RE: Bruvha's comment on Western aid
Reader comment on item: A Conspiracy Theory Spreads Polio

Submitted by Rony Guldmann (United States), May 30, 2005 at 07:17

Not only is Western aid unappreciated, it's quite likely that it's resented on some subconscious level, since it symbolizes the success and power of Western societies and the inability of Muslims to help themselves. The same thing goes for the West Bank and Gaza. Since 1967, Israel has raised the Palestinians' standard of living by much more than would have been possible under continued Arab rule. Yet for the Palestinians to acknowledge this would be psychologically devastating. What does it say about you that your enemy ends up doing more for you than you could do for yourself? To paraphrase Thomas Sowell, between hating themselves for their failures and hating others for their success, people will opt for the latter (this is also something emphasized by Nietzsche).

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