Faramarz

Siavash

Thank you for calling MG back to reality. You are right on the mark. We are talking about loyalist Iranians;. Not those parties who fought to separate. 

By the way most Kurds; Lors and Azaris I know are loyal Iranians. They love Iran want to be Iranian and would not give it up for the world. I have many specially Lor and Azari in my family all of whom are 100% Iranian. They specially the Lor side has a lot of Kurd friends who are just as Iranian as anyone. No more separatist BS; we don't want it. And I am a slight bit more than 50 % "non Persian" meaning so called minority "genes". We all speak perfect or at least well enough Persian. And are very proud of it.

Mash Ghasem question

"Kurds and other national minorities in Iran, that have consistently opposed IR since day one, don't count in your book as Iranians" Mash Ghasem

Democratic party of Iran (Abdulrahman Ghasemloo), Komoleh, Ayatollah Hossaini (sunni leader)  and other kurdish groups were fighting with Mullahs from the day 1 because of other causes than politically benefiting Iranians people. They wanted Autonomy for Kurdish people. The same as Azari who are elements of separtists in their agenda and wanting to disintegrate Iran to the pieces. It is like Bahai or other minority religious groups who were opposed with ruling mullahs from day 1. They have their own agenda, as Saddam who invaded Iran and wanted to toppled ruling mullahs. His agenda was to take over our oil field. Now, I was talking about those political party who claimed their devotion to Iraninans and at the same time they were "Khaen". They were back stabbing our people. Under the name of "Khaleq" they took side with monster and destroyed our beautiful conuntry from shah's days.

The way we were, Iranian or not ;o)

Speaking for myself only, young and believed in things. Nowadays, cynical and nostalgic at the same time, ufff.

@VPK, you're absolutely right about "the natural order of things".  None is as dangerous as the illiterate and superstitious "joe sixpack". And when he gets into a power position, none is as cruel to his own people as he is.

About fighting for what one believes is right, Corsica singing Ahmad
Shah Massoud, Shir-e-Panjshir.

//youtu.be/QDMC68HY1PE

I flageed it

Yes I flagged "Shazedh". I am not his "honey" even if he is gay. I don't like his offensive tone. Nor do I think he is cute. The post was bullying and obnoxious. To add this was partially encouraged by his infamous blog. Where all of you came out to defend the vile language hiding behind "Zakani". One thing leads to another.

I would flag his whole blog if I could.

Rudeness a norm at IC

This is being actively encouraged by the management. With the usual gang cheer leading rudeness and nastiness to each other.

The admin speaks from both sides of their mouth. On one hand "not personal attacks". On the other hand the readership is dwindling to the lowest common denominator. My kids were asking me today "dad why do you read this ***". I was at a loss to respond. Why do I even bother to be on this site.

Shazdeh: I don't appreciate your "Charodi" statement

You are a rude person and I have  nothing to say to you. If you cannot speak like a human being then keep to yourself. Your blog told me more about you than I care to know. 

خوب گفتی‌ پیغمبر چادری - بقول شعبون خان جعفری:

"۲۸ مرداد، لات و لوت‌ها ریختند تو خیابون و حکومت رو دادند دست تحصیل کرده ها.

۲۲ بهمن، تحصیل کرده‌ها ریختند تو خیابون و حکومت رو دادند دست لات و لوت ها."

What happened to

us Iranian people? Nothing happened we are not any different. The one difference is that the power changed hands. It used to be that the stupid; ogdehi; and criminal were out of power. The revolution turned tables upside down.

The Marxists always wanted "power to everyone". They got their desire. The illiterate; dumb; ***holes got to run the show. During the Shah the "upper class" ran the place. The nation was benevolent and peaceful. Now the more numerous lower class runs the show. It is wrong and will not remain. Sooner or later the upper class will take over. Because it is the natural order of things. When that happens it will be good for all. Including the lower end themselves.

By the way. By lower class I don't mean poor. I mean dumb; illiterate; superstitious idiots who go beating themselves on Ashura. They may be rich as it gets but still "lower class". I is not the money. 

A Good Blog!

Thanks Faramarz.

really, what happened to us?

Where did these murderous lunatics came from?  The ones who dragged 14 year olds from their homes and took them to prisons where they knew they will be summarily executed?  The ones who took part in firing squads?  The ones, who to this day, attack people with chains and clubs on the streets and rape them in prisons?  The ones who are still defending this regime on this very site?  The ones who want to integrate the IR into a civilized world?  The ones who say that Ahmadinejad should be allowed to give speeches at the UN because he is "our devil," and in the same breath talk about universal justice and peace on the planet? Where were these people?  Were they always there among us and we just failed to see them?   I can kind of understand today's regime defenders.  They are creatures of 32 years of brainwashing, blind ideology and allegiance to other causes such as Palestine, etc.  But what about the ones during that first decade post revolution.  Wher did all of those monsters come from? 

