Dealing with an “honor” culture

“Honor” cultures are incredibly hierarchical.  You’re either up or you’re down.  And you’re always down if you let your honor go unavenged.  Worse than that, if you’re down, you deserve all the abuse and violence that can be heaped upon you.  Honor cultures value people higher in the food chain, but have little to no sympathy for those lower on the food chain.

Grim, writing at Blackfive shows his understanding of this honor culture by saying that the only way America can retain (or regain?) any semblance of standing in the Arab Middle East is to act against the culprits — no hand wringing allowed.

Speaking of hand wringing, I can already hear the liberal apologists:  “If we start the cycle of vengeance, it will never end.”

Well, here’s a reality check for all those apologists — it’s never going to end anyway.  This is not an example of a foolish feud spiraling out of control, a la the Hatfields and the McCoys. It is instead, a case of two entirely antithetical world views, with one of them constantly, and violently, striving for dominance.  We can stand up for ourselves or we can surrender. In an existential war, he who surrenders dies.