[GuB-42]

It is interesting to see all the discussion that follows regarding the term "barbaric". Is making homosexuality illegal barbaric? Is the US worse because they do $horrible_thing?

I think it may be useful to remember the origin of the word. Barbarians in ancient Greece were simply the non-Greek. People of different culture, speaking a different language. And of course, they were considered inferior and unrefined by the Greeks, who called themselves citizens.

For the Romans, Barbarians were those who were neither Roman nor Greek. It included Germans, Gauls, Persians,...

So I think it is useful to remember that in addition to the idea that "barbaric" means primitive, brutal or cruel, there is also that idea of looking down on cultures that are not our own.