So it's okay then if the self-nominated Royal family of Bahrain shoots its own people: welcome to the 13th Century.
The real issue for all the Gulf states is that they are in a minority because the ex-pat population not only out numbers them but props them up - whether they be from Pakistan, Ethiopia, Somalia, India, Egypt or the UK.
But here's the rub, few of them have passports, few have any local rights to education for their children or proper housing or access to health. And voting is a no-no even if voting too is a sham even for the indigenous populations.
This is an area of major wealth but has a poverty of action for all of its residents.
Nonetheless, the good old West supports these kingdoms without reservation.