December 08, 2003
The Mighty Europeans
Imagine this scene: I'm sitting quietly in the lunch-room at my place of work, trying to eat a very late lunch. The room is all empty and I hate eating alone. I look to see if there's something to read. Somehow reading and eating is not as bad as eating by yourself and staring at the walls around. Aside from all the Spanish papers, there's a few catalogues someone has brought from home and a few pages of this small paper from San Diego's suburbia. I grab that and start reading the letters to editor section.
There are a few of the normal red-neck, "bring-'em-on", we own the world type of letters. Stuff you only find in such conservative settings of ignorance. There's even one letter from some guy who suggests for Muslims to hold a "million man march in D.C." and chant "America is Great", so he'll be convinced that "Muslim religion (there's no such thing idiot, it's called Islam) is peaceful and doesn't want to kill the infidels". As if Muslims or anyone else owes this guy anything to try to "convince" him of anything. Oh, the idiocy.
Then I come across this letter, which is obviously a reply to a previous note I have not seen. Check it out:
All hail the mighty EuropeanByron Slater's letter of Nov. 5 was such a perfect history lesson. In fact, prior to the U.S. purchasing the virtually uninhibited states from the French and the Russians, there was only a handful of natives, who gladly gave up their worthless homelands and moved to Oklahoma, knowing the benevolent newcomers would be much better stewards of this empty land.
The truth is, before the Europeans came here, not only were there almost no people, there was no trees, plants, animals or water. They dug the rivers, planted the forests, carved the canyons, built the great mountains, complete with presidents' face on them. Why, they even imported all of the deer, bear, antelope, fish and a handful of buffalo. They even created the Eagle, just to have something on top of the flagpole.
No murder, no plunder, just improvement and civilization for this barren, empty desert. God bless America now that it is complete.
I hope Byron Slater gets to bed before midnight on Christmas Eve, or Santa won't bring him any presents.
BOB HAYWARD
Native American Church
Pala/La Jolla Chapter
I laughed so much, you know, one of those belly laughs you feel all the way through your entire body, I can't remember when the last time I enjoyed something so much was. There were people coming from all the rooms and offices next door o check out who was this crazy person laughing so loudly sitting by himself in this large empty room. I don't know who Hayward is, but I will make every effort to find him and offer him my heartfelt thanks for so cleverly making his point. Bob Hayward, if you are searching your name on the web one day and come across this post, please contact me. I owe you a huge thank you.
Posted by Pedram at December 8, 2003 11:41 PMThe thing I don't get is why did you laugh. Isn't it obvious that white males of European descent have caused everthing evil in the world? And furthermore, anything good, if it did come from Europeans, must have been from women, or gay people or something.
I am sure I get grouped with 'rednecks' because my posts here. The truth is I am an educated world traveller. But I am fed up with racist America bashing. In fact it is the last racism that is accepted and politically correct. YOUR A RACIST!
Furthermore, if there is so much wrong with this country leave it.
Posted by: A.H. at December 9, 2003 11:44 AMThe thing I don't get is why did you laugh. Isn't it obvious that white males of European descent have caused everthing evil in the world? And furthermore, anything good, if it did come from Europeans, must have been from women, or gay people or something.
I am sure I get grouped with 'rednecks' because my posts here. The truth is I am an educated world traveller. But I am fed up with racist America bashing. In fact it is the last racism that is accepted and politically correct. YOUR A RACIST!
Furthermore, if there is so much wrong with this country leave it.
Posted by: A.H. at December 9, 2003 11:44 AMAnd you're not...
Posted by: at December 9, 2003 02:37 PMA.H., The option of leaving the country could be all yours.
Posted by: Coward at December 9, 2003 04:13 PMHe could ask Bob Hayward if he should be the one leaving or eyeranian. I think I know the answer already.
Posted by: NoBody at December 9, 2003 04:43 PMthis must be the kind of idiots who email you the hate stuff.
Hey Bozo! how can he be "racist"? what race is he being prejudice towards? unless you consider "american" to mean white! My dad is african-american and my mother is asian. am i not american? i'm certainly not white, so is he racist towards me? don't think so.
i'm sorry eyeranian, for the idiots that share my citizenship.
Posted by: A Friend at December 9, 2003 06:27 PMA.H. reminds me of mullahs in Iran. You criticize people like them (mullahs and conservative Americans) and if they have the power, like mullahs do, they put you in prison, which is far worse than kicking you out of the country (that’s why they put you in prison). But if they don’t have the power, they send you hate emails and ask you to go away. In either case if you think they are wrong, they would not argue with you. Because either they are smart enough to know you are right and they are not, or they are just dump and don’t what on earth they are talking about. Yeah, I definitely see a resemblance between A.H. and mullahs…
Posted by: Foad at December 9, 2003 06:46 PMI strongly suggest to AH to organize a possy and kick these ungrateful evil doers out of this great land!!! Then send the slaves back to where they came from and so on................Ther are all just making this promised land unclean!!!
