A scorpion wants to cross a river, and sees a turtle nearby.
The scorpion crawls over, and asks the turtle to ferry him across the river on his back.
The turtle asks the scorpion, “How will I know that you won’t sting me once I’ve taken you across the river?”
The scorpion says, “If you help me, I won’t sting you.”
So the turtle agrees to take the scorpion across the river. But when they are halfway across, the scorpion stings the turtle.
As the turtle is dying, he looks up at the scorpion and says, “Why did you sting me? Now we’re both going to die.”
The scorpion looks at the turtle and responds, “This is the Middle East.”
That is… incredibly depressing. And accurate. And all the more depressing because of its reality.