iPouya

I’ve decided to devote more of my blog posts with what I think are unhealthy attitudes and practices prominent amongst many in the Iranian Diaspora including myself. I hope that through the dialogue, regardless of how nominal, it will serve as something positive and as part of the solution rather than the problem.
Don’t get me wrong, I think Iranians, like every other people, are a good people and have many commendable cultural attributes, but also like every other people, we have a lot of issues we have to deal with. Take freedom of speech for example, many in the diaspora community pride themselves in their education and cultural development and claim to be champions of free speech in Iran but fail to practice it themselves. I’ve had countless discussions with fellow Iranians about freedom yet those very discussions fell short of the very idea they propagated. For instance, in such discussions my friends have championed freedom of speech and yet ridiculed and humiliated those who disagreed with them. And it’s not just a problem with Iranians in the diaspora. When I was in Iran 2 years ago I was talking with a former military officer from the old regime and we were discussing Iran’s 20th century history and this and that and he wouldn’t let me get a word in. And when I did, he’d cut me off and told me that I was young and didn’t know any better. He continued preaching for a good hour and then ended his speech by saying that dinner was almost ready and that he’ll conclude with a last word so we can eat. After he finished I told him that I wanted to tell him something but I was worried he would get offended. He responded by saying that he would take offense if I in fact did’n’t tell him what was on my mind. So I proceeded by saying: “Herein lies the problem with Iran, people like you claim to be proponents of freedom of speech all the while monopolizing the dialogue, cutting off and ridiculing anyone who disagrees with them by saying they’re young and don’t know any better, and then trying to end the debate with the last word. To people like you, freedom of speech is just a slogan, not an idea to be practiced.”

He didn’t say another word for the rest of the night and I felt really bad, but I knew I’d feel even worse if I didn’t say anything to him. Here’s a video of Iranians, who claim to be champions of freedom of speech, embarrassing themselves by trying to win the argument by yelling, cursing, ridiculing, and personally attacking those whom they perceive as not knowing any better, much the same way the old officer implied I didn’t know any better when he said I was too young.

So there’s a group about Iran on facebook and someone posted a picture of Muhammad Reza Shah and his wife and captioned the picture as “Reza Pahlavi and his wife.” This is disturbing for two reasons: 1. She liked the Shah enough to post his picture but didn’t know enough to get the names right: Reza Pahlavi is the freeloader living in Virginia, Muhammad Reza Shah is the tyrant ousted in 1979, and Reza Shah was the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty; 2. When she was pressed as to why she posted this picture in a group about Iran, she wrote: “ummm this is bout our loving iran HE IS PART OF OUR CULTURE AND PART OF IRANS HISTORY IF U ARE REALLY ASHAMED TO SAY HE IS OUR SHAH THEN IM FEELING SO SORRY FOR U IM PRETTY PROUD OF HIM AND I DIDNT PUT THIS PICTURE TO SAY MY OPINION BUT TO SHOW OUR PAST…AND I LOVE IRAN NOT THE DICTORS OR ANYTHING ELSE….”

First off, yes, he’s part of Iran’s history, but at the least, she could have gotten the names right. Second, Hitler is part of Germany’s history but that doesn’t mean Germans are posting his images in groups about Germany. Third, how does this slave to the west who was struck with Euromania represent “our culture.”

I’ve noticed a general interest in politics developing amongst Iranians in the diaspora but I can’t tell if it’s a genuine interest in real issues or chauvinism. For instance, there’s the war in Iraq, the ethnic cleansing in Palestine, the prospects of war in Iran, class conflict, abortion, the Patriot Act, immigration, you name it, but so many of my peers seem overly and exclusively excited about making sure the Persian Gulf stays Persian. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate historical accuracy and I think it’s important that the Persian Gulf retain its historic name, but when I see my peers only excited about that issue, I get worried about the chauvinistic overtones and lack of political development that may embody such sentiment: “How dare they call the Persian Gulf the ‘Arabian Gulf.'” And then there’s another group with over 700 members titled: “Fuck you, I’m from Iran. When we had a civilization, you hunted buffalos.” I’m embarrassed, no doubt.
And then I saw this picture of a guy’s tatoo: