"I simply mean that there is a difference between one "moron" and a society that constitutes majority of illiterate people (in your standards, maybe, morons) that has been living the particular way of life for centuries because of the ignorance. " At the risk of of being argumentative and derailing the topic, not that that hasn't already happened, we are not talking about illiterate people here. If you read the first post again it appears the conversation discussed there took place in the US of A or someplace outside of Nepal and chances are if you made it this far from Nepal, you are not one of the "illiterate" masses and cannot justifiably use any excuses or arguments related to illiteracy. If someone who has access to opportunities in the West thinks a son is better than a daughter, then to say they are a moron would be a vast understatement. If the word moron is offensive, would "seriously lacking judgement" be more palatable? If you are bringing in the example of "illiterate people" in Nepal, who incidentally I do not think of as morons, I see no purpose to it other than to use them as a straw to make yourself appear as an enlightened thinker. "I-am-oh-so-not-them. I could never think like them". Enough of this . I get the gist of your argument, and don't disagree with it, but I just feel differently about the build up to it, and especially the subtle hint of illiteracy back home as an excuse for that kind of thinking here.