To Have Limited Sympathy for the Australian Vloggers Detained in Iran?

[NikeDeLaSwoosh]

Obviously I have the usual human sympathy for young people going something so terribly traumatic, but seriously, what were they thinking?

It seems from the limited information currently available that they had deliberately planned their travels to encompass counties with a 'bad rep' for tourists apparently to disprove those reputations.

Then to fly a drone? How incredibly naive.

The tensions in the Straights of Hormuz have been well-documented in the press, and the plight of Nazanin Zachariah-Ratcliffe is never far from the public eye, how could they not have been aware of this?

It saddens me so much when instagrammers risk their lives, liberty, and for women, their chance of motherhood just for the insta-likes.

That poor couple, but gosh what a foolish thing to have done.

AIBU?

[NikeDeLaSwoosh]

*Zaghari-Ratcliffe

[CuriousaboutSamphire]

Darwin Awards beckon!

I imagine they live in their e-bubble so deeply that they don't imagine that the outside, real world can actually interact, be in any way negative, without their having any control!

[SquidwardTennisballs]

And for woman, their chance for motherhood
Yes because that is the absolute worst thing for a woman is to not have kids 🙄 glad to see your concern for the woman is mainly focused on that...

[ShatnersWig]

Squidward Beat me to it

[LaVieilleHarpie]

I have deep sympathy for stupid people, actually, and no, I'm not being sarcastic. They can't help being stupid - probably wouldn't know where to start, and sometimes their stupidity makes them do things like that. Or Brexit.

[NikeDeLaSwoosh]

Actually, one of the things I find saddest about Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's case is that she is desperate for a second child, but time is quickly running out for her.

So yes, it is a sad side effect of women being detained in this manner.

[Plexie]

They're in Iran, not Iraq.

Here's a link for anyone who, like me, didn't know what this post was about.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-49670973

[Ijustwanttoretire]

OK, I know I am BU but like Dave Gorman I go to the comments first on stories - and I love this one :
" 'The couple had previously said that they wanted to share their journey online to show that countries with a bad reputation are still okay to travel to.' That went well then."
Sums it up totally. I despair about the mentality of some of the younger generation...

[Juells]

I caught a glimpse on the Sky ticker about the fact that they'd been flying a drone, and was gobsmacked.

I've always been suspicious, though, about people arrested as spies. Of course their government is going to claim they're not spies.

[Pitterpatterpettysteps]

I travelled through Iran in 2008, it is such a beautiful country and the people are so friendly and welcoming. I probably wouldn't go back at the moment, though

[NikeDeLaSwoosh]

Sorry, yes they are in Iran, fat fingers here.

It's also the Strait of Hormuz, before anyone gets their red pen out on me!

[howdoesitworkwork]

@Ijustwanttoretire me too. Stupid bloody idiots, what did they think was going to happen?

Fat fingers op? They must be bloody huge, q and n are at opposite ends of the keyboard

[AudacityOfHope]

So they misunderstood the risk they were taking, as they're pretty obviously naive about how different countries operate.

Are sympathies only reserved for the super-smart then? Not sure I understand your point.

[UrsulaPandress]

I hate bloody drones at the best of times but flying one in a country that you know to be a bit ‘unfriendly’ does seem to be an act of extreme hubris.

[Pitterpatterpettysteps]

This is their instagram www.instagram.com/thewayoverland/

It does look like an amazing trip to embark on and they seem like sensible people from the comments on their feed. Strange that they should have been so naive!

[Mooey89]

Sorry to be thick, but why does it take away their chance at motherhood? Because they will be detained for a long period of time?

[SVRT19674]

Fgs, natural selection. How daft can people be? and I totally agree with you OP about motherhood, having a family in general. It is something that has crossed my mind many a time. An 18 year old Greek model was arrested in Thailand I believe, with drugs in her case. She was going to be sentenced to something like 30 years imprisonment and apart from having wrecked her life, and that of her parents who were devastated, no chance of having a life or family of her own. Such a waste of a young life.

[ShatnersWig]

SVRT And you know for a fact that model wanted to have a family? It may surprise you to know, an awful lot of women these days don't actually want to have children. But of course, it's regarded as some form of default position isn't it?

[SerendipityJane]

8 words into your title and I had fuck all sympathy, but conscious of trying to be a better person I read the post and somewhat unsurprisingly had even less sympathy after that.

[Glitterpearl]

I can't agree. I have a lot of sympathy for them. I can't imagine what they are going through. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's case is heartbreaking. There is also apparently another British-Australian citizen who has been jailed for 10 years. No one knows why but there is speculation that she has been accused of spying.

I think that when normal citizens have their lives disrupted in this way to act as pawns for governments and politicians, it is victim blaming to suggest they are at fault. They may have broken a law unwittingly, but the punishment is disproportionate and they quickly lose their humanity and become just another item on the agenda in political meetings. They may have chosen to go there, they may have broken a law, but they are powerless and caught in the middle of something that they had no hand in creating.

[AudacityOfHope]

The Iranian government is adopting a policy of politics by hostage, and most of you seem to be on board. Darwin Awards? Fucking hell.

Laugh about the plight of NZR as well, do you?

I enjoy being on this forum less and less these days.

[Juells]

ShatnersWig
SVRT And you know for a fact that model wanted to have a family? It may surprise you to know, an awful lot of women these days don't actually want to have children. But of course, it's regarded as some form of default position isn't it?

For goodness sake, it was a throw-away remark. Most people do want to have a family, it's a bit of a biological imperative. If you don't, that's your choice. Both my daughters have made the same choice, but I accept that most people choose differently.

[NikeDeLaSwoosh]

This form of 'Hostage Diplomacy' (as I heard it called on Radio 4 yesterday) is a feminist issue IMO.

Although people are making valid points that not everyone defines themselves by their reproductive status (FWIW, I don't), it is disingenuous to suggest that a large proportion of people, esp women, do.

The standard sentence for people acccuse of espionage in Iran, male or female seems to be 10 years detention.

This disproportionally effects women, as it will likely have an impact on their ability to have a family to a far greater extent than it would a man of the same age.

Women also do seem to be over represented in this group of detainees, but I expect there is an element of reporting bias here. There are probably also lots of men in the same boat that we perhaps hear less about.

[UrsulaPandress]

Who’s laughing?

I am merely questioning the notion of Instagramming your way around a country to dispel its media reputation as a ‘bad wrap’ sic.

[AudacityOfHope]

But you have no sympathy for these human pawns though