BTW, my buddy Fesenjoon has this to say about what has become of us:

If Rumi and Attar were alive today, theyd be horrified at what a bunch of vindictive petty group we've become. Where has all that wisdom and spirituality gone? Where's our najeeb character disappear to? It's either all turned into crazy religious fervor, or narcissist nationalism. It's scary how the culture has mutated into something totally different from what Abu Saeed Abolkheir or Bastam or Avicenna experienced.

The lion and sun emblem was a leftover from the Ghotbzadeh era!

Faramarz jaan I had to zoom the page to 200% to read what the letter said, you shoud've cropped it to a Portrait!

Anyway, I've been reading a book (for the past couple of years ;-) recommended by Darius jaan and written by Ghotbzadeh's then girlfried who was a Canadian Producer/Journalist.  In it she recalls her conversations and life with Ghotbzadeh.

One of the constant arguments between Khomeini and Ghotbzadeh was this lion and sun emblem which Ghotbzadeh had kept to win incentives with Khomeini and Khomeini wanted it replaced with an Islamic emblem.  At some point Ghotbzadeh gave it up and in exchange he won the first draft of the constitution which did not have VF in it.

As for me, on or around the Spring of 1980 I was introduced to the concept of poverty and confused about what to do to keep myself afloat!  I was starting to work but work didn't pay much and we had to be above 2.5 GPA to get some money from Iran.

I had also been to Iran in the previous summer and as god as my witness I am not kidding, I was walking around Shahr-e Gheseh cinema area (now Azadi multiplex) and saw three women walking down towards me on the sidewalk. One of the women was wearing see through fishnet top and her boobs were showing!  No bra!  OMG my eyes were just popping out!  People (men) were staring and cat calls were abound!  I was thinking to myself viva revolution!

Besides the boob scene the main scene that I saw in Tehran those days were the bullet ridden buildings.  Just about every building had bullet holes in it.

As the 80s went on I became more and more educated in how to live in poverty!  I really thought I am going to be poor for the rest of my life and my only hope was to get a good job after I finished my Engineering school but I had my doubts!  Things have not turned out so good and the life I expected to have in Iran was turned around 180 degrees and future was really an unknown.  

Everything is sacred

...

I was surprised all political parties were supporting that rag head Islamic bastard."

Siavash: Did you see any Kurdish party, group or individuale supporting the mullahs?

Or Kurds and other national minorities in Iran, that have consistently opposed IR since day one, don't count in your book as Iranians. 

Belive it or not, some of us Iranians (Kurds, Arabs, Turkman,...), from day one of IR could not afford to have any illusions about  Islamic Republic of Hell. Our historical record is the proof.

I could feel the nightmare is coming !!!

In spring 1979, khomainie in his public appearance annonuced 98% of Iranians voted "Yes" to barbaric republic. 2% didn't. He refered to those 2% as "perverted" and wish one day they embrace Islam.

Everybody was happy shah is gone. They were looking at brighter future where there would be pure democracry and mullahs would have maken Iran like a paradise.  My gut feeling was telling me  something else. A gut feeling that something terrible would happen. I knew something is wrong, but I couldn't pinpoint it. After all it was just a feeling I had about whole revolution. I was surprised all political parties were supporting that rag head Islamic bastard. I was shocked to see Fadaeyan, Mojaheedin, Jebhe Meli, Tudeh and all those Khaen partries supporting that monster. The guy explicitly said that he has no feeling what-so-ever after 16 years exile coming back to Iran. That was a red flag for me. It didn't take very long when shah passed, I just went into a deep depression as if I lost very close dear friend. I cried all night.

Siavash   

....

joyful to read as usual; thanks

Maziar

اول انقلابمون حرفها چه عاشقانه بود!

You thought ......

You thought that all was good and a bright future was ahead of you.

Yaa start of a nice dream. In the 1990s it looked even better. Nobody ever wanted that to turn into a nightmare followed by a rude awakening. Least of all Roberto Benigni:

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cTR6fk8frs

Khod goosi o khod khandi ajab mardeh honarmandi!

Never forget you!

Actually I never forget my IC friends!

Since years, we are always in contact almost every day...We have became like the parts of the same family.

And especially , you my great friend, you are so nice and kind. Always in my mind, dear.

