Page 32 - Issue 62

Ramadan Vol.1 Issue 62 December 2023 ELITE

Kareem

<The Curse of SARCASM=: Egyptian Sense of Humour and its Relation
to Rising Income Inequality

Hana S.ELBADRY - SECOND YEAR - ECONOMICS

<Do you belong to Egypt or to Masr?= Humour vs Action.
The "Egypt" vs <Masr= trend had dug itself Why had this not sparked outrage? Why did
into social media discourse and everyday we not take to media outlets, to the streets -
conversation a while back. Now, almost every anywhere to initiate an open dialogue about
exchange between Egyptian youth (and adults) income redistribution and economic needs.
has to be twisted to set the scene for a faceoff Why, instead of this trend pushing the gross
between the rich and seemingly luxuriant vast inequality back to surface, did it only tear

people of Egypt with those of the lower classed open the never-healing wound again?
<Masr= (I’ll tell you a secret - <Masr= has Humour has been ingrained in Egyptian
never won this showdown no matter the thinking, playing a major role in social
scenario put forward.) This infamous interaction and the perception of current
punchline has been used countless of times to events in society. Afterall, hadn’t they called us
belittle the people of Misr in contrast to the <ibn nukta= or the son of jokes? We are a
people of Egypt - even by the people of Misr happy bunch despite the economic tumult,
themselves: Self-deprecation is a gun Egyptians aren’t we? It’s an addiction.
decide to shoot themselves with before This, it turns out, does much more harm than
someone else does (before the life of poverty good. The only thing these shots of dopamine
kills them first). achieve is dulling our senses to the very real
There is a devastating truth behind this: 10% of problems until we become immune to them. As
Egyptians receive 50 % of Egypt’s national Egyptians, we tend to simplify and diminish
income. The second half is divided between the what we believe is too hard to solve (a toxic

other 90%. Even more gut-wrenching: half of coping mechanism, is it not?)
all Egyptian wealth is possessed by the richest Now when we are faced with a problem, it
1% of the population. <Egypt=, it turns out, is seems the first thing to do is to think of the
only a small island next to the vast lands of punchline that goes with it.
<Masr=.

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