Demonising Iran
08Sep07
Via lenin, take a look at this filthy cartoon recently published in the Columbus Dispatch:
(click to enlarge)
Dehumanising people as cockroaches in order to pave the way for a murderous attack on them – how original.
As one commenter at the Tomb points out, this is not the first time cartoonist (and senior editor for Investor’s Business Daily magazine) Michael Ramirez has felt the urge to bestialise Iran:
Hmm, that last one reminds me of something…
Update: a good piece on the cultural demonisation of Iran through political cartoons, discussing the above, here.
Filed under: Iran, Media, News and politics, US | 34 Comments
Tags: Philosophy, Racism
-
Subscribe to The Heathlander feed
-
Site Meter
WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
The second could have been inspired by this work: http://www.tonmo.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=642&stc=1
I’m not really a fan of “Islam,” but I’m pro-Iran! ISRAEL EVIL, IRAN GOOD. What a difference 25 years can make! I trust the Russians and Iranians more than I do our own “Neo-Con/AIPAC/PNAC government.” Any REAL American Patriot should know that the Founding Fathers thought that “governments” were an altogether temporary arraingment, often speaking of the need for a revolution every 20 years or so. The Constitutional Convention was in 1787, which acording to my math, means that we are exactly 200 years overdue. “200 years.” That’s also interesting in that it’s been “200 years” since Iran last invaded another country!!
Iran has been very busy supporting terror against the West. I guess reality as presented in an editorial cartoon really hurts the feelings of Islamofacist supporters. It is okay to bash Israel, but to shine the spotlight on the cruel holocaust denying regime in Iran is wrong. Iran is invading the sanctity of other countries, they are just using their proxies while providing money and weapons. The Iranian leadership is a threat to the Western way of life.
I wonder how many people will die now as a result of a cartoon ? While in the U.S. we have a history of making tom foolery out of just about anything political with cartoons. While they sometimes sting…no one ever got killed over one. This is really silly and actually I kind of Agree with the sentiment. The vast majority of Iranians are kind of like cockroaches. Ya know when you step on one of them…I don’t know too many people that are thinking about murder !! How ever lets flip this around. The Islamic Fascists in Iran have been plotting and killing our citizens for years now. They are the birth place of modern day Suicide Bombers (they have a shrine in Tehran – likened to our Rock Star Hall of Fame), pretty much created and perfected the type of IED (EFP – Explosively Formed Projectile) that has killed, and continues to kill and maim more of our soldiers everyday, and oh by the way they happen to be fairly close to generating enough material to create Nuclear Weapons. And oh one last item….. the fire brand type of Islam they support….. basically, says that either their enemy’s have to convert to Islam or Die ! This means you cannot negotiate with them. Yes you and I the infidels, are their enemy’s. If you think you can sit down and talk reason, think again why you still have your head….. cause they are real good at taking them off, and unless the one you decide to talk with likes you and offers to let you convert to Islam ….well it’s pretty much like Alice in Wonderland….. and off with her head. Takebackamerica2008.wordpress.com
Bestializaing Iran in a cartoon. The horror. Last time I checked they hang gay people there? Let’s all have a “rational debate” about that.
I am an Iranian and I think the main problem with guys like Ramirez is that they do not have a realistic vision about what’s going on in middle east.Unfortunately how governments act doesn’t have anything to do with the entire nation.Countries like Iran suffer from the dictatorship but such offensive caricatures put a deep scar on the face of an old civilization.
It’s tough to fight in two fronts. Inside against the injustice, irrationality and fanaticisms and outside the country against the discrimination, ignorance and … Media.
Well, these are the kind of people who like cartoons like that:
which says it all, really.
If we tried to follow the Dao, and look for ourselves in others, we wouldn’t be living in a world full of such hatred.
Voice of America and Fiasco at Persian Service.
As a native born Iranian, I would like to suggest that there is no need to attack Iran militarily if the Bush administration pays attention to those who know the situation and use the awesome power of publicity instead of military.
Millions of dollars are spent in Persian Service of Voice of America but the end result is nothing but scandalous way of management and programming.
It is hard to believe but the Persian Service which supposed to be an organization to convey the policy of the U.S. has become a free platform for hard-line terrorist group of communists who attack the United Sates!
I have the documents in writings to prove that these were done with the knowledge of the management.