Souri chetori,

Just wanted to say hello, in case you've forgotten me.

O yeah, I almost forgot, the blog is great.

Oooooh....my

I shouldn't have clicked here tonight!

I am feeling so desperate and lonely in a hotel room in  the middle of Florida....just came to the site to amuse myself a bit, and what I read?

Mr Faramarz who brought up a touchy subject ....and chose to mention my favorite movie of all time, for the icing!

Baba, akheh chera ?

Very sad...very sad Faramarz jon! I don't deserve it, be khoda...

Azarin jon, so you were at the same place (Melli University) that I was at that time? I have been studing Political Science at that time (second year) .....did we ever meet there?

What a small world!

Guilty as charged ;-)

Bad Stories for Bad Kids

Thank you, Faramarz-e aziz!

Please don't give me so many "hendooneh zir-e baghal"! I am just excited that you liked The Enemies of Happiness!

I just have to remind you that this is just a work of fiction, otherwise in 1979-80 I was a math student at Melli university....so nothing was really special about me. But as you said, I think we all ended up  becoming this bizarre creature with a thick skin all around, but so mushy inside!  

Thanks again for your kind feedback! Azarin

Faramarz

I am sorry but your sense of humor passed me right by. What should be for dinner is crow for the anti Shah crowd. But I had some salmon is you really want to know.

VPK

What's for dinner?

Dear Oon Yaroo and Azarin

Dear Oon Yaroo,

In the mid 80’s I met several Iranians who were in high school when the hostage crisis happened and they had such strong emotions and deep wounds about the whole thing that I could not believe. The girls joined gangs to get protection against the bullies. This stuff was so foreign to me but I felt their pains. There were deep scars there, for sure.

Dear Azarin,

I read your beautiful story (The Enemies of Happiness) last night and was speechless about what you had endured. Your challenges were different from those of us who were in college or working at that time period. Iranians went through so much in the late 70’s and the early 80’s and it will take a long time to sort it out. But we are better and stronger as a result. Or at least that’s how I look at it.

You make all of us proud Azarin, so please keep it up!

Spring 1359

Actually, I had no hope for a better world during that particular time...since the islamists had already attacked the universities to cleanse the place with their cultural cleansing. Our future seemed uncertain. Most of my friends (those who had money) had already left and I knew that I couldn't. I spent my time reading Plato, Nietzsche and Sartre during the day... and at night I read Kafka and Beckett.

But I didn't know that the worst was still to come. 

Thanks for the blog...but no thanks for the memories!

Faramarz, right after the taking of the hosatges on 4 Nov 79...

we were getting harassed a lot in Boston by the Irish and Italian kids.

So, a bunch of us decided to become part-time security guards, you know the uniform, the badge, and the baton...That gave us a bit of self confidence ...

This actually helped us a lot to turn a couple of nasty encounters with Ir-It gangs in our favor!  

We did have a new Iran

for a few months under Dr. Bakhtyar. But he was betrayed by JM who picked Khomeini over him {genius at work}. No political prisoners and the whole thing.Not good enough for JM. They had to take out their hate of Shah on Iran.

The MEK types were hopeless so I won't even bother with them. It just happened that I expected more from JM. Islamists were "smart" enough to get their way. Dumb enough to ruin the nation. Here we are thanks to Jimmy Carter; JM; MEK you name it.

Where are we going to go? I have no idea. Except that some JM types now are lobbying hard for MEK. Proof that some people never learn no matter what. Do I expect any different from them: not any more; they had their chance and blew it. 

Good Times

Dear Oon Yaroo,

The Council General in SF was a nice guy back then and he took care of us. God Bless Him.

R2-D2,

You are right. Back then we all had to do an FBI interview and then a visit to an immigration judge! We paid our dues for sure!

Anahid,

18th of Farvardin is the date on the letter above from the SF Consulate.

Faramarz jan, In spring of 1979 and 1980

I was still student. In spring of 1979, I was going to a coed high school and in 1980, our school had been separated to boys and girls. Oon Yaro is correct that by spring of 1980, situation had become worse but I think that the worst of worsening (if this can be an expression) started after spring of 1981. Any way, in response to your question, I was a student. By the way, why are you asking about

18 Farvardeen?

The Road To Hell .....

Is Paved With Good Intentions :)

P.S. At The Time The Above Letter Was Written By The Iranian Council In San Fransisco, We Had To Go To The Immigration Office There, To Get Finger Printed, And Our Photos Taken -

Per The Hospitality Of The Incompetent Mr. Carter ..... !