Referring back to the post I made this weekend about the movie 300: my mom sent me an e-mail with a link to pictures of the Iranian Norooz (New Year's) Parade in NYC. Two images to view: here and here. Feel free to view the rest.
I was a party in Jersey five years ago and I was sitting with an Iranian professor of sociology and he asked me if, as a half-Iranian, I identified as Iranian or not. I replied that I hadn't identified as Iranian until when in second grade I innocently answered the question of what kind of name my last name was and ended up getting chased at recess because of it. The taunts of "Terrorist!" followed me all through high school. After speaking with him, I read his book: The Making of an Iranian Community in America by Maboud Ansari. Although a bit dated, it struck me as inherently true, and there were many things I hadn't considered. His explanation of dual marginality struck me, and I definitely identified with it, choosing what many seem to consider a marginal lifestyle myself.
At least our New Year is based on some astronomical event, like the spring equinox.
A few years ago, some dumbshit foreign policy grad student from University of Chicago had the gumption to tell me that he doesn't believe racism exists since we're all one race. Dumbshit. I agree that we're all one race, but racism is out there and it isn't going to go away for a long fucking time, unfortunately. I'll never tell my kids to deny their Persian heritage, but I hope I never even have to consider the choice.
The only problem I have with people celebrating their cultural heritage is when they use it an excuse to set themselves apart from the rest of us for either selfish or "moral" reasons.
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You know, every time I return to read your blog, I always find something socially relevant, that, if discussed by more people, could possibly change the world. It's good to know that some people still have a strong opinion about things in this society, unlike certain people who would rather believe that racism does not exist.
As a part of a "minority", I can relate to the issue about marginalizing one's own culture, and it's just sad that we are forced to do so at times. It must be nice to live ignorant, but I'd rather not.
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