PARADE

Long Live Iran

Aslan shomaha ru chi darin bas mikonin!!

Iran = Persian
baba enqad sakht nagirin.
if you go back far enough we are just the sons and daughters of Cyrus.

This parade is a salutation to our proud history, our kings, the Persian empire and Iran.
Who gives a sh*& anyway if we call it "persian parade", a Parade is a Parade, you don't walk down a street waving like some fool unless you want to promote yourself.

Ma irani hastim rahe khodemuno mirim.. doost nadari?.. befarmo boro tavile!!

You American-Iranians really make me angry, you live in a country with less than 500 years of History and you call yourselves American.
you should all wise up, be loyal to your people and promote good relations and promote a better Iran!

better still, come and move to Melbourne! I will teach you a lesson or two on what Iran means.

Ham vattanam! age ma, ma nabashim baraye 500 sal dige, dobare (messe 500 sal ghabl) hichi nemishim va ashggal bad az ashghal miad vatanemuno mifrushe!!

or for those less farsi savii.... we need to unite because jsut like the last 500 years, for the next 500 year failure after failure will come and lead our country and take advantage of us.

zende bash iran

Racist Blackface?!?

If we need evidence that our "Persian" hamshahris are not yet fully assimilated into the US, we only have to look at the aberoo-rizi of having a blackfaced Hajji Firuz running around 5th Avenue in New York representing our national holiday. What does that look like to African-Americans, or really to any American? It looks like racism. Great job, hamshahrian. Now I'll be forever embarrassed to admit to being from Iran.

NO IRAN WAR????????

I dont see one NO IRAN WAR being held anywhere??!?!?!?!?!?!? If these people love Iran so much, the least they can do is hold a placard and say we are against an american invasion of our country. No you may say this is cultural event, not political. I disagree. This is best time for people to see that we iranians living in america oppose a war. when else can we mobilize? why not use norooz to mobilize for such a worthy cause?

Have a Happy New Year!

PLEASE...Live and let live, people!
Have a Happy New Year! Be Happy!

There's not a heck of a lot of happiness to go around all the time ... so let's take advantage of what we have available to us at this moment...
Let's not sweat the small stuff( although for some the small stuff may in fact be the real thing)... it's just not worth it.

Let's just hang on to every little bit of happiness that we have.
Let's just love and appreciate this single given moment.

I just lost my cherished only cousin and a beloved best friend over the past 25 days(both to disease)... and I feel there is little to hang on to in this world at this moment... so, so among ourselves: why the bickering? why the bitterness? Why the bellicosity?
Truthfully, is it really worth it my friends?
Is it really?

2008 PERSIAN PARADE

DOOROOD Hamvatan gerami Nooroozetan Perooz Har Roozetan Noorooz , I saw someone making a comment about the flags in New York Persian that belong to the MKO. Please go and read your history before making a comment!!!! The Lion and Sun has been in our history from 2500 years ago. No one, I mean No one can claim our flag for their own group! belongs to all Iranians, NOT people that are pro monarchy, MKO or pro republic, can claim this flag for themselves!!! People around the world are proud of their heritage and history. We should learn from people around the world. Learn from our history and look to see what we can do for our nations future. The flag of lion and sun is our birth cirtificate. We should hold it to our heart and keep it dear. And one last thing, NO ONE men should have the right to change this flag, like what happened in 1979. Flag is a "Hoveyate Melli" DOES NOT HAVE TO DO ANYTHING WITH THE RELIGION OF ANY ONE!!!!! the THUGS that running our beautiful country, have placed religous signs on our nations flag. iranbbb.org

good job

very nice job but why the color of flower like gay color's?

Mola N.... Faryar is My REAL name!

In response to you. dear Mola Nasredeen!

My real name is faryar, what is your real name?

I lived in both the UK and the US between 1979 and 1981.

If some called themselves Persians, they were not wrong for whatever reason.. now that "ignorant" and the less than informed" have managed to confuse the hell out of an already clueless American Media about our history and  identity...even you and i have to argue about this self inflicted confusion.

peace

Faryar 

Friend: OK BOSS

Looking at the bright side,

"between 5000 to 25000 people participated in the parade" and they all look excited and happy.

That's what is all about.

mola on the road

Cut it Out

Dear Molla and AA,

GIVE IT A REST ! AJABA, Masallan its Norouz!

Stop the bitching about stuff that's in the Past & have a Happy and Chill New Year:)

Faryarm: here we go again....

My little friend Faryarm,

Why do you insult some one who does not agree with you?

