Forum Overview :: Tales of the Sword Coast :: OK.

[quote name="Quétinbec"]Blob has said some very powerful things and MM got his shots in too. They're right about a lot of stuff. I don't want to talk about my current relationship here, though, so that nixes a lot of what I've got to say. I will say it's very easy for you to live up to Western standards of goodness in your plush Western cities, where you can take your <b><i>pet</i></b> for a <b><i>walk</i></b> in the <b><i>park</i></b> with your <b><i>girlfriend</i></b>. None of those things exist here, so try to think through the implications. I was a decent man in NZ and Australia, too. I never whored, lied, or was overtly racist. But it's wrong to apply those Western standards of goodness and 'manliness' to someone living in this environment. This is Mars. The Middle East is a suffocating place and it will change you. It will fuck you up. And I'm here indefinitely. I don't see any alternative. Marrying someone rich was one out. That fell through. What the fuck do I have? You need a certain amount of fun to make life worth living. You're restricted in your means of doing that here. You jump through their hoops and wind up doing bad things. It's tough. Here, I'm a good guy by Middle Eastern standards. My morality adapts to the environment. I wouldn't last 6 fucking months here if it didn't. I can't afford to be a 'man' about this stuff, and neither could you if you were in my shoes. I'm rolling with the punches. [/quote]