comment: >
  
  Namen
context: Overhead on the street:
  "You mean two guys married each other?"
  "Yemen" >
  
  Oman >
  
  You being Syrias? >
  
  Iran here as fast as I could to tell you >
  
  Nah, no way this israel >
  
  Motherfuckers are dying of hunger and they're still more pissed off about two men marrying each other. >
  
  The more impoverished and the more religious the country the more likely they don’t buy into any progressive views. If you’re impoverished and religious … gg >
  
  Two words : Saudi Arabia >
  
  you made the most intelligent comment in this entire thread so succinctly! i'm gay and i live and work in Yemen. my national colleagues talk añl the time about how the Saudis are pushing extreme versions of Islam incessantly across Yemen (and much of the Middle East and North Africa) and they lament how just a few decades ago women dressed colorfully and could walk around in long skirts. The average Yemeni is not hyper-religious and the current civil war really has nothing to do with religion, and is more of a power/land grab by the Houthis, Saudis, UAE, Qatar and Iran to control major shipping routes and some oil deposits. I'm not super out at work, but some of my colleagues certainly know, and i work with one gay national guy who the women will take their hijabs off around when they are in private (technically a big no-no, but shows they accept him for what he is and dont see him as a threat). Of course there is a ton of sexism and homophobia, but I don't think Yemen would be anywhere like it is now without Saudi Arabia's relentless influence. >
  
  Wait  a minute , have we talked before, your account seems familiar >
  
  maybe XD i try to jump in when i see news about Yemen bc there is a lack of information flow and i think they get a worse rep than they deserve usually hahah i've lived in way shittier places XD I think most people just hear the same perspective over and over and it dehumanizes a lot of super average people who are just caught in a shiiiiiiiiiiitty situation, and by dehumanizing entire religions/nationalities/groups based on the actions of their few worst leaders we allow more extremism to grow >
  
  I had a job in Saudi a while back and one of my colleagues used to reminisce fondly over what a great time he had working in Yemen before and what a chill place it used to be. >
  
  these are the stories i love to hear! :) people always point out places Queen Elizabeth visited during her honeymoon in Yemen and proudly talk about how it used to be the gem of the Middle East  (surely exaggerated but it IS incredibly beautiful). >
  
  He was like it was their little secret - him and the others working there. >
  
  So, Nomen?