Iranian Woman Strikes Blow for Feminism … Literally

The video comes via Sugerio who if he isn’t careful may earn himself a quasi racist, homophobic satire from Pandagon for daring to question American feminist’s commitment to equality and liberty. Scroll to the end of ilyka’s post and see her half hearted apology for making racist comments about me in post that she later retracts. Not that she actually made racist comments as far as I know; she’s responding to a comment I made on this post to one of her “friends” where she apparently discovered my semi-absolute moral authority. She reacted in the paternalistic and offensive way all white liberals do when they’re afraid of being called on their bigotry.

Of course after all her screeching, yet again it is we evil “wing nuts” who are publicizing the oppression of women in Iran. Years ago I was naive enough to think that there were issues that all Americans could rally around, just as I, a “rabid right winger” supported the protests against the Taliban’s treatment of women in the 90’s. Now I realize that most people on the left will take the opposite stand on any issue I bring up based on my Republican party membership, even when the issue is gender or racial equality.

At least Pandagon is reporting on this story of the arrest of Haleh Esfandiari, but read the comments and you’ll see why I hold out little hope for widespread support among “liberals” today. No, if Iranian women want liberty they’re going to do it for themselves:

[youtube]WAMo9YyRyPo[/youtube]

Now that’s a feminist!

8 thoughts on “Iranian Woman Strikes Blow for Feminism … Literally

  1. No, if Iranian women want liberty they’re going to do it for themselves
    Actually, you’re right. The last thing that Iranian women want is people that like to sing “bomb bomb Iran” supporting their cause, and that’s the thing they explicitly stated countless times: just make the idiot Rick Santorum going on TV with “let’s fund dissidents so that they overturn their government”, thus labeling all opposition traitors, shut up, stop trashing Iranian reformists for cheap political interest the way Romney did, stop randomly threatening their country, try to open conversation where possible — that would be the best thing you could do for Iranian freedom. As for making smart comments about YouTube videos, that make exactly _zero_ difference. You might as well say that reading Oliver Twist is a way to fight poverty.

  2. You’re right, and when you see the guy next door beating his wife you should wait for her to do something about it rather than make matters worse by stopping hims, you know like a man would.

    The persian people have suffered under Islamic Imerialism for 1400 years, they’ve resisted Arabization for that long as well. You however, in less than a decade I’m sure, have gone from supporting U.N. action against any country that didn’t pass E.R.A. legislation to promoting a “let them beat their women, after all they belong to them” stance based soley on the fact that it puts you in opposition of Republicans on the internet. You’re a sell out.

    If these were white women you’d be saying bomb Iran, you know like we bombed Bosnia. But they’re brown, and don’t look like the girl you had a crush on in your Freshmen poetry class so you could care less. You make me sick, racist.

  3. You’re right, and when you see the guy next door beating his wife you should wait for her to do something about it rather than make matters worse by stopping hims, you know like a man would.
    Actually, the analogy is different. It’s as if you knew that the guy next door was beating his wife, and every time you would meet them together, you would send her a kiss and say “darling, I love you, when shall we meet again; god how I hate that bastard that is your husband”. And that would be the end of your involvement in her life.
    Again, I’m not making this up, this is what Iranian dissidents say, this is what they want you to do — shut up and let them do their work. The other thing they want you to do is stop supporting anti-Iranian terrorists like MKO. Does Iranian’s own opinion mean nothing to you?

    If these were white women you’d be saying bomb Iran, you know like we bombed Bosnia. But they’re brown, and don’t look like the girl you had a crush on in your Freshmen poetry class so you could care less. You make me sick, racist.
    Well, first, I’d say that in fact Persians are “whiter” than Jews, and Jews are generally seen as “white”. But this is irrelevant.
    Iran in the late 90-ies was, if you compare it to Soviet Union, in its Gorbachev phase. Clinton tried to use this momentum, but then along came Bush and hey, thanks to his hard work it’s now late Stalin there. Now, because they don’t want to look stupid because of the way they squandered the opportunity, Republicans try they best to trash Iranian reformists, “they were no good anyway”, Khatami, Iranian unfortunate Gorbachev, is persona non grata for them. But you know what? Gorbachev was far from perfect either.

    I certainly hope that Iran some day becomes a free country. I’m sure that people like George Soros who was behind Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, Revolution of Roses in Georgia and Yellow Revolution in Ukraine, are doing their best to support Iranian NGOs, women rights organizations etc. — but you can’t know for certain, because NGO’s don’t wear their affiliations on their sleeves.
    But it’s the idiots like Rick Santorum with his love for MKO or Brownback that obviously wants to reinstate Shah’s son or McCain with his songs or Romney with his Khatami trashing that make the fight for freedom in Iran so hard.

  4. Here are some actual quotes from Iran dissidents:
    “It’s the people of Iran that have to gain their own freedom and human rights improvements. Military action or other punishments against Iran will make the situation for political reformists and human rights advocates in Iran a lot more difficult. I don’t think that Iranian human rights advocates need help of that sort from the governments of the West.” Shirin Ebadi, Nobel prize winner

    Such an attack would provide an excuse for the most reactionary and violent elements within the ruling elite to stifle any voice of dissent not just from within the civil society, but from the divided and factional ruling elite. It would help rally factions within that elite behind Ahmadinejad, and it would provide Iran a good excuse to attempt to further isolate the United States within the international community.

    In other words, the main beneficiary of an attack on Iran would be the most militaristic and reactionary elements in the Iranian ruling hierarchy. Azar Nafisi, author of “Reading Lolita in Tehran”.
    http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-nafisi15feb15,0,726675.story

    And there are countless other people saying the same thing.

