Althouse: The crime of "coercion to commit sin."

March 17, 2010

The crime of "coercion to commit sin."

In Dubai, foreigners are getting jail time for this crime — for things like sexy text messaging.

31 comments:

Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Is this about deem and pass again ;); 3/17/10, 10:58 AM
traditionalguy said...: This police force has it easy. Just follow British folks around and take notes. Their crimes appear to be living in an ummarried life style. Let's hope Kate Winslet doesn't go there. They could arrest her for being in films with actors she is not married to.; 3/17/10, 11:05 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: Part of being a good multi-culturalist is knowing that other cultures don't tolerate certain things.; 3/17/10, 11:11 AM
Fred4Pres said...: Dubai likes to throw the occasional Indian, Philippino, Thai, or Pakistani under the bus to keep their foriegn workers in line.

You think that is bad, check out their drug laws. Memo to Andrew Sullivan, Dubai would not be a good place for a visit.; 3/17/10, 11:30 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Tiger played there many times..

Will he be deemed rehabilitated and given a pass?; 3/17/10, 11:36 AM
sunsong said...: Sometimes seeing extreme examples like this can open people's eyes to where they, themselves, would like to force others to live by their value system. To that extent I think it is helpful.; 3/17/10, 11:51 AM
Fred4Pres said...: Dubai only picks on westerners when they think western govenrments will not care. Go to the Dubai Sevens and you will see Rugby players from around the world getting shit faced drunk and generally causing good natured mayhem*. Dubai officials do not care. The occasional pot head rastafarian expat, however, will be convicted of a drug crime based on a sample of some dredlock or a stray pot seed in lugage after a trip to Thailand and sentanced to a few years in prison. Tiger Woods on the other hand could stage orgies in his hotel suite, and provided he did not embarass the emir in the process no one would bat an eye.

The picking on South and East Asians workers is all about the policy of keeping them fearful, underpaid and inline.

* Rugby players are known for drunken parties after games, but they are rarely mean spirted and often involve both teams and fans enjoying the celebration (regardless of who won). Rugby is a game for hooligans watched by gentlemen, Soccer is a game for gentlemen, watched by hooligans.; 3/17/10, 11:54 AM
Skyler said...: This is why you should never venture into an Arab country unless you're escorted by another thousand of your best friends with heavy machine guns.; 3/17/10, 11:58 AM
Joe said...: If you tell someone "Fuck you" in Dubai, does that count?; 3/17/10, 11:58 AM
Monkeyboy said...: @Skyler: Amen

Although Dubai Airlines absolutely rocks.

A freind who lived in Saudi tells some funny stories about the "Mataweh" volunteer morality police.
You can tell the Matawi because they wear their Thobes (Robes) at mid-shin.
There's a verse in the Loran that says "A prideful man trips on his own thobe." So they wear them high to show everyone how not prideful they are.; 3/17/10, 12:05 PM
Monkeyboy said...: Darn it "Koran" not "Loran".

The Loran is the holy book of the Onceler.; 3/17/10, 12:06 PM
Scott said...: LORAN (LOng RAnge Navigation) is a terrestrial radio navigation system using low frequency radio transmitters that uses multiple transmitters (multilateration) to determine the location and speed of the receiver.; 3/17/10, 12:13 PM
David said...: In a larger sense, aren't we all guilty . . . .

Sure enough. Let (s)he who has not coerced sin cast the first groan.; 3/17/10, 12:17 PM
Scott said...: There is no Muslim country that recognizes a right to free speech.

Now that British courts recognize Sharia law, this Reuters piece should give our British friends pause.; 3/17/10, 12:17 PM
Chris said...: Nothing much to say except...
wv: dewdyou "dewd you totally coerced me into sinning with amber last night"; 3/17/10, 12:28 PM
Methadras said...: The middle-east a shit hole. The veneer of westernization will not protect you when you have Islam ruling the day. Oh, they want your money, dear infidel, but they will slice your throat once they are done.; 3/17/10, 12:30 PM
jimbino said...: Dubai's persecution of atheists, singles (and perforce gays) mirrors historical discrimination against those classes in Amerika. I wondered what our gummint would do if our citizens were persecuted in Dubai for being Chinese, Black female or Catholic.

