(ELI5) why are gulf Arabs so defensive/loving of their kings?

Because dissidents generally don't speak up. We self-censor out of fear. Even online. Every single Gulf monarchy has been cracking down on dissent, and it's been getting worse since the Arab Spring. (Source)[http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/08/09/control-halt-delete-gulf-states-crack-down-online-critics] & (Source)[http://muftah.org/gulf-countries-continue-restricting-critical-speech/#.VOioWMapySX] So you really only get one side of the story for the most part. It takes a lot of guts and you risk losing your citizenship. Gulf citizens aren't "citizens" in the true sense of the word; we're subjects to our governments. (here)[http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/01/world/middleeast/kuwait-fighting-dissent-from-within-uses-citizenship-as-a-weapon-.html?_r=0] is just one example of this being put into practice.

So you might think that we love our governments because they take care of us, but that's not the full picture. It's the picture the Gulf governments wants the world and even their own people to believe. They actually use money to silence dissent. It's not uncommon for them to give handouts whenever they're confronted with an increase in opposition.

But let's not forget the Bahraini revolution, and the Saudi dissent that doesn't tend to get much coverage in the media. (Check out this short documentary for info on this)[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eN83t3yRgFQ]. There's also the case of Raif Bawadi, who's just the tip of the iceberg, but who the Saudi government wants to make an example out of. People like him are not lone figures, but they're the only people you tend to hear about because it takes so much to have a voice when you're up against a coalition of monarchies backed by oil and the world's superpower. But if you're looking and you know where to look, you will find all kinds of dissidents, from reformists to straight up republicans and anarchists.

/r/arabs Thread