[lbo-talk] Donate to Wall Street protesters

[Joseph Catron]

I could write pages and pages about it. In fact, I was close to the center
of one kidnapping/murder investigation that could easily merit its own novel
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vittorio_Arrigoni). But in short, Hamas is a
political party like any other, and considerably better than some. Their
main innovations since establishing control of the Gaza Strip have been
imposing public order (which their most vocal opponents here appreciate),
nearly eliminating political corruption, and of course breaking ties with
the occupying power. I'm told there hasn't been a particular turn towards
social conservatism since 2007, as happened during the Intifadas. The police
are no less pleasant than in Philadelphia, and considerably more so than in
Miami. (Everyone, government and opposition alike, is staggeringly pleasant
to foreigners, of course, but we occupy a strange niche here.)

I should add that the role of the government here is often exaggerated, even
by foreigners who know the society fairly well. The families run Gaza. And
they do a good job of keeping it together, when corruption and violence
aren't mucking up the system. The family honor system also has a lot more to
do with the imposition and maintenance of cultural norms than any action
taken by the government.

Let me know if you have more specific questions (which I'll probably get to
tomorrow). With all the experiences I've had here, such a broad query is a
little difficult to tackle.

On Wed, Sep 21, 2011 at 5:06 AM, <123hop at comcast.net> wrote:

A little more detail? What was your experience of Hamas?
>

-- 
"Hige sceal þe heardra, heorte þe cenre, mod sceal þe mare, þe ure mægen
lytlað."