We need to take a page from the policies of Brazil, which practices "tit-for-tat" retaliation against Amerikan citizens for the persecution of their citizens in the USSA.

The logical reaction to Dubai's policy then would be for the USSA to retaliate by persecuing citizens of Dubai who are male, Muslim, married or Caucasian.; 3/17/10, 12:39 PM
Scott said...: What beef does Brazil have with The United States Ski and Snowboard Association?; 3/17/10, 12:48 PM
Fred4Pres said...: Here is a tip, you can get totally screwed over in any country, Muslim or not. It can definitely happen in Mexico if some official thinks he can work you to make some money. It can happen in Canada if you say something un PC. It can happen in Italy. It can happen in Dubai. It can happen here too, although you can hire a lawyer and fight it (you might win or not, depending). Tom Wolfe's The Bonfire of the Vanities and A Man In Full were based on that premise. While works of fiction, that sort of thing happens in real life.; 3/17/10, 1:33 PM
Carol_Herman said...: Ah, another adventure with Sherlock, in Dubai.

Yeah, right. Israel got that one all wrong, because they sent in so many people, at least for about a week, couples could kiss; without worrying that the british passports would get them into trouble.; 3/17/10, 2:07 PM
DaveW said...: Now I'm going to be wondering what they were texting each other until I forget about the story...; 3/17/10, 2:23 PM
mariner said...: Hoosier Daddy,
Part of being a good multi-culturalist is knowing that other cultures don't tolerate certain things.

And yet those cultures are all somehow superior to ours.; 3/17/10, 2:38 PM
Kevin said...: Boy, this sort of stuff really helps their efforts to become a World Financial Center, doesn't it?

Or have they given up on that?; 3/17/10, 3:14 PM
Eric said...: Dubai is the country that threw a British guy in jail for three years because he had a microscopic (literally - it was too small to see) fleck of pot on the bottom of his shoe. This was in the airport as he was waiting for a connecting flight.

Dubai one of the countries on my "do not visit" list.; 3/17/10, 3:27 PM
Calypso Facto said...: Maybe we could hire a few Dubai policemen to patrol the Capitol showers and prevent indecent coercion!; 3/17/10, 4:08 PM
ricpic said...: Now that Mossad carried out that beautiful hit on Al-Mahbouh poor Dubai is in such a pickle as one Arab Terrorist Organization after another cancels their Peace (Piece?) and Justice Conference at Vegas on the Gulf. May the fleas of a thousand camels lodge in their armpits.; 3/17/10, 4:36 PM
Synova said...: The article didn't seem to explain at all what "coercion to commit sin" actually means.

I can see it in the case of, oh, indecent exposure, which we consider a crime as well, we just think that it takes a creep waving his Johnson instead of exposing the children to adults kissing on the street or making out at the beach.

A sexy text might be coercion if it's sent to people who aren't expecting it, just like having porn flashed in your face unexpectedly and without warning on the internet doesn't give a person the chance to chose not to participate.

If you're forced to participate then I can see calling it coercion.

This is actually the one area where I think we get confused about freedom of speech and expression. That freedom really shouldn't include the right to force other people to participate against their will.

The right to chose what not to hear and see has to be at least as strong as the right to chose what to hear and see, do or say. It's unavoidable that in public those two rights are in absolute opposition to each other.

A standard of public decency isn't a perfect compromise but what would be?

In any case, the article included people who got in trouble for doing so in public on a beach as well as people who got in trouble for what they did in private behind closed doors. Were they all charged with the same offense or just generally with some morality related thing? Is it just sloppy reporting?; 3/17/10, 5:34 PM
Joe M. said...: This word "coercion": I do not think it means what they think it means.; 3/17/10, 5:41 PM
Big Mike said...: @mariner, funny how that works, isn't it?; 3/17/10, 5:43 PM
Kev said...: The Loran is the holy book of the Onceler.

Heh, that's what I thought when I read the typo--an Islamic version of Dr. Seuss. (I guess one of his most famous books would have to be changed, though--Green Eggs and Lamb, anyone?); 3/17/10, 7:22 PM
Revenant said...: I don't see a lot of difference between treating sexy texting as a crime and treating pandering and procuring as crimes.; 3/18/10, 12:18 AM