Since the bombing of Iran and the assassination of the Ayatollah, many Iranians of the diaspora have been celebrating by waving Iranian, Israeli and American flags along the Embarcadero plaza very near where I work. They have rented a sound system, a 'party bus' and have had many flags--half Iranian, half USA; double sided flags featuring Israeli and American flags, etc., and Pro-Trump signs made for the occasion. Their jubilance coupled with repeated chanting of 'thank you, Trump!' at passersby is a jarring sight to behold. This past weekend, saw the arrival of anti-war demonstrators to the plaza. Pro-Bibi-Trump Persians were directing their chants directly at the anti-war faction. It was mad. I was on a break from work taking it all in and my face likely betrayed my disgust at the messaging of many of the Iranian-Americans. This prompted some numpty to spell it out for me. Gesturing, he said, 'These are Iranians from Iran.' Um, no shit, buddy. He then went on to say something to the effect of: liberals like you wouldn't understand. I took the bait, folks, I did. Suffice to say, I ended our interaction by repeatedly calling the man a 'MAGA cunt' as he walked away while flipping me the bird. Fortunately, I was not wearing my work apron.
 |
| Anti-war protestors this past weekend. (I did not take a photo of the pro-Trump Persians.) |
I guess they're following the logic of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" but it's still jarring, I know.
ReplyDeleteYes, it would seem so!
DeleteI get where they're coming from. But this won't end well.
ReplyDeleteLikely not. :/
DeleteIranian friends here feel the same. They see the thousands killed recently and cannot see how else to achieve regime change. However it didn't work well in 1953, so how would another usa puppet shah succeed?
ReplyDeleteIndeed!
DeleteI've an Iranian pal here who is also Mizrahi. She's anti-Zionist yet also doesn't feel, as a person of the diaspora, that she has a right to speak for Iranians back home. (Read: she doesn't attend the demos.)
I have one friend who has started to be quite vocal on social media. If nothing else she is making people realise that nothing is as simple as it seems. That there are many points of view within Iran.
DeleteA country with ten times the population of Isreal. Fifty percent more than the UK. Just over twice that of Canada Just under a third of usa.
Oh no. The whole thing fills me with dread.
ReplyDeleteSame.
Deleteyay go you! I find it hard to keep my mouth shut too. I just think war is stupid.
ReplyDeleteThanks, pal. To be in menopause and ready to rumble with some rando is not where I thought I'd be now, but c'est la vie!
DeleteWhat a scene, Bea! The Embarcadero sounds like a total madhouse right now. I don’t blame you one bit for losing your cool with that guy—sometimes the 'liberals wouldn't understand' line is just the last straw. Glad you were 'off duty' for that final exchange! Keep your head up and stay safe amidst the madness.
ReplyDeleteThanks, pal. Sometimes I feel like teenage me out here in these streets, but I'm an old GenXer on HRT.
Delete