I used to work there and as I said before, I have all the documents in writings.
The manager is a woman called Sheila Gandji who can not read and write Persian. Therefore, in order to hide this shortcoming from the higher management, she has hired an eighty something man called Kambiz Mahmoudi who has a lengthy background as crook and charlatanism.
Don’t think that this is a personal vendetta.
Let me quote you a view from another media:
“The Iran Steering group concluded that much of the anti-American perspective that is broadcast is the result of decisions made by station managers in Washington D.C. and Prague. Sheila Gandji, the manager of Persian service has faced sharp criticism, particularly for her decision to stop VOA shortwave radio program in July, 2006 in order to focus on television broadcasts, which are more susceptible to censorship, since the government regularly confiscates satellites dishes in order to prevent the infiltration of foreign broadcasts.”
The bizarre situation at the Persian Service of Voice of America caused the Republican Senator Coburn to write a long letter to President Bush about the fiasco there.
It is only in America where the government pays to be insulted.
Do you want more information? Write me: ijadi14@yahoo.com
As someone who is not an Iranian nor an American but lives in a country in the Global South, I can empathize with the Iranian “From Teheran, with love” (“It’s tough to fight in two fronts. Inside against the injustice, irrationality and fanaticisms and outside the country against the discrimination, ignorance and … Media”). We non-Americans are caught between trying to be committed to justice, fairness and liberty domestically while fighting a distorted presentation of the target of our battle in the Western media which in its turn often just mirrors popular ignorance and bigotry in the larger Western culture.
I think the main problem with guys like Ramirez is that they do not have a realistic vision about what’s going on in middle east.Unfortunately how governments act doesn’t have anything to do with the entire nation.Countries like Iran suffer from the dictatorship but such offensive caricatures put a deep scar on the face of an old civilization.
From Tehran, with love!: thanks for commenting. Yes, I sympathise entirely – I just wish Iranian democrats and progressives were supported from the outside instead of being constantly undermined. For example, pro-democracy Iranian activists have pleaded with the U.S. to stop its campaign of intimidation and threats against Iran, because it has just led to increased internal repression and has resulted in the reformists losing ground to the hardliners.
Dulali: Yes, the media sometimes mirrors popular ignorance and bigotry, but often it actively fuels it (as here). I think the main problem with guys like Ramirez is that they’re bigoted warmongers (on the basis of that cartoon, at any rate).
“For example, pro-democracy Iranian activists have pleaded with the U.S. to stop its campaign of intimidation and threats against Iran, because it has just led to increased internal repression and has resulted in the reformists losing ground to the hardliners.”
Very true.
We have a persian proverb that basically says ‘If you can not help, At least be kind enough not to make things worse!’
on the other hand every nation has its “bigoted warmongers” and ignorance is part of human nature.
sometimes we NEED to make an enemy out of something to stop blaming ourselves.
Here people blame “west”, there people blame “east”!
And i know just as we are fighting in the two fronts here, so are you out there.
Right – indeed, as Noam Chomsky has pointed out, the whole ‘crisis’ between the U.S. and Iran would be resolved overnight (if it even developed in the first place) if only the two countries were functioning democracies. It’s up to Americans to try and democratise the U.S., and it’s up to Iranians to democratise Iran. The U.S. should be supporting pro-democracy activists in Iran, not undermining them by following policies that strengthen the hardliners in the regime, and give them license for increased repression.
Still, we have to acknowledge that people living in the U.S. (and, indeed, Britain) can push and protest for democracy far more easily, facing far less risk, than people living in Iran. Which, I suppose, only increases our responsibility to do so.
You know you can all pussyfoot around the ISSUES and talk nice, guess the truth hurts too much to talk about eh ? There is a sliver of a splinter element in Iran that is Pro-Democracy and you know, I don’t see them trying to change any of the poor socializations skills their countrymen seem to have inherited from the Ayatollah Kumani hold outs. Iran is and has been waging a proxy war before we set (1) US foot on the ground of Iraq in 2003. It will slowly come out in the coming months. It is foolish to think you can talk rational with irrational people.
Look, there are always going to be stupid people in the world. W hen you see some low-IQ blowbag like takebackamerica2008 pouring out the vials of his wrath somewhere, it should remind you what a great thing the Bill of Rights is, that affords even an idiot a chance to speak.
