Posted by Sadie from D006022.N1.Vanderbilt.Edu (129.59.6.22) on Tuesday, September 23, 2003 at 10:05PM :
In Reply to: Re: Dear Azhi posted by Azhi from 253.16.252.64.snet.net (64.252.16.253) on Tuesday, September 23, 2003 at 8:15PM :
AINA was also my first experience with *on-line* Assyrians (a whole different breed from the ones who stay off-line), & they tend to be pretty weird at that site. But, you know, they are human, they have flaws, & every community seems to have people like them in it.... This kind of ties into your observation that the Kurds (& other ethnic minorities in Turkey) live in a backwards place. I suppose these people at AINA are a bit uneducated about the many options they have in life - that they don't have to follow ONE blasted path to create a nation & that one path seems to involve lots of bloodshed & hatred - because they, too, have come from a backwards place, mentally, if not geographically (as in Turkey).... The AINA website ensures that only those people can voice their opinions because the moderators at the forum ban posts that don't agree with their agenda & the way the website advertises being Assyrian (Christian) can be likened to the way that any religious fundamentalist talks about his/her religion. It's right for you to ignore them. The Assyrians I know in real life are actually quite wonderful people, & if they are religious, it's not in the same way as the people at AINA are. Like I said, AINA just recruits freaks, & that's the way they want it.
This forum, in spite of Fred's warts, is probably the best Assyrian political forum on the web. I think it represents, quite fairly, the way a lot of the off-line Assyrians think. The off-line Assyrians I know don't think that fighting for an Assyrian nation is in anyone's best interest, so they simply don't bother with AINA. & if you ever visit Nashville, I'll introduce you to a couple of nice Assyrians. There aren't many Assyrians around here, but there are at least a few, & they aren't nincompoops like the ones at AINA. & then, I'll take you to a good Kurdish restaurant. : ) I am not ashamed to say that I fully appreciate Kurdish cooks. : )
Back to politics: as for a Kurdistan - well, hopefully Turkey will be pressured by the EU to be less oppressive toward the Assyrians & the Kurds. If the Turkish government can't be pressured to do so, even by the EU, then that could also be taken as an indication of how willing Turkey would be to fight even more against the Kurds & to take over northern Iraq. What do you think?
What do you think about this, though? I have heard that in Iraq, the Kurds were treated better (for instance, they could speak their own language) than the Kurds in Iran or Turkey. Is that true, in your opinion?
I can see where you are coming from, politically, & I pretty much agree with you on everything you say about Turkey & U.S. motives for the attack. You actually added to the picture, so thanks for the information. : )
The things that happened in Iraq at Saddam's hands were, I believe, mostly the responsibility of the U.S. government. Of course Saddam killed so many Kurds, & Saddam also killed so many of his own men in that pointless war against Iran, but the U.S. government was backing him on both occassions. I can't trust the U.S. government because of this. Anyway, I didn't care much for Saddam, either, but I don't care too much for that council of ex-pats.... What do you think about them? I'm just afraid that they will be nothing but pawns for the U.S. government & ensure U.S. businesses get priority over other competing businesses, even ones that are native to Iraq. How can Iraq thrive & grow like that, when it can't even let its native businessess take advantage of its resources?
When you said this: "Political rhetoric is just words that I simply tune them out; I am just amazed why the politicians even bother." I couldn't help but laugh. : ) Sadly, I think the politicians bother with that rhetoric because there are a lot of people out there who seem to fall for it. But, like you, I wish the politicians wouldn't bother.
Anyway, I hope you keep posting here - I like your posts. Sorry I was so blunt in that earlier post. Sometimes people get offended by my blunt statements, so I'm glad you weren't. I was just a bit curious about your opinions....
-- Sadie
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