You say: "Equally laughable but tragic is the ignorant and too common a statement by the less than informed Iranian opinion, that the use of Persian is somehow a way to evade one's Iranian identity."

Where did you live during the years 1979 and 1981?

What does Faryarm means anyway?

We have Asghar, Akbar, Mamad, what kind of name is Faryarm?

Go ahead and do a little research about why many (pay attention: many not all) Iranians started calling themselves Persians.

Mola on the road

Mola LOL, damet garm!

Mola LOL, damet garm!

Iranians did Not "start" calling themselves Persians....

Iranians did not start calling  themselves Persians;Iran was simply too new a term to the western ear..It took our "proud" revolution and its "noble" deeds to make the name Iran and EyeRan a familiar term to Americans and the world.

Iranians Before and AFTER the revolution have always been Known as Persians in the west;and every piece of western literature (pre 1980) about iranians would prove that. Unfortunately many who arrived in the west after the revolution without speaking or the ability to read English are not aware of this and think of the term as some kind of an escape from persecution. 

It did not help either, when all but ONE (Parviz Gharib-Afshar) of the newly arrived Gentlemen running the many TV and Radio shows which mushroomed in Los Angeles in early 1980s did not speak english, not to mention they had little education or experience or professional license to represent the community to the mainstream American community.

It is the fault of the exiled Persian speaking media's blind leadership that has not prevented our language in the west to be commonly refereed to as Farsi and not Persian. I have even heard the BBC's Persian Service refer to Farsi, no doubt because of the rising influence of its use in the US.

Westerners and in particular the cultured and the educated class simply knew more about Persia than Iran.  

Until mid 1930's  Iran in its present size and with its myriad races and tribes was called and known as PERSIA and Persian as its national Language, not FARSI, and westerners commonly refereed to us as Persians.

As Iran and Iranian was too new. 

We have to thank the 1979 Hostage crisis and in particular Ted Coppel's ABC NEWS produced  NIGHTLINE, for putting Iran on the world map for most Americans, who were and still are tragically ignorant of world geography. 

Ted Coppel's nightly countdown of the Hostage situation and in turn the mention of Iran and Iranians as Hostage takers made the never heard before term "EYEranian"  what it is today; one totally foreign to those in Europe and the rest of the world.

Equally laughable but tragic is the ignorant and too common a statement by the less than informed Iranian opinion, that the use of Persian is somehow a way to evade one's Iranian identity.

As one who grew up in the Europe and America prior to the 1979 evolution, in the mid 60s and 70s, one almost never was refered to as Iranian, nor did one EVER hear any Persian speaker fluent in the English language use the term FARSI. When asked, I was always from Iran and my spoken language was Persian.

AA: my little fish, there's a reason many Iranians call thems...

My little fish,

Discrimination is the main reason why Iranians started to call themselves Persians in the United States.

You wrote you could not find any resources on google to prove discrimination, threats and shootings against Iranians during hostage crisis in USA. Well I did a little research of my own (I was about to doubt myself).

The first related article that I found was published right here on the Iranian website (you probably think this a conspiracy). The URL is: //iranian.com/Opinion/2001/May/Iranians/index.html

It is an article done by a researcher. I've included some of the findings of the reseacher here if you don't have the time to read the whole article.

"

1. It was clear from the job applications we got when I was at [college's name] that highly qualified Iranians, with degrees from top U.S. schools, were not getting jobs. Compare this to some members of eligible groups who come from elite and privileged backgrounds, yet receive generous benefits, even though their families did not arrive in the U.S. until post-1965, and hence did not confront the harsh treatment of earlier arrivals."

 2. "One Muslim Iranian respondent in our survey recounted his worst experience of discrimination during the hostage crisis:With seven years of professional experience and education I received no responses from any companies to which I was sending my resume. Then I changed my name from Mohammad to Mike in my resume and immediately got four responses, including one from a company that had not responded to MohammadWhen the US helicopters crashed in Iran (during the hostage rescue operations) my already-signed job contract was canceled. I lost my job because my first day coincided with the taking of the hostages in Iran. When I reported to work they told me that they had changed their minds about hiring me. An American customer returned our merchandise once he knew we were Iranian. My children were beaten up on the bus. I was not allowed to teach at UCLA or any other university to which I applied. They told me I was too old but I knew it was because of my being Iranian."

