Different Words address Different Worlds!

Iranians shave heads to protest political prisoner ‘abuse’

http://goo.gl/nyrqp8

Every language has different worlds not just different ways to communicate. When something happens in the persian language world I cannot think about it in English. I can not read English, listen to western music when I live in the persian language world. The majority of persian speakers live in certain parts of the world but the persian world is not attached to a specific geography. When I think in english, I can't focus on what happens in the persian world and inversely, if something attracts my attention in the English world I can't read or even pay attention to what’s happening in Iran. I have access to different worlds but cannot inhabit them at the same time. Persian, English and French are not just labels for different words instead they are make different worlds. I can't write about same subject in different languages. Of course, I am not the same person in those different world. I have more power, intellect and emotions in the Persian world but despite  this, when I spend my time learning to read and write in English, I forget my persian world which seems to not have even existed. What is happening in the persian world grabs my attention so that I can not study or concentrate on English grammar that I need to learn for the TEOFL exam at this time.

After these years I find that when I am listening to Persian music I become detached from the geography where I actually  live. Because of this I can choose the world where I want to be  just by changing the music to which I am listening. Of course it is not that so easy when an important event happens in Iran, it captures me. Switching between these worlds takes energy and tears at my soul.To reduce the pain of switching between these worlds, I try to keep them apart. I read and write in persian at home and try to read and study english and french at the library. When something urgent happens in the persian world, and I can’t wait until I come back to my home, so In have to switch and then my spirit is mauled. such as in these two weeks.

American Dream

Some of the most painful moments in life are when your good image of some person situation or  place is destroyed. Choosing Obama in the country that just some decades ago enslaved a group of human beings simply because of their skin color was one of those good images for me. I always admired Americans for making such a huge change until I came to US for a visit.

A city that I was so curious to see was New York. I had just arrived in New York when one of my friends texted me and asked what my first impression was. “It seems like Sex and The City :D” I replied. when visiting  cities, instead of going to touristic places, I roam through neighborhoods all day and try chatting with strangers. I was there just for three days. I spent one day with Iranian friends and chose Manhattan and Harlem to discover for the rest of my visit. I don't remember  which station I got off the train at and started to discover Manhattan from but after a while I noticed that all the doormens were black and all the passengers that got out of cars the doors held open by people of color were white. During the first mile I said to my self that it was just by chance that positions were divided according to race , but unfortunately I did not find a counterexample. Manhattan violently shows that segregation is still part of the real world here. Bitterer than the obviously and easily visible economic inequity was the coincidence of class with racial sepration. On the last day when I roamed towards Harlem I also noticed that separation between neighborhoods on the basis of  race  was still a  real part of life. 

Photo by Hamzeh Ghalebi

The battery charge on my cell phone was finished so I went to a McDonald’s near the bus station from which my bus back to Boston would be leaving. I got a coffee and sat near the table that had an power outlet. There was an AmericansAfrican-American guy behind that table who was charging his iPhone. I looked at him and tried to find an excuse to start talking with him, when suddenly he loudly asked why i was looking at him. “Nothing i just wanna…” I tried to answer but paying no attention he asked if i wanted to steal his iPhone. He started to shout and talk so fast that with my English I could not understand what he wanted to say and had no idea what had happened. “HOLD ON… HOLD ON when you talk so fast I don't understand what you say” I interrupted him with this phrase. He stopped. “I am here as a visitor, I am Iranian. I live in France and now I’m trying to talk with people to improve my English,” I said. He became calm, and said “Cool”. I explained that I was waiting for the bus to go to Boston. “You are very welcome to the USA, land of opportunity.” he added. As  he started to tell me about the American Dream all the images of discrimination and segregation that I had seen in the city paraded through my head. I just listened. He stood up to leave and said, “This is the land of opportunity.” I asked, “Really?” He approached me and said, “Look at me. I work in a strip club and make two hundred dollars every night. You see?” I said nothing and just smiled!

19th-century behavior in 21st-century

I just listened to a NPR News podcast. It was about the conflict between Russian and the US over Ukraine. The reporter quoted two sobering statements from the U.S. administration. “The United States and our allies will not hesitate to use 21st-century tools to hold Russia accountable for 19th-century behavior,” said John Kerry. Earlier, President Obama noted “Leaders and dignitaries of the European Union, representatives of our NATO alliance, distinguished guests, we meet here at a moment of testing for Europe and the United States and for the international order that we have worked for generations to build."

They are right. Russia used its military force to invade another country without UN approval and in disregard of international law. Russia acted upon its national interest and made the decision with the support of the Duma. So the U.S. administration is right, this behavior does appertain to a past century, but does the US behave differently? The US invaded Iraq and occupied that country in the second Gulf War based upon which international law and with what approval from the UN? Moreover, was the US pretext to attack Iraq justified? Recently, in deciding whether or not to attack Syria, did Obama ask for UN permission or did he just ask the US Congress? Some might say that Obama tried to obtain UN approval. But Russia vetoed the attempt in order to protect its ally. But this raises the question whether this is not exactly like US behavior to protect Israel.

