Friday
March 31, 2000
Demonization of Iran
In response to Mr. Stewart George's letter ["Iran-U.S.
Poll"] I must say that the result of this poll is an honest reflection
of twenty years of constant, systematic, and severe demonization of Iran
as a country, and Iranians as a culture by the U.S. media. Of course this
has been backed and supported by Iran haters, bashers, and their lobbyists.
Even as recently as last week, the U.S. media in general portrayed the
court judgment regarding Terry Anderson's case as a victory against injustice,
when in fact he had made the decision to remain and continue to work in
a war zone with it's possible consequences. (including the likelihood of
mortar attacks on the street-- who would his family have sued for that?)
On the flip side, the magnitude of incidents such as the Vincennes and
downing of the Iran Air flight with it's tragic loss of lives, has never
been portrayed with the accuracy it deserves in the U.S. media.
Perhaps a poll should be run to see how many Americans are aware that
the Iran Air flight was in a legal air space corridor (for commercial flights)
when it was shot down and 294 innocent people were killed?
Masoud Neshat
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