This week Lionel Messi came under criticism for a seemingly generous gesture made during an interview on an Egyptian television station: He offered his match boots to the presenter to be sold off at auction for charity.
photo from BBC article
The problem: in Egypt and other Arab countries the feet are seen as low and dirty, as they are closest to the ground. As a consequence, deliberately showing the soles of ones shoes to a person is considered incredibly rude. There are also insults that incorporate vocabulary for shoes, and shoes have been thrown at political figures as a sign of disrespect (for example, George Bush).
But is Messi's ignorance of the Arabic culture so grave here?
Should an increasingly globally aware society instead understand the lack of malice in the gesture, and accept it for what was intended, as the TV host appeared to do - something for which she has been heavily criticised.
photo from BBC article
With the public involvement of politicians, could it be the case that this incident is actually being blown out of proportion for political gain?
These are difficult questions to answer, and I am far from qualified to do so! I would love to hear your thoughts though, especially if you are of arabic origin.
Either way, it is food for thought. Does a global media teach us to be more accepting of other cultures? Or is it a tool to spread mistrust of that which we do not understand across the world, thus digging deeper the cultural rifts that are already present?
I suspect that there are excellent arguments for both sides.
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