Strange rhetoric...

[alexpgp]

Some of the commentary floating out there in the world leads me to believe that some people will grasp at any straw, use any pretext, exploit any opportunity to criticize the U.S.

The Times of India carries this story that appears to have been written by someone who had one of those irresistible urges to knock the U.S. and who, apparently, has never gone more than several hours without filling his or her belly.

From the article:

...each packet consists of two sachets of beans with tomato sauce along with salad dressing, biscuits, fruit pastry, fruit bar and shortbread as well as peanut butter and strawberry jam. This is thoughtfully accompanied by a plastic spoon, a paper napkin and matches.

* * *

Just in case the Afghans are unable to comprehend what was showered on them, or, for that matter, forgot what food was all about, the packets carry graphical instructions on how to eat the rations.

* * *

For the hungry Afghans, this can be manna from heaven, provided they figure out just what peanut butter or jam is or make sense of the purpose of the vinaigrette. [...] surely there could have been some consideration for the dietary preferences of those being helped.

Ye gods. On top of a series of snide remarks, the paper takes the U.S. to task for not creating a custom menu for recipients. I'm surprised the writer didn't suggest parachuting waiters into stricken areas to go from diner to diner and offer to grind some pepper into their nan. Yikes.

In my (admittedly, limited) experience living with and dealing with people in extreme poverty, I've noticed that what is done to utilize available resources - especially food - is utterly efficient and tends to shock and surprise "civilized" folks. If these folks are ignorant of peanut butter, their ignorance will, I am sure, be short-lived.

Cheers...

Comments

[womanonfire.livejournal.com]

thats true what you say about people making do with what they have but...
i can count on one hand the number of people outside the .us i've met who don't think peanut butter is gross nasty unedible garbage so i think it might be tanamount to you being a starving human and someone dropping down larvae for you to eat because, as everyone knows they are healthy and a good source of protein.
all this being beside the point in the grand scheme of things tho...

[papoose.livejournal.com]

a friend from india told me peanut butter there was quite expensive - he was ecstatic to get it so cheaply here in the u.s.

he spoke of it as if it were a delicacy

damned if you do, damned if you don't, i suppose

[womanonfire.livejournal.com]

they like it quite well next door in holland
but here in belgium people tend to get the wretch reflex if you mention it.

i don't think it would have been so difficult to toss down something a bit more of the local palatte but.... just a good thing there is something for them to eat... if they get to eat it... if etc.. if etc... etc.. etc.. etc.. sigh...

Re:

[papoose.livejournal.com]

i have to wonder about the logsitics of such a thing

apparently much of the aid given to poor countries never actually gets to it's intended recipients, so i suppose dropping it out of the sky is just as good?

???

i have no idea

[alexpgp.livejournal.com]

If you are starving and someone offers you larvae and you decline... you aren't really hungry.

I never have been that hungry, so when I had the opportunity to eat grubs in the military as part of a survival training exercise, I did so only because it was expected of me.

My father has been that hungry, and the look in his eye when he tells of that time in his life makes me doubt not a whit that every word of what he says is true.

Personally, I'm not partial to peanut butter, either.

Cheers...

[bandicoot.livejournal.com]

They seem to have missed the point that these rations were from a general-purpose relief supply, prepositioned for disasters almost anywhere in the world. So the contents have to account for many religious restrictions.

The graphic instructions are because it would be impossible to have enough space for enough languages otherwise. It's also fitting because the civil wars in Afghanistan have decimated the educational system in the provinces to the point where most of the people are illiterate.

As you said - someone with an axe to grind who doesn't care too much about the facts.