3. "Anti-Iranian slogans were written on the walls of my workplace. One day I received a bomb-threat at his workplace. During the hostage crisis they smashed and destroyed my car at school. They broke the windows of the Iranian American Association"

 4, 5, 6.  Family and children:My wife and children were insulted at work and in school. They also insulted us so much in our apartment building that we had to move out of there. They called us "dirty Iranians."My children would come home crying because their classmates told them they hated Iranians and that they must leave the country. Although the question asked about the most serious experience of discrimination, some respondents replied in terms of their perception of prejudice. This is indicative of a high perception of prejudice among Iranians, as documented above quantitatively.I graduated at the time and was qualified for work but all employers rejected my resumes. I think this was because I was Iranian. My son was beaten in school. Later, when my son was being interviewed for entrance to medical school, he was rejected because he was Iranian.""The following quotes report experiences of discrimination after the hostage crisis in the late 1980s.A Bahai fast-food restaurant owner told us, "some of my customers have regretted having eaten at my restaurant after finding out I am Iranian." Another Iranian summed up the influence of the media on American public opinion towards Iranians, "The daily behavior of Americans depends on what they said about Iranians on TV the night before."The woman quoted above, whose children had been mistreated at school, quipped that "My children are still being treated the same way in school.""Lastly, someone said, "I went to the Burbank airport to get hired. They didn't accept me saying 'you're a terrorist'."Other sources, such as the following selected headlines in the New York Times during the hostage crisis (1979-1980), independently attest to the Iranian immigrants' plight:"Iranian students in U.S. frustrated by American hostility""Some Iranians in U.S. have been intimidated and assaulted""Iranians trying to avoid mandatory repatriation"

7."Immigration & Naturalization Service says it will not permit tens of thousands of Iranian visitors to extend their stays in U.S."

Mola on the road

There were 25,000 people

There were 25,000 people there according to nyc
police. The parade had floats of all the minority groups.
Just want to tell people in the other cities,
what do you guys do to bring everybody together?

Iran means all of us

My family tree roots back to 800 years of being "Persian". However I'd never be Iranian if it weren't for Kurds, Lors, Azeris, Baluchis, Bakhtiaris, Arabs and so on. Thanks to hand full of insecure "omolz", being Persian has become full of empty "Eddeaa" these days! Being Persian is only one of many ingradients used in lets say "Kashkeh Bademjoon" (including the Barbari, sabzi and tadeeg on the side ... followed by a shot of chilled vodka). What kind of "eddeaa" is Pendar neek,goftar neek and raftar neek when "Persians" think they're better than Arabs and so on?!?!?

Happy new year to all Iranians ... Afghans and Tajiks around the world. You are all beautiful and I'd hug and kiss if not bang every single one of you.

By the way ... the festival in NY is extremely "Ozgal-like". We need to hire a few artists to design less "Omoli-style" floats and costumes. We truly looked 5th world during the 6th eyd celebration in NY. Come on folks...let's step it up and fire that Jack-ass "haji-feerooz"...it's embarrassing in front the African American marching band!

Persia/Persian to me has

Persia/Persian to me has always had the meaning of
Iran/Iranian. Never have I thought of it as a seperation tool.

I am not from the province of Fars, in fact I'm Partly from Khuzestan and Partly from Gilan.

I am both Iranian and Persian and I love that land(sarzamin)...ALL of it.

Kurdish warrior

I sure hope I'm right in this issue, I think no body uses the word "Persian" to exclude any other ethnicity like Kords, Aazaris, Lors, Baloochs, Arabs,Gilaks  etc...etc...and if they do with this intentions, then I totally agree with you that this is un healthy and dangerous for motherland.

NOROOZ PEEROOZ 

Please refrain from Persian word and make it Iranian instead

By calling this Persian parade you are only referring to Persian Crowd and not Iranians. We need to stop this nonsense. This is Iranian New Year which belongs to all Iranian groups. Please choose your words carefully as some groups might use it as a tool for separatism. Happy New Year to all Iranians.

Mola On The Road, Pulling Facts Out of a Bag

In response to your inquiry, I'm Iranian and I'm not angry as you'd like to think. "Farsi ham baladam vali Ingilism behtareh barayeh inkeh mesl shoma faghat ba Iraniha vaght nemgzaranam".

Your statements are contradictory. You first state that "Go ahead and do a research on Google and you'll see what went done." You then go on to state: "This is the hidden history of all minorities living in USA."

We'll if the facts indicating Iranians were so commonly discriminated against, beaten up, killed, etc.. during the hostage crisis show up with a Google search, how could it be a "hidden" history. Also, how did it now link to "all minorities living in the USA".

Additonally, I did as you suggested and Google searched and nothing showed up. Would you please include in your response the links to those pages which showed up on your Google search.

