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April/May 2004 Page 1 * Bush is very popular in Iran Salaam Roozbeh Jan, [That arrogant reporter] I am very in sync with your opinions about the ridiculousness of Iranian support for Bush. But I just came back and there is a very sizeable, I mean extremely noticeable, number of Iranians whom I met in taxis, in mehmunis, and everywhere else where you run across Irunis asserting their opinions stating outright support for Bush, wishing that Bush would come and get rid of the mullahs and so on. Obviously, if you are not just a reactionary (and I mean reactive) person who puts things in context as you do, you would never wish for Bush’s cronies replacing an N for a Q, but it is no surprise and not merely taarof that Mr. Kristof got the responses he did. Bush is very popular in Iran because he cusses the mullahs more than Clinton or the Democrats ever did, because many Iranians feel incapable of getting rid of the Mullahs themselves, and because many Iranians are still addicted to, or at least addicted to the idea that foreigners determine the future of their nation. Hopefully, the catastrophe of the prison scandal will awaken some to
the horrors of an American invasion of Iran but I am sure that the army
of Bush lovers in Iran will find many ways to either deny the reality
of the news or dismiss the incidents as just desserts for Arabs. Ghorbanet. * IRI had its chance As an Iranian living in Tehran, I read with very much interest the "Those friendly Iranians" and I found every word very true. There was no tendency to state untrue stories or being one sided as this is what we experience daily in Iran. The Islamic Republic had its chance of being accepted by the people at the time of Mr. Khatemi's election but lost the opportunity when it blocked his every effort to take care of young (and old) needs. * Bush: "Nafas Kesh!" Dear Mr. Shirazi, [That
arrogant reporter] I wish you would send your letter to the New Yorker. Although I am not sure of their policies, I do believe your style to be in the same caliber as some of their better articles. As a pre-revolution immigrant, I have had two bitter/sweet trips to Iran. What impressed me the most was the cultural gap between major cities and the rural Iran. Tehran has become its own world with all the fads and fashions of the West masked under an Islamic facade. Not that it wasn't so before the revolution, but with so many restrictions, the admiration for the West seems to have intensified. Unfortunately foreign reporters only interview those who speak English or live in larger cities. Their readers are not aware of this, therefore the documented report on the opinion of a select group comes across as true and applicable to all Iranians. As for supporting George Bush, I have also heard that from a few friends who have recently been back. I thought at the time it must be the old "Kolah makhmali" who like him. After all, his ruthless approach isn't that different from theirs. All he needs is a pocket knife, a coat on his shoulder, and a bottle of Vodka. I wonder if someone can teach Mr. Bush to shout: "Nafas Kesh!" Thank you for your enlightening article. I do hope to read more of your work. Such articles are what sets the Iranian apart from the average online publication. * Awesomely shameless sales job I think Mr. Bayegan can definitely sell a Toyota as a Mercedes [Lesson in generosity]. This was the most awesomely shameless sales job i ever saw. If i wasn' told enough to know of the Empress and her book i would have assumed Mr. Bayegan was talking about Ghandi or Dalai Lama. And what is with this animosity with Shariati? You honestly cannot blame the whole of Iranian problems on a writer who had been dead for 3 decades! No one person could have had this much effect. And the former Empress' book was more for publicity and financial gain than for setting the history straight... let's not get all watery-eyed for the Empress like we did for Googoosh. Honestly, all those who care for Iran were either killed (hint: Shariati) or in prison. * Nation of chossophils? Dear Dr, History of Iran is littered with the stories of betrayal and treason. The first prominent case was that of Darius III who was arrested and later abandoned, ill and injured, by his own army commanders until in his dying moments when the chasing army of Macedonians caught up with him and gave him the last rites. Next was Yazdgerd III who, while running away from the invading Arabs, was slain by a greedy miller. The case of Lotf-Ali Khan Zand who was betrayed by his father's ally and killed by the founder of the Qajars, is another dark episode in our homeland's history. Amir Kabir was betrayed by the man whose life he had saved. In recent years even Mosaddeq was betrayed by two of his chief lieutenants. As if the history should repeat itself we saw how the Shah, and indeed the whole nation, were betrayed by the Shah's closest friend and his top generals. The fate his last Prime Minister, Bakhtiar, betrayed by his own misguided sense of tribal fidelity is yet another testimony to the treacherous nature of us Iranians particularly the groups A-C. Even Khomeini was not immune fom the treasonous conduct of his trusted clergy nor from that of his un-turbanned cronies. Will there ever be a time that Iranians can be relied upon for their sense of loyalty? During the last decade of the Qajars misrule of Persia (as we were known then) people, politicians and priests had a variety of foreign attachments. As one witty historian observed some
were Anglophil (in its French pronunciation) some were Russophil, some
were Francophil, some were Germanophil but mostly were Chossophil (as
in sugar puff) meaning having loyalty to something as worthless as
a puff from the back orifice. Are we still a nation of Chossophils? * E as in asshole You neglected to classify your own arrogant stupid self [A to D]. Let me do that for you. You belong to group E which is assholes. Grow up and get a life. By the way, if you are an MD with a PhD, I am God. * Huge wedge Dear Dr. Sadri, [Please accept our sincere denials] I have been looking for this analyses for a long time and in particular during the past two weeks and I thank you and The Iranian for enlightening us. Yes: What those few people did was the sharp edge of a huge wedge that has grown in American social consciousness. We have seen the elementary school shooting, reports of crime filling up the news, some 70% of the population approving of dropping 30,000 bombs on a city of 5 million and alike. Mohamad Navab * Mullahs won't give Democracy In your article "When they invade Iran", you wrote: 1. ... what's interesting to note is that Iran fought the
real
war
of liberation against Saddam's regime back in the 80s and against the Taliban
in
the late 90s at a time when they were both being backed by America. And:Will
you betray the sacrifices and blood of the shuhada? * Proof how screwed we are Dear Ms. Sohrabi, [Playing
footsie with facts] Most of these articles and personal opinions are the prime examples of how Persians or Iranians are so screwed up inside or outside of that miserable land with their most screwed up history and culture in the world. The rest of the world could careless about "Persian vs. Iranian" and all their stupid arguments in difference! * Iran encompasses all Although an interesting artice, I believe the word Iran and Iranian
are more appropriate [Persian
vs. Iranian]. Persia comes from Pars, a province. I do not
agree that a country should be named after a province. It takes away
kurdish,
Balouchi, Arab, Turkish, etcetc identities away. Iran encompasses all
these identities into one universal multi-flowered, multicoloured garden. More letters (May 2004) |
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