2008 Woodie Awards
An Iranian weighs in
By: Mina Tehrani
Issue date: 10/5/07 Section: Opinion
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In case you didn't get a chance to look at Alex Park's editorial in last week's Mac Weekly, I'll give you an overview. If you know anything about Iran, the senselessly disrespectful language would have made you shudder. If you don't know so much, it would have given you the impression that the president of Iran is a crazed tyrant who regularly kills innocent children, that Iran is a "terrorist" state, and that the Iranian people are generally not a factor outside of their being oppressed.
I have unfortunately heard such language before, as it has for some reason become acceptable to use when talking about Iran. The core problem here is the lack of respect: the knee-jerk dismissal of people who don't speak and think the same way as us.
An Iranian blogger is quoted in the Sept. 30 New York Times as saying, "Insulting the president of a country, no matter how unacceptable his point of view, is synonymous to insulting a nation." The Iranians I know are deeply offended by what they have heard in the American media. And the last thing the world needs is more insulted, angry people.
For me, an Iranian American who grew up in New York and Tehran, what happened when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Columbia, and the way the press covered his visit, struck very close to home. But most upsetting was what I found in my own college newspaper.
At Macalester, we pride ourselves on being culturally sensitive and politically correct. So perhaps Mr. Park did not realize that some would find his editorial offensive. Or, like Lee Bollinger, perhaps he noticed that his view was the popular one, and that whatever his opponent said would be laughed at and booed.
But remember that in the Middle East, much of the developing world, and among his own country's working class, Ahmadinejad is immeasurably popular. There's no point in being dismissive and mocking, or in labeling as "fanatics" people who strongly disagree with us; indeed, there's no excuse for it. What Americans need to do is to listen carefully to what millions of people are saying about Israel, America, nuclear bombs, and injustice. Americans need to have the respect to consider how our editorials and news stories sound from these people's perspective. From many of the things I've read, it's clear that many of us have no idea - if we did, we would talk and write in a different way.
I have unfortunately heard such language before, as it has for some reason become acceptable to use when talking about Iran. The core problem here is the lack of respect: the knee-jerk dismissal of people who don't speak and think the same way as us.
An Iranian blogger is quoted in the Sept. 30 New York Times as saying, "Insulting the president of a country, no matter how unacceptable his point of view, is synonymous to insulting a nation." The Iranians I know are deeply offended by what they have heard in the American media. And the last thing the world needs is more insulted, angry people.
For me, an Iranian American who grew up in New York and Tehran, what happened when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Columbia, and the way the press covered his visit, struck very close to home. But most upsetting was what I found in my own college newspaper.
At Macalester, we pride ourselves on being culturally sensitive and politically correct. So perhaps Mr. Park did not realize that some would find his editorial offensive. Or, like Lee Bollinger, perhaps he noticed that his view was the popular one, and that whatever his opponent said would be laughed at and booed.
But remember that in the Middle East, much of the developing world, and among his own country's working class, Ahmadinejad is immeasurably popular. There's no point in being dismissive and mocking, or in labeling as "fanatics" people who strongly disagree with us; indeed, there's no excuse for it. What Americans need to do is to listen carefully to what millions of people are saying about Israel, America, nuclear bombs, and injustice. Americans need to have the respect to consider how our editorials and news stories sound from these people's perspective. From many of the things I've read, it's clear that many of us have no idea - if we did, we would talk and write in a different way.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Ryan A Simon
posted 10/10/07 @ 2:23 AM CST
Both articles on Ahmadinejad were very interesting, each with their own merits. I think I stand somewhere in the middle. I agree with Ms. Tehrani that it is dangerous to make generalizations about "Iran" as an entity and that its people generally deserve separation from the government. (Continued…)
mehdi
posted 10/14/07 @ 9:28 AM CST
salam lotf konid dar mored porject deton baram be farsi mil bezanid
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