It's a shame!
Hi Niki,
I was more angered by the response than the cartoon. This phrase that Ahmadinejad has threatened to obliterate the Jewish state has been taken too far. I have read the speech it only predicts the downfall of Israel and he gives the example of Soviet Union (I know you know this but I have to rant), whereas Iran has been threatened by nuclear attack if not nuclear obliteration.
Thanks for your writing the letter.
Haedeh
Hi Haji- It's unbelievable, I know!
Hi Haedeh- Tell me about it, i was boiling when i got the response. The idiots even got Iran and Iraq screwed around in their canned response, did you notice that? (he said the cartoon is about "the Iraqi regime’s support..."). And I love how they say "it doesn’t come close to labeling all Iranians as cockroaches." Um, ok, so we are supposed to feel better that it shows just some iranians as cockroaches!
Niki,
I totally forgot about the mix up of Iraq and Iran.
I got so angry that I also wrote an email to him. Generally, I am too lazy and too meek to write protest letters.
But I was fuming.
I hope in my rush I spelled your name right.
I am sure I will get the exact response as you did. They won't even open to read it.
"Dear Sir,
I have read your response to Ms. Niki Akhavan who protested the recent cartoon in the Colombus Dispatch.
Your response in fact was worse than the cartoon itself. I quote:
"But since the drain cover depicted in the cartoon is clearly labeled with "Iran" and "extremism" it is clear that the cartoon refers only to those elements of the Iranian regime who support extremism. In other words, it doesn't come close to labeling all Iranians as cockroaches."
It is obvious that by placing a drain cover with cockroaches and the word extremism on the map of Iran, the only interpretation to take is that residents of Iran are cockroaches and extremists. Thus it not only comes close to libeling all Iranians, it certainly labels them as both undesirable terms.
Also, Ms Akhavan's protest of your depiction of Iranians as coakroaches in a cartoon has nothing to do with what Ahmadinejad may or may have not
said about Israel. Bringing up Ahmadinejad is not relevant.
Additionally, while I do not feel much sympathy for President Ahmadinejad, he did not and never has threatened to "wipe Israel off the map".
"Imam ghoft een rezhim-e ishghalgar-e qods bayad az safheh-ye ruzgar mahv shavad." is the most belligerent quote and this means
"The Imam said this regime occupying Jerusalem should be vanished from the page of time".
A word by word translation: Imam (Khomeini) ghoft (said) een (this) rezhim-e (regime) ishghalgar-e (occupying) qods ( Jerusalem ) bayad (should be) az safheh-ye ruzgar (from the page of time) mahv shavad (vanished from).
Thus he predicted the downfall of the Israeli regime, or as he put it Zionist regime, in his speech, later using the
example of the downfall of the Soviet Union as an analogy.
By comparison, as we all know, as much as US wanted the downfall of communist regime in Soviet Union they
did not commit genocide of any of the Soviet Unions' member states' populations to accelerate it. In contrast, Iran has more than once been threatened with nuclear attack if not nuclear annihilation.
To put matters in context, IR's policy toward South Africa was much the same as their policy toward Israel. For example during apartheid times they banned travel to South Africa.
As far as they are concerned the South African apartheid regime has been wiped off the map of history. And no genocide of white population had to happen.
Therefore your answer was a racist and an illogical rant at best.
Finally, I have not been asked by CAIR to write this letter. Until today I did not even know what CAIR stands for.
Yours sincerely,
Haedeh Nazari, Ph.D.
"
Dear Haedeh- Thanks so much for writing to them. I just heard that NIAC is taking up the case too, so hopefully they will be getting lots more letters!
Please see this website:
توجیحات سردبیر روزنامه The Columbus Dispatc پیرامون کاریکاتور فاشیستی
https://balatarin.com/permlink/20...007/9/6/
1125903
Dear aaah- Thanks a lot for putting it on Balatarin. I wish I had time to translate it all to Persian so that your readers could read the whole thing.
