“Marg bar Amrika”

Flopping Aces ^ | 11-04-13 | Wordsmith

[Starman417]

"President Carter inherited an impossible situation -- and he and his advisers made the worst of it."-Gaddis Smith

On this day in history 34 years ago, remember, remember the 4th of November; when militant Islamic students stormed the U.S. embassy, holding 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.

To commemorate that takeover, and to demonstrate opposition to the new president's call to "tone down" the common, daily-expressed slogan, "Death to America" chants, "tens of thousands" of protesters gathered in Tehran outside the old U.S. embassy in their own "million Islamist march" (or, as they call it, "National Day to Fight Global Arrogance"):

Tens of thousands of demonstrators packed the streets outside the former US embassy in Tehran in the biggest anti-US rally in years, a show of support for hard-line opponents of President Hassan Rouhani's outreach to Washington.

Crowds of Iranians shouted "death to America" as they marked the 34th anniversary of the takeover of the city's US embassy, which led to 52 Americans being held hostage for months.

Protesters waved anti-US banners, chanting "death to America" and "death to Israel", while burning US and Israeli flags. Effigies of the US president, Barack Obama, his secretary of state John Kerry and the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, could be seen held aloft by protesters.

The protests were reported to be the biggest in years, with tens of thousands in attendance, and despite attempts by the US and Iran to thaw diplomatic relations after years of hostility.

Great Satan

Al Jazeera's Soraya Lennie, reporting from Tehran, said that the the opinion that the US was the "Great Satan" was hard to shift in some.

"A poll recently in Iran showed that most Iranians do favour renewed relations with the United States and a normalisation of ties, she said.

"But for the people here, and this small minority in Iran, their minds will not be changed. They still see the United States as the "Great Satan" and it appears as not much happening, diplomatically-speaking, that can change their minds."

Similar gatherings were reported in other cities across the Islamic republic, according to footage broadcast on state television, in what appeared to be some of the largest November 4 rallies in years.

The Blaze:

Besides the anti-American chants being voiced in the streets, Iranian parliament members joined in a chorus of “death to America” during a parliamentary session on Sunday.

Quoting Iran’s Tasnim news agency, the Times of Israel reported that Vice Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Hossein Aboutorabifard called the 1979 embassy takeover a symbol of “resistance of righteousness against falsehood.” After his speech, members of parliament joined together in a “Death to America” chant.

According to Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency, Iran’s defense ministry issued a statement Sunday that in part emphasized that the Iranian people will always chant the “death to U.S.” phrase as “a symbol of their resistance against the world arrogance.”

Can you imagine our Congressional leaders calling for "Death to Iran" chants or "Death to Islam", let alone as a national slogan for the people? Apparently this weekend's event in Iran was accompanied by the debut of two new "Death to America" songs.

A few years ago, Iranians demanded an apology from Hollywood:

The film "300," portrays the battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C., in which a force of 300 Spartans held off a massive Persian army at a mountain pass in Greece for three days. It angered many Iranians for the way Persians are depicted as decadent, sexually flamboyant and evil in contrast to the noble Greeks.

Iranians also criticised "The Wrestler" starring Mickey Rourke as a rundown professional wrestler who is preparing for a rematch with his old nemesis 'The Ayatollah'.

During a fight scene, "The Ayatollah" tries to choke Rourke with an Iranian flag before Rourke pulls the flagpole away, breaks it and throws it into the cheering crowd

This is rich of course, coming from a country whose apparent form of greeting and well-wishing of one another is to say, "Death to America". And that's in the really real world. Not in arts & entertainment.

I remember back in 2004 when Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 was cleared by Iranian authorities for screening (to coincide with the 3rd anniversary of 9/11)- but did not get quite the reaction they were expecting from all segments of their society:

[Paladin2]

Death to Islam.

[Mastador1]

“President Carter inherited an impossible situation — and he and his advisers made the worst of it.”

Maybe I’m a little fuzzy on this, but didn’t Mr. Peanut brain actively work to bring the “impossible situation” about? If anyone inherited it it was Reagan.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Another [Iranian student's] comment was: “Outside such pathetic ideological schemes, Moore’s fixation to reprimand and castigate his own society is so great that he is BLIND to the fact that our ancient land and society cannot be regarded and dealt with in the same fashion; therefore he has fallen pray to the Mullahs for whom he is nothing more than a tool to discard when his mission for them is completed.”

Which brings to mind Tom Wolfe's description of some radical confab in Princeton at which Gunter Grass was present, back in 1960's. As the sheltered little darlings were griping and moaning about the oppression they were enduring - at an open publicized and public meeting - Grass could not help interjecting words to the effect, "You Americans always want so badly to feel oppressed, but if this Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union, the secret police would already have burst in the doors."

The greatest unsolved riddled in Astronomy: The dark night of fascism is always descending on America, but always lands in Europe. Unless it lands in Asia or South America or Africa.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

The Shah was widely despised prior to 1976, but he was holding his own. I knew a very civil and pleasant Pakistani who was there at the time. According to him, and lots of other commentators, the Shah was doing “alright” until Jiminny Carter started hectoring him with his “humans rights” agenda. The Shah was ruthless and brutal, but he was a modernizing force, and a bulwark against the Soviet Union and Islamists. 911 can at least indirectly be attributed to Carter’s ill-conceived and abominably executed hamfisted foreign policy.

[hal ogen]

The fool carter has reminded us often since his presidency why he won The Worst President of America Ever award...until his protege, Clown Prince nobama arrived. It is kind of like comparing piles of manure as to which is “best”.

[Mastador1]

Well if people liked Jimmah and the Democrats policy of screwing up the Middle East back then, they must be in nirvana with Zero and the Democrats policies now.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

I think you underestimate the naivete of people like Carter and Obama, and their complete denial of adverse information. If people would only listen to them! Why can’t we all get along?