Letters
October 30-November 3, 2000 / Aban 9-13, 1379
Today
* U.S. elections:
- Nader helping Bush
- Voters wanted
* Attitude:
- Manzoor?
* Hoveyda:
- Quite didactic
Previous
* Shah:
- Primitives
rule Iran because of the Shah
* Rumi:
- Whole
new world
* U.S. elections:
- The
wrong man
* War:
- Raw
destruction
* Photo:
- Iranian
of the year
* Terrorism:
- Unequal
in the eyes of America
* Hostage:
- I
was a hostage in Tehran
* Hoveyda:
- I
know because he was my father
- Some
people don't get it
- MAN-made issue
- Misguided
pseudo-intellectualism
* Hejab:
- We
love Iran too
- You insulted all of
us
- Mind
your own business
* Khatami:
- Een
kojaa o aan kojaa
* Homosexulaity:
- Damn
ignorant
* Sciolino:
- Read
the book
email us
Friday,
November 3, 2000
* Nader helping Bush
I appreciated Babak Yektafar's piece, "The
other guy". And Ralph Nader - a long-time crusader for consumers'
rights and a clean environment - risks becoming just that: the other guy.
Babak's questions about Nader's motives are right on target. To my Iranian-American
left and liberal friends, I ask you to consider the impact of voting for
a candidate whose 4-5% will supposedly open up the American political process
in a tight presidential race.
Although Nader may lift the Green Party out of relative and undeserved
obscurity, he seems oblivious to the concerns of those who might be among
his natural constituents - the working poor whose social safety net Bush
will shred, and women whose right to privacy Bush appointees to the Supreme
Court would likely overturn.
The choices in this contest a very real, as will be the consequences.
Haleh Vaziri
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* Voters wanted
I am a filthy rich businessman. A well-dressed womanizer who loves to
give exciting meaningless speeches and understands the value of fine wine
and hand-wrapped Cuban cigars. Due to my exhaustion from the enjoyment
of an extravagant life and by recommendation of my psychotherapist, recently
I have developed an interest in politics and am planning to run for office.
Just a few days ago, I have been informed by my political advisors that
my wealth and family connections are necessary but not enough to achieve
my goals. Therefore to properly feed my huge ego and fulfill my twisted
needs, I am currently looking for millions of qualified voters to help
me in the upcoming elections.
If you are physically capable of waving the flag and cheering every
few minutes during speechs, specially when you don't understand what the
heck I am talking about, you are qualified. Thinking is not necessary but
qualified candidates must be naive and gullible voters who love to be taken
advantage of and willing to actively participate in our democratic election
process.
Saeed Tavakkol
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* Manzoor?
After reading "Positive
attitude" in the Anyway section, the first thing that popped in
my mind was "manzoor?"
If the piece is a statement about one's constitution, then we are getting
into the nature/nurture debate. I've spent the last two weeks serving as
a juror in a murder case. I've had the opportunity, or shall I say misfortune,
of delving into the psyches of angry young people who seem to have never
had a break.
Having a positive attitude is fine and dandy, so long as one doesn't
belong to an underprivileged, disenfranchised class. Don't you think?
S.M.
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* Quite didactic
Well put ["Curbing
men"]. Remnants of ancient, phallic nomadic mentality within our
culture need to be annihilated. However short, your essay was quite didactic.
Your suggestion for sexual equality as a means of repenting for past
acrimonious outlook upon women's rights in Persian culture is reverenced.
Thank you for the erudition.
Reza
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Thursday
November 2, 2000
* Read the book
As an Iranian-American who just finished reading Persian
Mirrors by Elaine Sciolino I have to say that I am very surprised and
disappointed at the letters I have read regarding the book in The Iranian.
It seems many have not read the book. For those who are commenting without
having read the whole book, I encourage you to read it in its entirety
first before commenting on it. The excerpt, "The
twelve rules" is a very personal experience for the author and
should not be used to judge the rest of the book. I personally found the
rules to be accurate myself, whether they are human or Iranian characteristics,
but again, this is personal...
Laleh
Khalili's letter is even more cliche and uninformed. Her self-righteous
and self-absorbed comments are pointless. Somehow she believes that she,
or other Iranians, are the rightful owners or interpreters of Iranian culture.
This is the most dangerous phenomenon of the Iranian mind. Ms. Khalili,
what makes you think your version of reality is not an illusion? What gives
you the right to interpret Iranian culture or Amerian culture and then
call other interpretations and experiences an illusion? Your arrogant comments
are baseless. You may disagree, but at least tell us what you disagree
on, unless it's an illusion, of course. Wait, have you read the book? >>>
FULL TEXT
Mojdeh Mohseni
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* Primitives rule Iran because of the Shah
Dear and esteemed Lida Khanoom, regarding your
rambling letter, I am a successful multinational industrialist with
tremendous self esteem who has a nasty habit of always calling a spade
a spade and not a shovel ["Shah
should be fully blamed"]. I mourn for my country every minute
of every day and when I conduct the final calculation of how it all went
wrong, logic always takes my hand and leads me to the serious errors of
the late Shah, his secular, self-centered and centralized regime >>> FULL
TEXT
Kambiz Ameli
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* We love Iran too
Regarding Sadaf's letter "Mind
your own business", I am an Iranian teenager who was born in the
U. S. Both my parents are Iranian and they supported women's rights in
Iran during the revolution. Because of their activism they had to escape
by foot in 1982 through the Zagros Mountains and left every single worldly
possession they had in Iran.
