I may not agree with the Pahlavi or the Khomeini supporters and from your reactions it is obvious that you would never tolerate my criticism of your system when your group was in power (and you haven’t changed), however, I would still fight for your right to express yourselves and participate politically in Iran, not in exile. You and I and all Iranian citizens have the inalienable right to express our views freely without fear of intimidation.
If you care to know, my belief system is based on co-existence. That means that no matter how different or opposing our views may be we all have the right to co-exist and no group should be eliminated or exiled. Hold your horses. Before you skip the rest of this page and rush down to the comment area to sling another mud ball at me please take a deep breath, resist the temptation and try very hard to read to the end.
When I write about a particular person or group it is only my perspective of their thoughts and actions and I have a right to express that view. By attacking me you will not succeed in changing my view just as I can’t change yours by force, threats or ridicule. What you can do, however, is to try a bit of civil and rational argument and you may have a chance in convincing me. As it is your hostile tactics only have the affect of destroying an open forum. By violently attacking opposing expressions you are succeeding in creating a bland forum where only one sided views are expressed because authors of different perspectives are afraid of aggressive and humiliating treatment. It seems that the Thought Police of every faction is present in the sidelines of this forum waiting to pounce on anyone who crosses their imaginary sacred line.
And that is exactly my point in my postings. In Iran dynasties come and go and regimes change every few decades but the mentality of intolerance stays intact. The concept of co-existence is completely alien to the Iranian psyche. Every faction wants to eliminate every other faction. They claim to be different yet in essence, deep inside they are the same. It’s easy for an Islamist to shave his beard, put on a tie and speak like a royalist and vice versa, but try teaching them to listen to a differing view. It’s easier to climb Mount Everest.
Everyone has a bag load full of great comebacks ready to sling at group A, B, C or D. Everyone complains about mudslinging and intolerance yet everyone continues slinging at every chance given. Isn’t it time to break this vicious cycle? Before demanding change in others shouldn’t we demand change in ourselves. If we complain of intolerant regimes aren’t we guilty of hypocrisy if we don’t tolerate the intolerant? I compared and criticized two intolerant regimes but that doesn’t mean that I am intolerant of them. I repeat. I am not intolerant of any group. In my opinion all factions including, Monarchists, Islamists, Marxists, Nationalists, and all their varying flavors even the Mojahedeen, are part of the Iranian fabric and heritage and have every right to participate politically and freely but they must first learn to accept criticism by others and be tolerant of others. This is obviously a dream as evident from this forum which is supposed to be a small yet educated representation of the Iranian urban population. If the worldly experienced readers of Iranian.com can not learn to practice tolerance and civil debate I don’t think there is much hope for the rest of Iranians in Iran nor for their children, for decades to come.
Okay, now you can scroll down and let the mud slinging begin.