Don’t get excited. Everyone knows that behind those big words and bravado is some squinty-eyed, scabby little moron from East Jesus or Bumf*** Indiana, who never finished fourth grade and wouldn’t know a good argument if it f****d him all night.
The decent people of this world (and I’m not talking about the subhuman George Bush) will just have to take up the slack. Nolite dare sanctum canibus–do not give that which is holy unto dogs. takebackamerica will howl at the moon and piss on things and nothing can stop him. Yes, he’s a loathsome piece of s***–so much the worse for him!
Hope that helps.
Oakland, California
Thanks, John. Yeh, I don’t think it’s worth replying to him – as he put it so well, “[i]t is foolish to think you can talk rational with irrational people.”
True
John,
I was hoping to not go into personal attacks here but since you started it. Thats seems to be the context of the major difference in opinions here with regards to the entire Global War on Terror. Many of us see it for what it is because we have lived it up close and personal. You speak of education, yet your lack thereof is blatantly obvious by the poor choice of vernacular. Your misguided attempts to label anyone that has a differing opinion is pitiful at best. Liberal ideology will not work here. I am not saying that I am 100 right either. However, I don’t go spouting trash with only half truths and politachicken innuendo ala moveon.org either. Rational dialog among Americans is the only thing that will prevent the next 911 from happening. Research the facts before you spout off more of your diatribe.
i’m all for taking back america, but i want to know from whom? who is it presently occupying the country? it is NOT the zionists (as in ZOG) but closer to BOG – business-occupied america. once that is accepted then all your concerns get a lot more difficult. if BOG is the case, WHO will take it back? joe blow? the working class? the citizens united?
like most reformers, what you ask WILL NOT be accomplished without an upheaval -revolution from below.
and your link to “atlantic review” was not at all encouraging. it seems to be a middle of the road blog whose patriotic fervor sticks out all over the place. “my country right or wrong” seems to be its implicit motto. forget it!
uh…clem: who are you addressing? The link to Atlantic Review is just a trackback – it showed up automatically because they linked to this post.
sorry, jamie – i didn’t know that.
No probs.
So good that those who approve the zionists’ murderings in Pelestine, and their own in Iraq, hate us the Iranians and our country Iran. We neither need nor want to have your good wishes and approvement, and are sure as well that this is not what the people in US, i.e. the majority of them, think of us and if they do, that’s because of their lack of knowledge on Islam and Iran. I wish not to be like you, making laugh at things I have no idea about other than those given to me from some special people constantly trying to trouble the humanbeing around the world.
If you are not kind enough about yourself to be remedied, we are not going to be kinder than you, about you, to wish you remedy yourself, and will leave the judgment to whom it by sure concerns, the only God. Do not disrupt this message by claiming back that I am disrupting the situation by diverting the problem to the God. Drawing of us like what you hate, the bugs or beatles, do not mean that we are so, but only increases your hate of anyone with diferent view of life than yours, so that you could no longer think of your own ideology if it is completely right or wrong. The God likes you as long as you like his creatures and honestly serve them. There has been yet no observation reported during the whole thousands-of-years history that someone laughing at someone else could ever remedy that someone else in the way he/she wants, but only has defined an animus between them. I draw your attention to this warning: If ever a fight occurrs between the two countries or even just one person is killed, you have had a share in that and are responsible for the ideas you have spreaded out. Becoming a murderer is not just by killing a person face to face, remember? So much things that we think unimportant but are not like that easy to the God as he is the only one who knows all the then-after consequences of that and has warned us to be careful. You are responsible for what you publish as newspaper or on the web and have a share in what your readers do or how they behave.
No one lives eternal in this world and you are not exceptions to this rule. There’s a simple Islamic expression, at least logically correct, that says:”So bad if one sacrifices his eternal-joy-of-life for his short-term-joy-of-this-life, but so measurable is he if accept to sacrifice his eternal-joy-of-life for another-person’s short-term-joy-of-this-life”.
Peace be upon whom goes by his/her given conduction and I hope you would be among them, although it’s upon yourself, but the God sure has the power to save anyone who wants to be saved, and I have the same wish for myself and the people in my country.
