Hi. I think if the world was more about feeling than cold reasonable understanding it would be a better place. This is only my wishy washy statement. We may never be able to understand other nations, and other cultures, yet we do not have to kill them, just try to find the human connection . 

This said, I really don't like this losing time in this grammatical nonsense

This is not grammatical nonsense.  As a fellow linguist you know that word choice reflects thoughts.  Scott has decided that everyone thinks like he does, and used "us" in the West.  When you respond the same way, you are validating that there is one blob of an "us".  I do not want to be associated with such an "us".  I am an individual and prefer to stay that way.

Therefore the distinction is an important one.  You are asking whether those people to whom Scott refers to as this limited "us" are aware of certain things - not every single person who lives in the West.

Peace!

Maxi

Hi, Ouadoud. I probably used the wrong sentence as a quotation  with the word understanding. I was influenced by the previous discussion about the West understanding the problem . I think it is more important to find the human side in us, the human beings, rather than  to understand, in cold blood, the resons for conflicts  and things like that. There are certain  things we will never  be able to solve looking for reasons to things, nor will we ever be able to understand certain cultural conditioning.

To summorize: we should do something to stop the killings, on either side, or anywhere in the world, rather than understand the reasons for killing. 

See, I do not know too much about Israel. It was always somehow awkward for me to learn or even think about it. The Jews sufferd a lot in Poland, not necessarily as a result of the Poles, but rather the nazis, but regardless of that the Poles were labeled very often as anti-Semites. I just guess I never wanted to touch the Israeli problem, afraid that I may find something which would  make me think that somethig was wrong with the creation of the state of Israel. 

I just thought, let them be happy, they suffred enough.  I personally only knew two Jewish people in Polsnd, or more precisely in Silesia, and I did not see them  any different  than the rest of the people, but i have noticed they felt a little bit less secure in Poland than other high school students.  This was over 20 years ago.  I do not know what it is like now. I do not even know if there are any observant Jewish people in Poland.  I like different  religious traditions, as long as they do not overshadow the basic which is in most religions,  the love of another human being.

Good answer...though not to the question I asked.  I didn't even ask my question of you, but I suppose you could try (again) to answer it.  Admittedly, the question can probably be answered without reference to Jews, blockades, rocket launches, etc., and as such might not be of interest.

The collective "we" is understood by anyone literate in English as not applying to every single person.  But, sure, for the more pedantic among you: Do you believe that the relation between extended family structure and political dynamics in the Arab world is well understood among those Westerners who are casual observers of the Middle East?

If the question still lacks specificity, please advise so that I can try to recast it in a way you all can understand.