I noticed that part about Iraq too. Eyeraq, Eyeran, they’re all the same to these people and unfortunately most Americans. At least we know where this particular cartoonist comes from. It really pisses me off when our very own Iranian cartoonist(s) in “exile” draw pictures that they very well know give ammo to the far-right just to make a buck. What can one expect from a right-wing publication then?
It is indeed sad. But I am afraid we will have to fasten our sit belts and get ready for a lot more of this kind of fascist hate propaganda.The propaganda machines on both sides have noregard for the feelings of little citizens like us.
Good job writing the letter.
If anything, the answer shows grave ignorance of the editor of a useless paper published in the middle of nowhere (and it seems to be a pre-composed, one-size-fits-all response composed as soon as CAIR voiced its opposition).
Hi Mohammad-
Yeah, what can one expect when Iranian cartoonists in "exile" are more than happy to participate in these sick discourses.
It's funny, i just saw that one of these guys (who is in canada in fact) who is one of these people who seems to be on a personal crusade (or maybe he gets paid?) to spread anti-Iran hysteria, is now going around telling people to "calm down" about being called a cockroach. See his fatherly advice, in English and Persian as follows:
http://kamangir.net/2007/09/06/d...ot-a-cockroach/
http://persian.kamangir.net/?p=470
Hi Ehsan-
Yeah, the propaganda machines are working full force, but I still maintain that most people in Iran are much smarter at detecting propaganda in their local press.
I also agree that the response was a ready-made letter to be sent out to a bunch of people, which is a good sign that CAIR did manage to get a lot of people to respond.
Putting "extremism" in much smaller type in a much smaller size and a good ways from Iran is disingenuous at best. I think they're getting the reaction they were going for.
Purely racist, shameful cartoon!
Indeed, I wonder if they DARED make such a cartoon on Israel.
America needs to wake up and free itself from the powerful chains of Zionists, that like parasites, are sucking up US resources, and getting US into conflicts just for the sake of the greedy few.
Here is the response that I sent to the editor of the Dispatch:
Dear Mr. Sheller:
The shameful cartoon that is shown in your newspaper is nothing but racist and war-mongering. I read your response to an Iranian blog post, where you state that you were referring to "extremist" elements within Iran and you said that your cartoon was clearly labeled so. Well sir, I tried to double check that point: I used every single magnification that my laptop allowed and still the small wriggles on the lower sewer slat were not clearly legible. You have technically covered your bases, but your intention still rings out loud and clear. You intended to refer to Iranians as insects that deserve to be squashed underfoot without a second thought and that is what comes out in your cartoon.
If you are truthful in your assertion that you referred to extremists only, you need to get busy depicting the extremist elements in Israel and the US as well. We all know that those ideas exist in every country. But not every country is on the hit list of this war-mongering president. That's what makes the difference, isn't it, Mr. Sheller?
Regarding your comments of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, how is it so wrong that Iran has nuclear power, when nearby Israel has multiple warheads? No one in the region should be allowed to have them except those who gets approved by the US? Who has used nuclear power, except the US? The IAEA has recently declared that Iran is not in violation of the non-proliferation treaty. Why the double standard? Is this is another example of our attempt to spread democracy across the world?
And finally, with regard to those people who "should not" be offended by your cartoon/article unless they are part of the extremist effort, I'm sure that there is no one from any nation who wants to be referred to as an insect, regardless of their political/social inclinations. Iranians always clearly state that their issues are with the US governments policies, not with Americans themselves. You could stand to learn some lessons from their courtesy and decency.
Carolyn Jones
Niki,
Your labeling of Kamangir is quite unfair, to say the least. I do not know either of you people but judging from your posts, I would say you are both writing for a cause. Unlike you, he was raised in Iran (you have a much stronger sentence structure suggesting you have been educated abroad) and because of that he is more sensitive to what happens inside Iran, unlike you who seem to be more interested in the Western media depiction of Iran - the CASMII and all that.