Posted by: Ali at December 9, 2003 10:30 PMWhat I don't understand is that why people like A.H. continue asking us to leave. Listen A.H. We don't leave... Understand? We stay here as long as we like. We think no one has the right to force us to leave this country because of our ideas. As an American you should know better about these basics. Read your country's constitution once. I know you haven't but It is not that difficult A.H... I know you don't read that much (not more than the junk mail you recieve every day) but your constitution really worth reading. You might learn something about your rights and the rights of the others. You might learn about a great revolution that brought you those rights, the rights that you are not aware of.
Well, at least us Iranians have someplace to go back to. Most of these people telling us to love it or leave it don't know anything about their own background or their country's history.
But really, we Iranians aren't that bad. I mean, we might love to talk really loud and eat too many onions. But it's not like we would go to a country, kill the inhabitants, and take their land. I mean at least we're civilized enough that we usually just kill each other and fuck up only our own country!
Posted by: Mani Agha at December 10, 2003 02:45 AMHahahaha, ... Mani Agha, it is not about being Iranian or being American...
Posted by: The Other at December 10, 2003 10:14 AMSo people, your answer to A.H. is to call him an idiot and shout him down? How is that helpful when there are so many people who feel the same way? And like him they cannot all be simply dismissed as ignorant rednecks. I wish one of you would have actually bothered to address his issues in a civil rational manner.
Posted by: Hayedeh at December 10, 2003 10:32 AMMani Agha:
Obviously you're not entirely familiar with the conquests of the Persian Empire.
Oh I don't read, and I must be stupid, and I am a mullah, or I have never read the constitution,,, whatever. I am fed up with people coming to this country while simultanously hating it. I've been told by transplants like yourself all manner of idiotic ideas, like 'Americans introduced prostitution to post war Japan where it didn't exhist before', I've met Serbians here getting full U.S. Government grants to go to school tell me how terrible the U.S.A. is, only to later watch the truth about serbian death squads on the daily news. I have met Pakistanis here again on scholarsips taking eveything this country has to offer tell my how America is all wrong, and bad, and evil. Pakistan? I think they have problems of thier own to solve first. Oh, wait, that must be all America's fault also, we must have helpted them defend themselves from the Soviets and that somehow makes us complicit.
I love this country. I was born here, I will die here, I served in the military. I am not an idiot, nor am I uneducated and certainly not stupid. I just am fed up with the foriegners who seem to love coming here but seem to hate me, and hate my country.
The America Bashing has reached a level that can easily be compared to a type of racism and I will say it again.
IF AMERICA IS SO EVIL, WHY DID YOU COME HERE?
Posted by: A.H. at December 10, 2003 02:08 PMOk i will try to be the voice of reason, although as uducated as you say you are, I wonder if you will be willing to listen.
We come because if we have to choose between life and death, we choose life. We may not all be killed if we stay in our countries but some fates are worse than death.
What makes us bitter is WHY we had to leave in the first place. It is a true and proven fact that US's policies has messed up many lands beyond hope. So those who are able to leave, do so and choose to come to North America because as the source, its the least unlikely place to get fucked. Although things are not really all that rosy for Americans either. But again, its all relative. What is worse and what is worst.
Its also a known and proven fact that over 80% of the immigratnts who do come to US, many are absorbed into the system and eventually become useful members of the society so even if your Russuan friend is using government loan to study at least he is going to college and not trading illigal drugs or arms to make a living.
So I say it again, we leave because we HAVE to. We come to you becuase your government (notice I don't say YOU), your government has helped to makee it impossible for us to live and bring up our children in our own land.
I think you should be glad that at least there are people in the world who are questioning your government's actions, no matter how false those accusations are in your opinion. Isn't the basis of democracy about being able to question your leaders? To be able to hold them accountable?
I know you take it personally when people bash US. But please understand, we are sad, tired and desperate for change. Many of us leave thinking we will go abck one day. We will be able to take your noble ideals and change what has been done to our countries.
I can understand where your frustation is coming from. Now can you begin to understand ours?
Posted by: bargeboo at December 10, 2003 03:03 PMA.H., listen. You need to learn to spell. 'foriegners' is not correct. It is 'foreigners'. And, you who love America so much, should learn the English language a little better. I mean English is your mother-tongue, and it is my third language! How embarrassing for you!
I don't hate America at all. But blind, flag-waving super-patriots didn't make America great. George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt would never tell someone who disagreed with them to 'go back'. They're rolling in their graves hearing the garbage being spewed in the name of America.
But Hayedeh is right. It's not about being Iranian or American. There are nasty, hateful people in every country and of every race. But I think we Iranians should really start to think about 'going back'.
I know Iran is a hard place to live. But if people run away from difficulty, no one will be left to make the country better. I'd like to hear any ideas about 'going back' and how to do it.
Posted by: Mani Agha at December 10, 2003 06:01 PMA.H.,
We came here because of the hard life in our countries. A hard life that was caused by many reasons including our own cultural problems AND your country's foreign policy. Besides, % 30 of the world wealth is coming here to be consumed by you %5. What do you expect us to do? Staying in our countries and wait for death? Especially when we see a huge part of that %30 is coming from our own countries. People are dying in other countries to make you able to wear these beautiful shirts and shoes and fill up your Chevy with cheap gas. The American lifestyle -that you are so proud of- is paid with the lives of the poorest of the earth.
I don't have any thing to say to you any more. One of the great men of your country has said it all:
"Nothing in this world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." --Martin Luther King Jr.