    Actually, there’s a good analysis on-line why it’s Left that’s doing the right thing on Iran, and Right that’s doing all the wrong things:
    http://eteraz.org/story/2006/12/28/10318/419
    http://eteraz.org/story/2006/12/15/125627/34
    http://eteraz.org/story/2006/12/29/090/28212

    But of course you cherish all those demented fantasies about “democrats-dhimmicrats” too much to understand that you’re screwing another dozens of millions of people out of their chance for freedom.

  5. Yes there’s great analysis on the left on how the left is better than the right.

    Nickolay, at least have the decency to be honest, your arguement is that because I want bloggers of ALL political leanings to raise awareness about the plight of women that I’m hindering the efforts of “reformers”, that some of these reformers are themselves not unopposed to stricter laws about how women dress and act isn’t worth mentioning in your mind.

    When did I say “bomb Iran” or did I say support Iran’s women and you purposefully misconstrued my words.

    When did I bring up the “whiteness” of Jews? What is at issue here is your white deviltry, as some would call it, in that you’re unmoved by women struggling for freedom. Oh, I forgot, you’re a racist that’s why you could not resist throwing in some statement about Jews. I’m not a Jew myself, but having lived in NYC I can tell you that Jews come in all different ethnicites. Even Black.

    What does Rick Santorum have to do with my post? Are you two in the midst of a bad break up? Because as far as I know Santorum lost his re election bid and is a crab fisherman in Ohio or wherever he’s from.

    Call me Malcolm X, but your theory that speaking out about injustice “screws people out of their chance for freedom” is the most selfish, outrageous thing I’ve ever heard. So let me follow your logic, as a man who’s half Black. Whites in this country should have not joined the civil rights movement because it would “screw Blacks out of their chance for freedom” thus ensuring my life today would be one of poverty and victimization. Republican, who voted for civil rights laws when your precious democrats (like known klan member Robert Byrd) were blocking it should have “shut up” and let civil rights be defeated by southern dems who were pro segregation. The north should never have invaded the south during the civil war …

    Your theory of social action would likely mean I’d be either a second class citizen or a slave, so forgive me if I don’t find your ideas palatable.

    You hope one day George Soros (a man who informed on Jews to the Nazis) frees Iran but not anyone else. Hmmmm. I think you have Soros confused with either Jesus or Mithra, I’m not sure which. But Soros isn’t the messiah, no matter how much money he throws around.

    Your clinton statement is bunk. Communist regimes and Islamist Theocracies are apples and oranges first of all, but the statement is also historically inaccurate. Clinton’s administration ignored human rights abuse in many countries in a effort have better relations. Iran also needed international support because a violent Baathist dictator was on their doorstep ready to drop a few mustard gas filled shells on them. Maybe wikipedia and leftist blogs aren’t the best places to get your facts kid.

    But the most vile thing you said in your two posts was your first statement which basically said that by calling attention to abuse you make it worse for the victims, so don’t snitch. When I see a woman get beat by her husband, I call the cops. If they take to long to get there I intervene. And the next day I check in with her to make sure she’s O.K., I guess you Just watch and hope Soros will show up.

  6. 1) It was you that raised the issue of “brownness”, and I only said that Persians are not not “brown” in any sense, but this doesn’t make any difference any way.
    2) There’s nothing wrong with raising awareness about oppression of women, but when it comes from the same people that supported Iraq invasion, it hardly helps these women. To be fighting for your human rights is one thing, to be allied with potential violent invader of your country is totally different.
    As long as “Right” means McCain, Romney, Brownback and Santorum, it’s better for “Right” to shut up — not because it’s honorable to be silent, but because it’s better to to be silent that to say something outrageously stupid. 75 millions of dollars of support for Iranian opposition declared by Bush have already made life for Iranian dissidents significantly harder.
    3) Most of the feminist sites you mention in another post write regularly about Iran, such as:
    http://feminist.org/stand/
    4) No, those “reformers” are not for the stricter laws. In fact the cultural freedoms of Iranians that are now under attack from hardliners were results of their reforms.
    5) Soros as a Nazi collaborator is plain slander. The fact that he was behind numerous anti-Communistic and anti-Totalitarian revolutions is an established historical fact.
    Soros funded Albert Einstein Institution led by Gene Sharp. Gene Sharp’s book “From Dictatorship to Democracy”, which is a practical manual for non-violent revolution, was used by members of Otpor that overthrew Milosevic in Serbia, Orange Revolution in Ukraine and Revolution of Roses in Georgia. It is now translated to Farsi and Russian and is actively used by opposition both to Putin and Ahmadinejad.
    His research even inspired a computer game that teaches the art of non-violent resistance.
    Soros and his buddies both give international support to Iranian dissidents and conducts workshops for activists.
    6) A typical Iranian activist, Nazanin Afshin-Jam. She fights for human rights of Iranian people, but she also understands that Bush policies turned US into one of the most dangerous nations in the world. Look at her video — every single “progressive revolution” referenced there could be traced to Soros. And no “purple finger” or fallen Saddam there. Soros is not a divine messiah, he’s just a guy that helps people that work very hard to fight evil all over the world — and he’s very good at it.

    Want to help Iranians — great, do something. But first you have to understand that Left is not to be whined at, but to learn from. Their fight for freedom is the real deal, not the insane hubris Right so excelled these last years. Not the shock and awe thunder, but the patient work of quietly transforming society — a work that nobody notices and that can easily be destroyed by a loud idiot with good intentions that Right so abounds in.

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