Mola, I think you're the angry one. Your Iranian pride doesn't stem from a genuine belief in your rich history and traditions. Rather, it serves as a shield to hide behind because you didn't make it in the US and feel out of place in this country.

I suggest you go back to Iran for a visit. In a matter of a few weeks, you'll realize they too either "tah velet nemigerand" or envy you; unless they have a daughter to marry off to you for a Green Card. You'll then come to the realization that there are no people as accepting and loving as Americans.

AA: Astaghfor allah

Dear AA,

Why are you so angry?

Are you even Iranian?

Write a sentence in Farsi to prove it and we go from there.

Now, Iranians who lived during the hostage crisis in USA were shot at, were discriminated against, lost their jobs, were beaten up on the streets of LA, Chicago, etc. Go ahead and do a research on Google and you'll see what went done. This is the hidden history of all minorities living in USA. Wisen up.

Happy Norooz to you too,

Mola on the road 

Thank you

There is so many stereo types but the worst part
is for the second generations, these guys have no ties
to Iran except their names. You might have changed an Archie (as in Archie Bunker show)

I was hoping my picture

I was hoping my picture would show up somewhere here, like it did last year! I'm sure more people will send in their pix of the event too.
To all the "Negies" --that's the ones with a negative attitude-- The Parade was great... there were LOTS of people there and the whole atmosphere was terrific, the sun was out although a little on the chilly side, but I(we) just loved it.
We were a group of 7 family and friends... we had a great time and the jujeh kabab we had for lunch was great too!
Shoma ham saal-e digeh biyayid kheili khoob bood!

Mola on The Road is certainly as sharp as a Mola

Mola on the road, stop fooling yourself and others. Iranian didn't start calling themselves Persian because their lives were in danger. Exactly how many hate crimes have there been reported by Iranians in the past 30 years?

Don't take any polls out of context. To regard a country as an enemy does not mean its people are regarded as the enemy. For example, Cuba may be regarded as an US enemy but it doesn't stop Cubans from calling themselves Cuban, nor are their lives in danger here.

I was here when Iranians took the hostages and I didn't feel my life in danger then or now. From the way you write English I can't imagine you were in the States in 1979, and if you were you certainly don't seem all that educated. Maybe "Americans" don't treat you well not because you are Iranian but because you are not all that sharp and haven't come to understand the culture around you after 30 years.

Missing point to my photo essay

There was above 5000 people there!

I have been in all five of them and by far this was the best of all with more crowds to show up.

My 13 years old son pushed me to go this time.  He had to give up his soccer game which I was reluctant to do so but he reminded me the parade happens once a year and our presence is the bare minimum to support. Please forget about politics and enjoy the beauty of presentation that I tried my best to capture. The name is not as important as the dignity and proud this brings for us I wished many times that our country was all about flowers, dance, friendship and happiness as the parade was TRYING to present!

Start 1387 with a clear mind and heart! May love nests there with peace.

Regards,

Alireza

 Alireza Tarighian

Mr.Tarighian...

...Thank you so much for the pictures.

36,37,44 are my favorites....Beautiful Ladies in lovely dresses.

regard,Mona :)

P.S.Wishing you a Happy New Year,and all the best things for you and your Dear family.

Thanks

Thanks so much for sharing the beautiful pictures.

I have no idea why some people just see the negative side of all things.

This is celebration and happiness, just be happy and don't criticise everything you see.

AA: Iran is under attack here so we call ourselves Persians

Dear AA,

You should know better. We are not exactly the most popular minority in the USA. According to the latest poll published today %25 of Americans name Iran as the number one enemy of USA. Now, remember the hostage crisis of 1980's? That's when Iranians started to call themseleves Persians. Their lives were in danger here.

Mola on the road

I was there and it was

I was there and it was great... it's getting better as each year passes.
Best of luck to all who make it possible, and thanks for all your efforts.
Hopefully I'll be there with more friends next year.
Love,
Nazanin

Do American-Italians Hold a "Roman Parade"

Why do they name it the "Persian Parade" and not "Iranian Parade". Do Italians still call themselves Roman. I know why, because we are ashamed of being Iranian and only proud of our ancestors of 2,500 years ago (the Persians).

Why ashamed? Because we haven't done jack the past 2,000 plus years.

Maybe its time to stop this feeling of bloat.

MANY THANKS TO THOSE WHO DID THIS WONDEFUL PARADE¡¡

I AM HAPPY THAT THIS EVENT HAS GONE DONE.

CONGRATULATION ALL THE PERSON WHO HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE THERE.

MANY THANKS TO ALL THOSE PERSON DID THE GOOD WORK.

HAPPY NOROUZ¡¡¡