For all I know this is a stupid cartoon in an obscure publication - compared to the more mainstream American media, and it is not worth slandering people over.
I appreciate your patriotism, but I am hoping it does not cloud your judgment of the realities of life in Iran.
U.S. wanted democracy for Iraq ? Really ?
niki
does your letter N address still work?
Frank
Hi Frank- Yes, it still works but i rarely check it. I'll check it today though, did u send me something?
Alireza- thanks for your thoughts, i'll try to respond to your critique perhaps in an upcoming post.
Sumiyeh- thanks for taking the time to write the letter, i hope they are starting to get the message.
Hi Mike- Yes, i know, i'm amazed at how some people are either blind to or pretend not to see how racist it is.
Slaughter- They probably were going for this reaction, but i still think it is important to call them on it.
This cartoon is disgusting! I think that it points to the wider issue that most Americans are completely ignorant about Iran. They hear a few sabre rattling sound bytes from Ahmadinejad and they assume that all Iranians think the same way.
Dear ‘Columbus Dispatch’ Staff,
Your political cartoon depicting Iran as a sewer and the Iranian citizens as fleeing cockroaches is both ignorant and inflammatory.
In publishing this material you have aligned yourselves with the most hawkish and ignorant elements of society. Your complicity in the continuing escalation toward a confrontation with Iran will be remembered when these criminals in Washington and their horrific foreign policy plans are stopped.
Proud and aware American citizens are no longer swayed by this type of sensationalist hate piece. You should be ashamed of your attempt to pander this material on your readers; I demand an apology and retraction of this “cartoon”.
Dear John P- thanks for taking the time to write this letter.
Niki,
Your posting prompted me to write the following message to the editor and cartoonist:
Sirs,
I am writing to express my revulsion about the racist characterization of the Iranian nation in the cartoon at the Opinion page of the September 4, 2007 edition of The Columbus Dispatch.
Here, I do not want to point out and discuss the many obvious errors and insulting aspects of your product. Your tasteless cartoon (which showed Iran as sewer with cockroaches creeping out) well describes itself and speaks volumes about your racism and ignorance. Frankly, your insulting depiction of the Iranian nation says more about your own moral decrepitude. Your are the same people who for the past four and half years have been killing hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who had not done anything to harm you or your country. Yet, instead of expressing any shame or remorse about these crimes, you seek to blame others. Yours is a government that lied to its own public and violated its own cherished constitution in order to illegally invade and destroy another nation. You pretend to be the so-called free media but you do nothing to inform your citizens or question the unlawful acts of your government.
Now, you are repeating the same crimes by paving the way for your government to attack and kill again. Only this time they want to use atomic bombs too. Why not! You are providing the justification; after all, these are not living breathing human beings; they are not fathers, mothers and families; according your depiction Iranians are repulsive insects who deserve to be killed. Shame on you!
If you had an iota of intelligence, you would have realized that the main threat to your freedoms and national institutions is not from any foreign terrorist group; it is the ignorance, arrogance and racism of the citizens and government of this country that will bring about its demise.
Dear Vahid-
Thank you so much for writing. I am really happy to see that many people are writing to express their objections to the piece.
Mr. Michael Ramirez,
On behalf of millions of innocent Iranian children, man and women who have been target of your racist, inhumane, disgusting cartoon I'd like to say: Fuck you.
On behalf of millions inhabitants of this planet who find a kind friend, responsible colleague, devoted physician, caring teacher among Iranians, I'd like to say Fuck you.
On behalf of 3000 years contribution to human culture and likes of AveCina, Farabi and Kharazmi I'd like to say: Fuck you.
On behalf of thousands of brilliant, devoted Iranian intellectuals, scientists, artists, physicians around the world I'd like to say: Fuck you.
On behalf of fair minded, civil, intelligent American people who embrace diversity and different cultures I'd like to say: Fuck you.
