An American in Jordan

Yes, it’s national motto of France, but also my call to reform for the Jordanian blogger portal which continues to increase in popularity, Jordan Planet.

Currently, Jordan Planet segregates its “population” into three groups: Planet Citizens, which I assume are native Jordanians (it’s not clearly defined anywhere on the site); New Comers, which are those who have submitted their sites to be included but are waiting to be voted upon by the Jordan Planet staff; and Expats, which appears to be non-Jordanians who are living and blogging in Jordan. It’s apparent that I fall into the latter category.

What I can’t understand is why Expats are not grouped as Citizens? I might be able to understand the concept if the requirement for being a Citizen was Jordanian ethnicity, but as I mentioned above, it’s not clearly defined. And if the site is called Jordan Planet, claiming that a specific nationality are the only true citizens of a planet seems a bit elitist.

I support the reasoning behind defining groups, but wouldn’t it make more sense to have all of the official blogs aggregating equally on the home page with the break down under respective tabs?

So I pose the question: are Expats not officially Citizens? If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? And if you list us, shall we not blog?