(no subject)

[baratron]

Still nothing interesting going on in my life. Still in pain, though not as badly. Although I did feel faint and nauseous on the way home this evening, just from the back pain. Blah.

I have some thoughts about various of the current news events, but they are too unformed to go out in public just yet. I am wondering, though... why does the press insist on calling Saddam Hussein "Saddam"? Do Iraqi names go with the surname first, like Korean? Or are we supposed to think he sits around saying "George and Tony are really pissing me off"?

Comments

[baratron.livejournal.com]

Yes - a lot of this has been since "Call me Tony" Blair became Prime Minister. I do like the old traditions - things like MPs referring to each other as "My Honourable Friend" (if in the same party) or "The Honourable Gentleman" (if in opposition). I like the illusion that the press is neutral, which is given by them referring to people in a polite way even if they are a dictator or a mass-murderer. Calling people "Saddam" or "Slobba" seems overly-familiar.

I suppose one problem then is if papers referred to Saddam Hussein as "Mr", in the British way, they would also have to rearrange his name. And as purplerabbits says, a lot of journalists don't even know that his name is the other way round. They could refer to him using the Arabic word for "Mr", but this would require a level of education and cultural sensitivity beyond some, if not most of them.