...and Glenn, fuck you too!
scott harrop at helena cobbans blog has taken up the cudgels too.
http://www.justworldnews.com/
I'm a Jewish American, and I found that cartoon to be utterly disgusting and repugnant. And, I would certainly agree that it is racist and, I think, no different, in any respect, than Nazi cartoons of Jews back in the 1930's. To imply that an entire nation of people are cockroaches (which is the message most readers would come away with) is so very, very wrong. The paper should publish a sincere apology.
If I have a bone to pick, my bone of contention is with those Iranians who support the moron who is President of Iran. If he continues his rants, his idiotic statements, his racist ways, and his taunts, he may well, someday, cause some very bad things to happen to everyone who lives in Iran. I would hate to see that happen.
Joel
My sister has a theory, which I think I agree with, that there are three types of newspapers. Type 1 actually provides news. You learn from reading them. Examples are most of the McClatchey papers, the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post(news side, not the editorial side. Type 2 papers(most small town local papers) it's net neutral. You don't learn much and you don't do much harm reading them. Type 3 are papers like the Columbus Dispatch, where you actually damage brain cells by reading them. You Know less after you read them than you knew before, and not just about news and politics. Their reviewers sing the praises of local string quartets that play off-key, etc. It's no wonder that Ohio voted for Bush in 2004 when the Dispatch was the paper of record for the largest city in the state.
Dorud Nikki,
Omidvaram shoma kheyli khub bashid. bad nistam. khubam.
I have just seen the cartoon of the cockroaches and it honestly made me feel sick. I have not seen anything so disgusting outside a history book on the nazis.
As a Scot with several Iranian friends, I cannot imagine anything more inaccurate or inflammatory. Still, it proves one thing, that some influential Americans have the brain capacity of the average amoeba or less.
khoda negahdar
susan
PS. I am just about to start a language course with the Persian Institute in London, so hopefully I will soon be a bit more fluent.
It's interesting that a journalist has mixed up Ira and Iraq. This cartoon and the editor's response remind me of Keyhan and baradar Hosein. 
As a Belgian-American, I find this absolutely disgusting, complete garbage and an intellectual insult to the entire human race.
Indeed, what would the reaction have been if the country that's covered with fleeing cockroaches would have been Israel instead? It's astounding what people attempt to justify as they carry on with their morally blinded and hopelessly skewed world views. Then again, these people responsible for this reprehensible cartoon don't appear to be all that educated, so go figure.
May peace be upon all,
Dimitri
In response to dragging Israel into this.
The alarm over nuclear warheads is about asynchronous action. A country that performs an asynchronous action is an unpredictable country. That's what scares people.
Israel is not asynchronous; it's fairly predictable. Although its actions are sometimes heavy-handed and unfair, it's basically reactions to outside stimulus. I'm not saying they're fair or just. I'm simply saying that if you look through the propaganda from both sides, they're more reactionary than proactive. Even the canonical proactive action - the Six Day War - was a reaction to the bottling up of shipping lines and land lines of fuel and goods.
Iran's government has a long history of asynchronous events starting with the taking of American hostages and continuing with supporting terrorist groups while denying complicity. That's why people are so scared of Iran having nukes.
Look at Pakistan and India. They hate each other. Prime candidates for nuclear war. Yet the governments have, for the most part, been predictable in their hatred. In an ideal situation they wouldn't have nukes. But it doesn't carry the same level of panic that Iran having nukes does.
That said, it's wrong for any people, in toto, to be characterized as cockroaches in any circumstances, for any reason. That's called racism.
The cartoon should've made a distinction between the government of Iran and the people of Iran.
I'm originally from Marion, Ohio -- 40 miles from Columbus -- and I can tell you for fact that the Columbus Dispatch sucked back then, obviously sucks now and will always suck in the future.
In toto, the Dispatch is the best excuse I've yet seen for getting my news from the internet. The daily is an utter waste of paper.
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