There IS No Place Like Home, Right?
So I'm back in America, the "Great Satan" or the "Land of the Free", take your pick. But although I was gone for a very short time, all does not appear to be well in the home of the brave.
The first problem that, honestly, I've been seeing is the F.B.I. (OK, arrest me now for blogging what the F.B.I. does. I don't think it's illegal) Before I left, I heard about one or two "suspected terrorists" who were getting their medical degrees or something being interrogated. These days, it's my friends! (My friend said that her teenage rebel was proud of her that she finally got arrested for the first time) The Shi'a just don't seem to be on the "good list" any more. Apparently someone in the department misplaced the memo that says "Shi'a are archenemies of Al-Qaeda because Al-Qaeda kills them" and thinks that we are going to launch bombs. Sorry, it's Al-Qaeda (if Al-Qaeda even exists, which I have always doubted it does) that has nothing better to do except play chemistry; we have Molla Bassem to keep us busy.
The second problem is propaganda! It seems like every day someone at the local paper manages to pair "Islam" with words like "anger" and "rage" (as well as odd photo ops from Pakistan). I understand there are some serious issues brewing in the Islamic world, but do we ever hear about "Catholic rage"? "Buddhist rage?" "Hindu rage" for that matter? And the convert stories. Before I left, I had never ever heard of an American Muslim convert making national attention. Now, people are asking me if I knew the American Al-Qaeda guy who lived down the way.
And the third problem is, quite frankly, stares. Now, coming from Iran, I'm quite used to stares. EVERYONE stares in Iran. But since, in Iran, everyone stares at everyone, it's not a big deal. Here, everyone is staring at me! The first day I came back, this lady with an unplaceable foreign accent stomped up to me, chided, "Dress like an American," and then stomped away. This didn't happen before! Even after 9/11, the most that happened is that some lady gave me a hug in the grocery store and told me she hoped I was all right.
As they say, you can never go home again.
The first problem that, honestly, I've been seeing is the F.B.I. (OK, arrest me now for blogging what the F.B.I. does. I don't think it's illegal) Before I left, I heard about one or two "suspected terrorists" who were getting their medical degrees or something being interrogated. These days, it's my friends! (My friend said that her teenage rebel was proud of her that she finally got arrested for the first time) The Shi'a just don't seem to be on the "good list" any more. Apparently someone in the department misplaced the memo that says "Shi'a are archenemies of Al-Qaeda because Al-Qaeda kills them" and thinks that we are going to launch bombs. Sorry, it's Al-Qaeda (if Al-Qaeda even exists, which I have always doubted it does) that has nothing better to do except play chemistry; we have Molla Bassem to keep us busy.
The second problem is propaganda! It seems like every day someone at the local paper manages to pair "Islam" with words like "anger" and "rage" (as well as odd photo ops from Pakistan). I understand there are some serious issues brewing in the Islamic world, but do we ever hear about "Catholic rage"? "Buddhist rage?" "Hindu rage" for that matter? And the convert stories. Before I left, I had never ever heard of an American Muslim convert making national attention. Now, people are asking me if I knew the American Al-Qaeda guy who lived down the way.
And the third problem is, quite frankly, stares. Now, coming from Iran, I'm quite used to stares. EVERYONE stares in Iran. But since, in Iran, everyone stares at everyone, it's not a big deal. Here, everyone is staring at me! The first day I came back, this lady with an unplaceable foreign accent stomped up to me, chided, "Dress like an American," and then stomped away. This didn't happen before! Even after 9/11, the most that happened is that some lady gave me a hug in the grocery store and told me she hoped I was all right.
As they say, you can never go home again.
posted by Ayatollah Logic's Wife at 11:59 PM
3 Comments:
stomped on you? like physically came up to you and stomped on your toes?
theres this website called villagevoice.com and they have interesting writing sometimes. but today i got really mad about an article they had about the president of iran supporting violence (stoning women for adultery) while the writer seemed to applaud the shah for his "peaceful"? (does he know the word) way of life during his period of rule. he blames everything on the mullahs.
-this was the headline: Coming soon to the United Nations: Iran's chief executioner of women
Let's see. You go abroad and attend rallies where "Death to America" is the theme, and you wonder why you are not welcome at home? What is wrong with you?
You preach hatred and death to others, yet you expect to be treated with tolerance and respect? Again, what is wrong with you?
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