Reply #28: Her viewpoint on SA is extremely narrow and unidimensional [View All]

Certainly, there is some truth in what she says, but it is extremely unidimensional. As one who has actually worked in SA and had an opportunity to work with both Saudi (and Palestinian, Syrian, Lebanese) men AND women, I just hate the sterotypical, shallow understanding that the media advances. Given that I was a western woman, I actually had access (beneath the veil) to Saudi women's attitudes. One day, maybe I'll take the time to post details or write a longer piece, but let it suffice that I rarely hear any western journalist (much less a "talking head") depict the range of views that women hold there. Christiane Armanpore comes closest, but rarely gets to present Arab (and Persian) views in depth.

On edit, I often wonder how many people she cuts off who may actually have uique expertise on the subject, since her tendency to jump to conclusions rarely gives time to determine.... As I've posted before I really wanted to like her, given the accolades she has gotten here on DU. To that end, I've listened regularly for about 3 weeks. On occcasion, I have been impressed, but I've also found her to be often needlessly unpleasant and too frequently ill prepared on the topic of the day....