From the place that I stand - as a non-Russian and non-American - both of those powers more or less exhibit the same behavior, in which case what Russia did is not exceptional at all. For me it doesn't matter which side wins or loses. In fact, this conflict could benefit Iran. I believe that every power NEEDS to have an enemy. (I wish they didn't.) But because of the nature of power after the Cold War the US makes fake enemies like Iran and the media exaggerates how Iran could be a threat to the US. If Russia plays the role of enemy again then the US might leave Iran alone.

Differents Narratives of Same Facts

There was a party for Norouz celebration in HKS. Norouz is the first day of new Persian year that is exactly the first day of spring. It s crazy that some people start new year in the middle of winter. One of my friends who studies about Afghanistan was at the party. She is a smart cute french girl. We are doing a program to exchange Persian/English. She had gone to North Korea. No I am not kidding she went to North Korea. I was really curious about North Korea. “is it true what the media always say about North Korea?” I asked. You should know I do not have confidence in the media. She said that those things are all real. She told us so many things about her experiences that prove the things everyone may have heard about that part of word. I don't want to retell all of them for you but one part of her experience was sobering. Do not hurry! I am going to explain. I asked her if she talked with people. “we could not because some officer followed us and we could not to go every where freely.” she said. I said that talking with government guys also could be interesting. It shows how they think and how the official view works. “you know they have been brainwashed. they all were telling some things that were disconnected from the real word.” she said. I asked what was their narrative? “for example, there was some issue between North and South  but in the North they have a completely different narrative. You know they have been brainwashed.” I said ya! Every one who goes to another country could see things that native guys can not see. She looked at me as if i had said somethings weird. May be she wanted to say: Are you crazy? Those things just happened in North Korea.

Having different narration of same fact, is both sobering and some time could show that one side is being manipulated. Let s review some facts about Iran and USA issues. Do you know which is the only country that has used Nuclear weapons against civil people in history? Do you know that US helps financially those countries that have Nuclear weapons in middle east ? Do you know that iranians never, ever do Suicide operations? Do you know that about 60 years ago we, Iranians had a democratic movement and were close to a democratic regime but the CIA did a coup against that government in benefit of the former dictator of iran? Do you that know during the war between Iran and Irak USA knew and helped Irak to use chemical weapons against Iran? Do you know that the US military ship in Persian gulf shot directly  a Passenger aircraft that carried iranian tourists to Dubai? Do you know Iran helped seriously USA to attack the Taliban? Do you know that iran is the country that wages a real war against Salafi extremist in the Middle East? (see chapter 19 of this book) Do you know that one of close allies of USA in the Middle East is the most important supporter of Salafi extremist groups (means Saudi arabia?) Do you know in the last century Iran has never started a war with any country but in last decade USA attacked several countries?

What is your narrative about those facts? Do you still think that brainwashing could not happen in the USA?

Complex arguments for simple stupid things

One of the things that is strange to me in US is how much people here try to justify the actual situation instead of trying to change it. Some time they have excellent creativity to provide complex arguments for simple stupid things. But the problem is that after a while they themselves believe their own rhetoric.

One of the stupid things is how they calculate salary of waiters. In US restaurant owners do not pay completely their employers’ salary for those who work as waiter. And every client is obliged to pay them separately as part of their own bill. Americans name this part of the bill, “tips” but this is not really a tip. Tip is “a gift of money, over and above payment due for service; something given without claim or demand.” The funny part of this story is to know how they justify this stupid custom.

The first argument that they use, is that this system of payment forces the waiter to be nicer to the clients in order to get larger tips. But I see some scientific studies that show there is no meaningful relation between the amount of tip that they gained as part of their salary and their behavior. On the other hand the studies show that amount of tips depends on the general services of any restaurant and in that process waiters are small role. why do we link the salary of waiters to a process that he or she has no control over? and also why don't we calculate part of the chef’s work or restaurant owner’s equity in tips? It means that if we want to stay coherent in this argument, all services should be included in the tip system except for the unprepared food.

The second argument is that tips help the people that have small salaries such as waiter. Really? the minimum wage in US is about 8 dollar per hour but do you know that minimum wage for waiters is 3.5 dollar? Do you know why? Because restaurant owners say that the reason tips are part of the salary, means it decreases the fixed part of salary. Even the government taxes tips! This means that the tip system just helps the restaurant owner to have cheap workers.

Tip systems have other benefits for restaurant owners that is misleading to the client. Unconsciously even if you are accustomed with this stupid tipping system when you estimate the price of the meal, you forget that the tip could raise the price by factor 20 percent.

The problem is that we can not do any thing individually against this system. If we don't pay the tip we punish the waiter. If we pay the tip we perpetuate the system that uses waiters as cheap workers.