of you. You're all very respectable people and it's been an honor knowing you.
As for those of you who go to college with me, I've changed the privacy setting to allow you to send me messages about anything concerning our studies.
I'm really sorry but I think it's better this way, nice to know you and salam!"

I have one question. What's up with that?!!! I mean, this is the same girl who deactivated her facebook account a few months ago for the same reason. If it's such a big deal then why keep making new accounts? I just don't get it. And she also said that we're all "very respectable" so why the sudden change of heart? Plus, her profile is visible only to friends, so I don't see how any "unrespectable" guys could do anything.

I'm just at a loss of what to think, haha. This was the last person I thought would do something as weird as this. I don't even want to ask why the hell she did that because I know she'll turn it into this huge dramatic, moral dilemma. So if anyone knows what that was, please tell me.

What's in a bargain?

I've always been amazed by the concept of bargaining. I used to find it hard to believe that some people are able to bargain down prices to half and sometimes even quarter the original price. It even has its very own language with phrases recognized by everyone, at least over here. Like "Is that the final price?" or "How low are you willing to go?"

Some businesses are so tired of having their profits bargained away that a lot of them have signs that read "Bargainers NOT allowed here!" or something of the sort. And yet, when if you leave without bargaining, they call back to you and ask how much you want it for. Is there something wrong there?

I've always thought that there should be certain places in which bargaining shouldn't happen. For example, I hate it when I see people bargaining at an Adidas or a Nike Store, or at a Jeweler. It's just not very nice to look at. Places that you're good to go are the souks, markets, and the less fancy-looking places in general. You should bargain down the price of cabbage, not diamond.

However, there are expensive places, or the "high" areas as they call them here, that should always be bargained at. Like Khan Al Khalili, where I see tourist being scammed into paying 6 or 7 times more than what something is really worth. So if you're ever there, you can bargain down a price all the way to quarter easily.

(The above picture was taken in Khan Al Khalili, the best and worst place to bargain. Where a plane T-shirt can cost up to 60 or even 70 US Dollars, when in fact it cost like 15 Egyptian Pounds to make - about 3 dollars.)

The fact remains that bargaining an Egyptian pastime. Something that such a divided nation can actually agree upon. It's engraved in culture all the way back to the ancient Egyptians in their togas and stone money.

I love the concept of bargaining, but would never do it myself.

To beat or not to beat?

All new parents ask themselves this question when they have their kids. As damaging to a child as it can be in one case, it can do wonders for another child. So is it moral to hit a child if you think more good can come out of it than bad? I see it in the street all the time.

For example, a woman slapped her 8-year-old daughter across the face in front of everyone in the supermarket because she had wondered off by herself twice, and had her really worried. I can understand the mother's concern, yet was it necessary to make a scene and upset the child like that? Wouldn't simply reprimanding the girl in a harsh advisory tone been sufficient? But I'm pretty sure that little girl won't be wondering off by herself again any time soon.

Then again, there are others. A doorman beat his 7-year-old son to a pulp right in my face because he didn't want to go see what someone living in the building he worked in wanted from him, or something of the sort, I couldn't really tell. In this case, I sympathized more with the little boy, right until he called his dad an asshole, because the reason behind the beating was, in my humble opinion, trivial.

Of all my brothers, I am the only one who was never laid a hand on. Of course, there was the occasional slapping and/or verbal reprimanding, but it was nothing that I would ever hold against them. I asked myself why I had the good fortune to escape such a fate, and came up with what I think is the correct reason. I know when to quit! I can talk back, and "defy" them or whatever you want to call it all I want, but I know when it's time to call it a day. I've never crossed any line (although I might have put a toe or two across it a few times). Anyway, that's how I see it.

Back to the topic at hand, is it moral to hit your kids? If so, to what age should this be restricted, and why? What do parents mean when they say: "I turned out fine!"? I, for one, can challenge that statement when it comes to certain people I know.

People talk about the psychological damage that it causes to people, but what exactly is that damage? All I've seen, in a few parents, an inferiority complex that makes them want to take it out on other people because it was done to them, or so it seems.

To beat or not to beat? That is the question. =)