Saturday May 5, 2007

I've Been Thinking:

So this is how it went:
The Iranian foreign minister was supposed to be seated opposite Condi Rice at a formal dinner that took place during the Egyptian summit.
The dinner arrangement was artfully, diplomatically, designed to be an informal ice breaker.
Just as he was about to be seated, the Iranian caught a glimpse of the violinist scheduled to perform during the dinner.
He turned around and walked out.

The violinist was a woman.
She was dressed in red.
She was dressed in a risque red dress.
At least, that is the way the Iranian foreign minister perceived the situation.

Red is a particularly problematic color for a woman to wear in many cultures.
Red shows a lack of modesty, a low cut red is even worse - insult on injury.

Even the Egyptians, cultural cousins of the Iranians, are guilty of faux pas.
Even the Egyptians do not understand the Iranians.
What can we really expect from the West and the rest of the world?