Letters

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Wednesday
April 11, 2001

Need distasteful irreverence from time to time

I am glad that you have chosen "Nothing is sacred" as the slogan for the new face of your magazine. Some of the outraged responses to your April Fools joke ["Not without my mom"] make it amply apparent that we certainly do need an irreverent publication to purge us of the last vistages of the fear of "lese majeste" which is still so alive in our fellow country men and women.

Many centuries of dictatorial monarchic or theocratic rule (as in the present) have scared us to death of putting leaders in their place by ridiculing them. In democratic nations leaders are routinely ridiculed without much criticism or outrage. Anyone who has ever lived in France or England or has seen late night shows here in the U. S poking fun of various Presidents can vouch for that.

In order for us to shed the fear of insulting our leaders, who ever they may be, we need to display distasteful irreverence from time to time. Let those people who are still offended by such harmless jokes risk appearing like old "mobsers" of schools ready to cane if they only could.

Also, let Reza Pahlavi know that even those who wish to see him back in Iran someday want assurance that insulting him would not result in a visit from the SAVAK. You see, just saying you are democratic is not enough you have to react that way as well. Some of us still remember living in fear of SAVAK on a daily basis.

In Iran under the Shah no one felt safe uttering the slightest criticism even within the walls of their own home. That history is what compels us to be irreverent.

Yes, Mr. Bakhash ["Extraordinary poor taste"], we Iranians in the U.S. are, in a way, like school children just recently let out in the yard to run free. The history of censorship in Iran has rendered us thus. May all journalists in all repressive nations, have the fortune of being able to ridicule their leaders and face nothing more than some angry letters as consequence.

Anyway on the lighter side, as a fan of Mahvash I frankly would not be offended by having her picture presented as my mom's (sorry, mom).

PS: Maybe next year it will be Rafsanjani's turn? Or are you waiting till he is safely State side as well?

Setareh Sabety

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