Debating the merits of cities near and far

I am writing concerning the comment piece by Deborah Williams about Dubai and New York City ( Dubai, New York and lazy cultural stereotypes, April 26). While I don’t agree with the original article in The New Yorker, it is an opinion piece and well written.

The problem with the rebuttal is exactly that; it’s a rebuttal equally skewed. Why on earth would you compare New York to Dubai? Why choose random places frequented by American tourists? At least choose Central Park, Statue of Liberty, 5th Avenue or Times Square.

The key here is the “other country” syndrome. An accurate rebuttal would have taken the United States out of the equation and compared Dubai to stopover cities such as London, Paris or Amsterdam if you must make such comparisons to push your own agenda. Michael Grantham, Dubai This piece is an excellent rebuttal. Dubai is one of my favourite cities in the world. The New Yorker writer was clearly writing from a snooty position of knowing absolutely nothing about both Dubai and the UAE, he should have deleted that article, not published it. Kerry Dragon, Abu Dhabi New York has almost 20 million people and is one of the largest cities in the US. Dubai is in a country where the total population is 9 million. There is no comparison.

I think the author of the original piece was simply stating his opinion. Everyone is not going to like Dubai just as everyone doesn’t like New York. Sharona Thomas-Wilson, USA Dubai needs to develop thicker skin. The New Yorker is an iconic, well-respected staple in the world of magazine publishing. It’s a giant. Enough said. Sara Smith, USA