After my last post, these are now its post-scripts:
PS. Islam is against terrorism and if you do not know its ideas about it, ask someone who knows not to sit back and believe everything you hear or want to hear. Read the books written by those who are accepted in Islamic communities and read Quran. Quran is to serve as the everlasting miracle of the prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and you can try reading it to directly know by yourself if Islam is true or not (this is why miracles were for). Not all who claim to be muslim know more than a few things about Islam and they are pre-excluded from Islam by Quran itself, I mean before that you can call them terrorist. Every single life is valuable in Islam, whether if muslim or not, and it is the case unless the one, again weather muslim or not, is exceeding in his/her limits of freedom described by the God in Quran, not the Iran’s government, and he knows things best. To your mention, Islam means being “Tasleem” (acquiesced) for the God’s orders and no one who exceeds the limits should be regarded as muslim anymore, although they pray like them and are born in Iran or elsewhere. However, as everyone have chance to improve themselves before the die, individual lives are respected and people who help each other to improve their lives are commonly called muslims, though being muslim is indeed their target. So deviations if occur from Islam in their lives, is not due to them being muslim, because they are not. Then sometimes they are forgivable and sometimes not, even at the cost of being sent to the jail and etc.. The forgived person yet have time to remedy themselves and this algorithm draws the underlying phlosophy of Islam for this short-term-life, and it is not accepted in this philosophy to work for food, but you need food to work and improve (thus, working to earn money for food is justifiable only if don’t loose the main thread of the stated philosophy), the science for having time to relax in the enhanced free times and watch comedy movies or else, but the science is to help improve the quality (in contrast to quantity) of life for all, not for a few at the cost of others being sacificed, weather inside their own country or somewhere far in the middle-east.
PPS. Muslims are to agree with all the prophets of the God from Adam to Muhammad, including Moses and Jesus (Peace Be Upon Them All). If one believes in Moses but not Jesus, or Jesus but not Muhammad, should ask himself if he has witnessed his prophet’s “famous” miracles directly by himself, and if it is not other than the case that he has only heard about them and also have a good feeling of their prophet for some happenings in their personal lives, why they can not then believe the other prophets, bcause their parents were in the same believes sine centuries ago? Don’t we have minds of our own? Could wee ignore the importance of these questions and get rid of them by always being busy with playings and watchings and etc. I announced above that Islam has its most important miracle yet present: Quran. You can read it and decide what to do. See if you can act to its simple orders like “do not lie”, “do not be selfish”, “keep your look under your control” and etc. Then at least you have tried your best and have not trusted those, like me or other muslims or even christians, you do not know them at all. Ask God, in any way that you feel good, to show you the path so that you can accept and there remains no way to deny. Also decide to be honest that if you see Quran says being gay or lesbian is forbidden, as was in the era of Abraham (PBUH), understand why you are not going to obey that religion, not because it is bad, but becasue is hard to obey it and remdy yourself. If it is hard, is not important as long as at least you know you are not right and want, although don’t know how, to get rid of the bad habits one day in the coming future. But if you insist on you being right, although you know you are not, then I grab your attention to this expression:”you can wake up a guy asleep, but can you wake up a guy pretending to be asleep? there is no way for that unless he changes his mind by himself!”