My parents loved Iran more than you could ever EVER understand... Please
think twice before saying a comment like that unless you completly understand
what the people you are attacking have gone through >>>
FULL TEXT
Maral
* Whole new world
I am so pleased to find your translations
of Rumi. I do not read or write Farsi, but these translations have
opened up a whole new world to me. And the way you translate them, someone
who is a novice like me can get a true feeling for the words. I thank you
so much and keep up the good work.
Sarshar
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Wednesday
November 1, 2000
* I know because he was my grandfather
Although Fereydoun Hovyeda's opinion piece titled "Curbing
men" makes a good point regarding the need for men to curb sexual
desire, he has distorted some facts in order to strengthen his point.
The International Herald Tribune article he cites about General
Hassan Akhavi's "order" to ban pretty secretaries was not an
attempt to deny work for attractive women, that is ludicrous. It was an
attempt to encourage these so-called lusty men to hire a woman on her abilities
and not solely on her looks...
For the record, I know this General was not a provincial and chauvinistic
man obsessed with stymieing women's liberation and struggle for equality.
I know this because he was my grandfather >>>
FULL TEXT
Negar Akhavi
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* The wrong man
Ramin Tabbib's article ["The
best man"] in support of Al Gore strikes me as naïve. Gentlemen,
you have picked the wrong man. Ramin Tabbib gives us a long list of Gore's
credentials in support of his so-called great wit and fitness for the office.
But don't be too impressed. The guy is as phony as hell. I won't be even
surprised if we later learn that he cheated his way through the college.
Surprisingly, Mr. Tabib failed to mention Al Gor's opportunistic exploits.
Al Gore's obsession with the Jewish vote and power is nothing new. In
1988 Al Gore run for the president for the first time. This was just a
few months after the beginning of the Palestinian uprising (Intafada).
Because of the worldwide publicity around the Israeli atrocities toward
the Palestinians hardly any politician dared to publicly support the Israeli
policy. Al Gore was the first politician to do so >>>
FULL TEXT
J. Namazi
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* Raw destruction
For those of us who were out of Iran by the time the war wit Iraq had
begun, I don't think it is possible to imagine what must have been happening
there in the early 1980's. It was a period of chaos and terror, and one
which we were wholly absent as we were beginning lives here and around
the world.
For the Iranian who left, hearing about the war with Iraq was an unreal,
distant atrocity reported by cold, distant American journalists who often
made no mention of gravity of the situation, nor gave us the images to
understand what exactly was going on over there.
These photos of Khorramshahr ["Rape"]
end any kind of doubt as to what transpired in Iran during the war >>>
FULL TEXT
Roozbeh Shirazi
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Tuesday
October 31, 2000
* Unequal in the eyes of America
Letter to The Washington Post: I am an Iranian-American living
in Washington and was quite upset with the dollar amounts quoted in the
article on Sunday Oct 22, "Terrorism
Victims Set Precedent".
In one part of your article you state that Terry Anderson and the rest
of the families of the former hostages will receive approximately $161
million from Iran for their time in captivity in Lebanon... Once again,
based on this formula American lives are always worth more than non-Americans
>>>
FULL TEXT
Sepehr Haddad
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* You insulted all of us
I read your response ["Mind
your own business"] with regard to hejab "Hal-e
moshkel-e hejaab". By calling all Iranians who have left the country
escapees, you have insulted all of us.
The only reason we left our beloved Iran has been people like you who
think forcing women to have hejab is not a problem. We left and stayed
away because there are people like you who think it is their God's given
right to tell other people what to do, what to wear, what to read, what
to listen to, and what to drink. It is because of people like you that
our country has been destroyed >>>
FULL TEXT
Masood
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* Some people don't get it
Some people just don't get the humor in a humorous essay ["Curbing
men"]. Mr. Hovayda's piece was both fun to read and reflective
of our recent past. His remark about "the general" being a Muslim
has more to do with Iranian attitudes toward sexuality than religion as
an individual choice. I, for one, enjoyed Mr. Hovayda's wonderful piece
and hope to see more like it. We should all lighten up a bit.
Farzan Navab
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* MAN-made issue
Being of the female species, I can relate to your article about curbing
men's sexual desire ["Curbing
men"]. However, I believe this is a universal problem.
Female victims of rape for example, are put on the defense even in the
most liberal cultures. Many movies have been made on the subject in the
West. I like to find out when it all started, this inequality!
If one is a believer of the Bible, I guess God started it. But I'm hoping
this is a MAN-made issue. Thanks for caring.
Mina
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* Iranian of the year
Begoo aks-e
Hassan Agha ro dar haal-e jish kardan beferesteh keh Iranian of the
Year besheh :-)
Reza F.
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Monday
October 30, 2000
* I was a hostage in Tehran
You do not know me but, I am certain that you will know my name and
the small part I played back in 1979 as I was one of the 52 Americans held
as hostage by your nation. After eighteen years my thoughts are still about
the situation that we faced back then. Scared out of our wits, not sure
if we would live or die, and wondering why Iran had done such a terrible
thing >>>
FULL TEXT
William E. Belk
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* Misguided pseudo-intellectualism
This is a response to Mr. Hoveyda's recent commentary about an incident
in 1957 ["Curbing
men"]. Mr. Hoveyda makes the proposition that one man's idiotic
notions of male superiority has to do with his religious faith. He claims
that "The general was probably a practicing Muslim."
Mr. Hoveyda, "probably" is not good enough. You draw such
a grand and substantial conclusion by reading a piece of an article in
some foreign journal in 1957. What wisdom and foresight you must posses!
There are very few people in the world that can genuinely conclude that
all things stupefying could be examined in terms of a person's faith...
Shame on such person who belittles what his country and Iranians have
to offer to the world and instead chooses to rub into our faces his misguided
pseudo-intellectual prowess >>>
FULL TEXT
Rasoul Hajikhani
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* Mind your own business
