Demonstration, Los Angeles style
"What do we want? Freedom! When do we want
it? After I fix my hair!"
By Katayoon Hadizadeh
July 11, 2003
The Iranian
July 8,
5:00-7:00 PM
Santa Monica Federal Building
I arrived for the July 9th anniversary demonstration
shortly after 5. The number of people shocked me. There were
about 10,000
people.
Perhaps
more.
They seemed well-organized. Most held similar placards and posters
with the same slogans >>> See photos
To my disappointment there were
a lot of pictures of the former Shah's son, Reza Pahlavi.
No offence, but the demonstration was supposed to be in
support of Iranian university students, rather than any particular
person or political group.
They had even hired a small plane pulling a banner
that read: "Reza Pahlavi for a Free Iran". Every
time,
it
went by people would jump and wave their hands. Their enthusiasm
made you think perhaps Reza Pahlavi himself was in the plane!
Police
had closed Wilshire Blvd. from the 405 Freeway entrance up to
the end of Westwood, near the UCLA campus. That
was no easy job. It was the most crowded time of
the day and that area is a busy location. People marched from
the Federal Building to the middle of Westwood and back.
Some of the slogans:
-- "United Nations, pay more attention!"
-- "What do
we want? Freedom! When do we
want it? Now!"
-- "Down with Islamic Republic of Iran!"
-- "Daneshjoo, Daneshjoo,
hemaayatat mikonim!" (Students we support
you!)
-- "Daneshjoo, Daneshjoo, raahat edaame daard!" (Students we will
continue your path!)
Most
were dressed up. They
wore stiletto-heal shoes and made
sure their hair looked perfect. White Luis
Vuitton bags and fake eyeglasses caught the eye every 5 minutes.
After all, demonstrating is a social activity
and what better place to meet
cool Persian guys and girls?
Participants
in the demonstration fell into two
categories. One were the older
generation
who left Iran around the revolution. It was
obvious that they
have fond memories
of
the good
old days and would long to visit their home
and family, provided there is respect
for human rights. The second
group are the younger generation born and
raised outside Iran who may not have even visited
the country.
There weren't many people like me in the march; people
who spent a good part of their life
in Iran
and then came to the US
in recent years. The demonstration was
near the UCLA campus, but there were only a small number of student
participants. The presence
of this significant group was missed, especially when you consider
that the event was to support students in Iran.
The only reason I can think of for this absence
is that certain Iranian-Americans in Los Angeles are turn-offs.
We
feel
ridiculous seeing
our compatriots spending hours dressing
up for a political
demonstration. In such a crowd, support
for students in Iran becomes secondary to
rallying cries
for Reza
Pahlavi.
There are cultural
elements in such actions that I do not understand; I am
not a
sociologist. But I thought about
what I've seen back in Iran and compared it to what I saw in the
Los
Angeles rally. Then I realized it was not all that shocking.
Consumption of cosmetics in Iran is significantly
higher than other countries. Before I moved to the US, I thought
maybe people are overdoing it with cosmetics because of oppression;
or because
women are deprived of the right to show their
natural hair, and therefore
they took refuge in cosmetics to regain part of that lost self-esteem.
Now I think it might be a trend inherited from our
ancestors. With
so many live
examples in this town, can you prove otherwise? >>> See photos
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