PPPS. Think what government started up Taliban in Afghanistan to fight against USSR, then attacked to it when they became almost uncontrollable? Where Taliban gained their weapons from, from Iran their best known enemies of their friendship time with the rest of world? Wasn’t it Iran who was insisting Taliban is not a islamc community that should be stopped for the Afghan people to release? Wasn’t it Iran that several poor Afghan escaped from their country to it? Wasn’t it Arabia that was offering Iran, at the US’s order, with an appreciable amount of money for Iran only to approve Taliban’s government in Afghanistan for them to relax? What government fed Saddam with missileries to fight against Iran (so that even they had an estimation of his bombs before to attck in Iraq in 2003) and Europian countries were also their support (Germany gave lots of chemical bombs to Saddam and then, before for us to know, accept our victims to directly study the applicability of such bombs)? What government used atomic bombs against people living in two cities of Japan that caught their and theirl childrens’ lives as victims, with more than 50 years post-effects? What goerment has approved a terrorist band “mojahedin” in Iraq and armed them with weapons to kill many diplomats and their other enemies in Iran? What government shooted the Iranian Airbus aircraft leaving Iran to UAE, from a military ship of them in Persian Gulf and then apologized for their “MISTAKE” (Do Americans accept the apology of Talibans if they ask for it while they know there is no mistake like that possible. US ARMY takes a civil aircraft instead of a fighter, is it possible? maybe it is if you have no other way to believe?), only to show their anger to our people? Do we need billions of accidents to learn from the history? Should we relax and hate religions because they do not let us behave the way we like? Do we should trust Froud, the great psycholgist, but not God, the creator? Don’t we think? Is it really hard to see which side, religion or the western science-based (even if it was really so) bounded experiments (everyday in remedition), has right to define the way we should live? Islam is not against science, but says why when you look at the solar panels made by a scientist get surprised of his/her intelligence, but do not think of the God as a strong power with every leaf on each tree over this earth working as one solar pannel, several times more efficient than those of man made? The problem is that we think of science “and” religion, whereas we should note that religion determines the pilosophy and ideology, and science as long is something that deals with reality of this world, surely, is limitted to the limits of religion and the will of God, they are not separated, religion contains science, not that science is something else intrinsically very demanding. We should study physics, chemistry, biology, … and say “thanks God I know you are here surrounding me with reality. I use these sciences you have put in nature for my easiness, I know I should be thankful and I try not to exceed my limits you the great has drawn for me, that you know me and my needs better than me, and at the cost of science and knowing my weaknesses I can trust you now more than ever before.”
Hi Owzhan,
It’s a bit difficult to follow what you’ve said here, but I think you’re confused: when you say “you”, who are you addressing? I did not draw the cartoons above. I linked to them as an example of the way Iran is being demonised in the Western press – a demonisation I obviously do not approve of.
As for your comments about God – I don’t want to get into a discussion about religion now. Suffice to say, I’m an atheist and can’t see any rational justification for religious belief whatsoever.
i’m a persian and i’m proud of it.unfortunately i think people who sent these comments on this website are not old enough or do not have enough information about the past and the history of iran,how a great country it use to be and now it’s ruined by the name of islam and islamic republic,believe me it’s not the picture of iran that people in the world are seeing nowadays in the media,iran is a beautiful country and iranians are very lovely people.but the sad part of the story is that the islamic government do not care about the history of persia,they are trying to connect our culture to the arab world,they deny the civilazation before the islamic era,the only think that they care about is their existance,to live longer as a government,the national geographic changed the name of the persian gulf into arabic gulf and they didn’t even object to it,i really believe that pictures like this caricature only has bad effects on the proud and the heart od the iranian people not the islamic republic,because they just don’t care,they’re arabs,they always wanted to be arabs,they are trying to change the new year’s day from the first days of spring into a religous day of shiiats which is called ghadir day because they believe that the 3000 this 3000 years old tradition of persian people isn’t islamic and it should be islamic,they ruined the grave of kourush,the grat king of persia in 500 b.c. they even tried to destroy the persepolis in the first days of islamic revolution in 1979 but the u.n stoped them.i’m so sorry that the peole like ahmadinejad are represending my country through out the world,iran is falling from grace.i don’t mind if anyone make caricatures against these arab lovers,but it really make me sad to see that some people like ramirez are making caricatures againt iranian people.let me ask the people who think they’re civilized enough to allow themselves to make fun of others.where have they been 3000 yars ago when our people were living in the cities,worshiping one and only god,having one unite government,art, and ruling half of the known world,our king wrote the human rights scroll 2500 years ago,the scroll is in the united nations building in newyork today.and the arabs who use to live and are still living in the tenses in desert,drinking camel’s milk and use to bury their daughters alive are now civilized and we are cuckroaches?americans with only 500 years of history are now civilized and we are all filthy and barbaric,all this corrent situation will change someday and our great country,great persia will be freed from the islamic regime and will show the world who we really are…
im an iranian boy who lived in iran . i think this images and notes are propaganda of west and george bush . in iran we have fredom and we are very happy . i am m.a student of political science and i know irans regim are democratic. all of propaganda of west against iran is wrong.
Well, the images are certainly propaganda designed to demonise Iran and bestialise Iranians. However, the Iranian regime is in no way “democratic” and Iranians don’t enjoy anywhere near the level of freedom present in most Western societies.
Mike Ramirez is a numbnut! A Jerkoff!