Comments on: Training the Afghan armed forces http://www.theworld.org/2010/11/training-the-afghan-armed-forces/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=training-the-afghan-armed-forces Global Perspectives for an American Audience Tue, 12 Feb 2013 14:49:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: John Hopkins http://www.theworld.org/2010/11/training-the-afghan-armed-forces/comment-page-1/#comment-15396 John Hopkins Tue, 30 Nov 2010 22:46:15 +0000 http://www.theworld.org/?p=54837#comment-15396 It's amazing to me that Mr. Gilbert would not understand why it would be inappropriate to take photos of these men being disciplined. If you consider the fact that these men choose to become part of this military not out of true choice but because it is the best of a few very undesirable choices it becomes really clear that it would be humiliating to made to crawl through the dirt or stand on your hands. To have someone then document this humiliation, seemingly with no consideration for the subjects, is understandably frustrating. This is an extension of the cultural insensitivity that will doom us to fail in all our international affairs as long as we continue it. Just because we do things one way doesn't mean that others will do it the same way, or even interpret it the same way. I would expect that this would be taught in Journalism 101. It’s amazing to me that Mr. Gilbert would not understand why it would be inappropriate to take photos of these men being disciplined. If you consider the fact that these men choose to become part of this military not out of true choice but because it is the best of a few very undesirable choices it becomes really clear that it would be humiliating to made to crawl through the dirt or stand on your hands. To have someone then document this humiliation, seemingly with no consideration for the subjects, is understandably frustrating.

This is an extension of the cultural insensitivity that will doom us to fail in all our international affairs as long as we continue it. Just because we do things one way doesn’t mean that others will do it the same way, or even interpret it the same way. I would expect that this would be taught in Journalism 101.

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