as i see it - Pt. III

[Accelerated]

Thanks nairi, I very much fancy it too

 

Yes, that is 'way too much tolerance'. For me its quite simple - my greatgrandfathers fought against the Nazis, none died but two were wounded, and I am sure many Armenians are in the same boat. So if I see someone wearing a swastika, under the right circumstances I WILL start trouble (ie. make smart comments in an effort to build up to a fight or him/her being embarrassed). And I am quite surprised when I hear of skinheads in America, Europe and even Russia now - their forefathers fought (and many died) against the swastika (weather they were right or not is another issue), and now their greatgrandkids are wearing the swastika proudly. Even if one sympaphises with 'skinhead idology', one should respect the dead.

[ara baliozian]

Wednesday, March 05, 2003

*******************************

You cannot convince dogs

that all cats are not evil.

You cannot convince some Armenians

that all Turks are not bloodthirsty savages.

You cannot convince anti-Semites

that they are paranoiacs.

That’s because in animals as well as men

instincts speaks louder than reason.

*

History as well as reason tell us:

(i) it is wrong to start a war that can't be won; and

a military defeat that is a moral victory

is a propaganda ploy designed by dopes for dupes.

*

We are not equipped to admit error,

which is bad enough; what is infinitely worse is that

neither are we equipped to admit fallibility.

To those who demand solutions to all our problems

I suggest the following three easy steps:

Let’s learn to concede that as human beings

we are fallible;

let’s make a list of our blunders; and

let’s learn from them.

*

Perhaps the trouble with most of us is that

we act as our own lawyer,

which means that – according to a well-known legal maxim –

we have a fool as a client.

[ara baliozian]

Thursday, March 06, 2003

*****************************

In his recent book WHY I AM A CATHOLIC,

Garry Wills discusses at some length

a 19th-century Pope who called Jews "dogs"

and accused them of ritual murder of Christian children,

among other unspeakable crimes,

after which he asked: "Am I an anti-Semite?"

and answered: "Of course not!

Everything I say is based on fact."

*

In Greek mythology we learn that

Circe turned men into swine.

We know now that men are capable

of turning themselves into swine

without outside intervention.

*

Anti-war demonstrators prove that

even if you are the worst scum on earth

you will have your share of supporters and useful idiots.

And I think of Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini,

Franco, Mao, Idi Amin Dada, Pinochet, Noriega….

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même merde.

*

Our perceptions tell us the earth is flat.

How many of our present certainties

will be proved wrong in the future?

How many questioned the flat-earth theory?

*

Where would I be

if everyone agreed with me?

*

One of my favorite readers

keeps telling me that I sound like a broken record.

Am I not justified in suspecting that

I am one of his favorite writers?

[ara baliozian]

Friday, March 07, 2003

*****************************

The world is a big place with many conflicting interests.

To those who say "We believe to be right and God is on our side!"

I say, faith guarantees only the illusion of a happy afterlife.

Faith does not make people wiser, stronger, or morally superior.

If it did, organized religions would be divided between the winners and

losers and mankind would rally around a single religion.

*

World War I, World War II, and more recently the Balkans:

when things go wrong, Europe relies on America to clean up its mess.

*

When a reader calls me names and resorts to insults,

I cannot help suspecting that what he is attempting to do

is drag me down to a place where he will have the upper hand.

If I don't reply in kind it’s not because I am a good Christian

willing to turn the other cheek

but because I don't feel at home in the gutter.

[nairi]

Ok, to avoid further confusion, I'll call them neo-Nazis from now on And don't worry Vava, fortunately I'm still able to tell the difference between people who shave their heads and neo-Nazis.

 

Accel, interesting point, except the getting into a fight with them bit That reminds me of one of my cousins in Glendale who said he beats them up with his friends whenever he crosses them in LA. And his (great)grandfathers had nothing to do with WWII... It's all this extremism that's getting to me. The only reason we don't have significant Armenian gangs here is because we're such a small group. Quite sad really.

 

Ok, I guess we should open a new thread if this discussion continues any further. So if there's anyone who wants to reply to this, it is up to you to open a new thread

[Raffi the Illuminator]

Good point! This is true, not all skinheads per se are neo-nazi's. "Punks" often tend to be much further to the "left" of the political spectrum. I for one have been involved in the "punk" movement for years but now more or less prefer to refer to myself as an "individual" now since the "punk" subculture more or less has arguably become less political and more about "fashion" then really anything else. I've also been shaving my head for many years and have been often been confused with being a "skinhead" by many people.

[Sasun]

What a superficial and distorted view of faith and religion! Granted, it has some truth regarding the people you quote in the first line. Other than that, your statement is equivalent to stating that the earth is flat (while people who are better positioned and spend more time to understand the earth would say that it is round).

 

From this and your other posts about religion, I say: don't judge about something you don't know well.

[Raffi the Illuminator]

Sasun, this is exactly why I do my utmost to avoid any philosophical matters with regard to debating faith, spirituality or "religion".

 

If faith or the existence in God, Allah etc or "other" spiritual belief systems is something one cannot prove nor disprove for example, then one can philosophically debate either position objectively for an "eternity" so to speak.

 

I will leave it at that.

[Sasun]

Raffi, I agree that debates about such topics can be fruitless. On the other hand, if someone says, for example, God does not exist, then I would like to say it is not true.

Religion is not something like a book to read mechanically and make an opinion. The value of religion is in practicing it, then one can know truth. Stating what you think of a religion without understanding much has no value.

There IS proof that God exists. However, the proof will not be delivered to anyone by itself. As it was said, seek and you shall find (your proof).

 

P.S. Raffi jan, this is not necesarily to answer you It is mostly about Ara Baliozian's last comment.

[Raffi the Illuminator]

I agree and understand and no harm done I just wanted to make my point and agree to your comments earlier

I never challenge someone's faith in God. Neither will I take part in debating whether God exists or not.

[Sasun]

I understand, we are cool

[ara baliozian]

Saturday, March 08, 2003

*****************************

Like most Armenians

I too have (or suffer from) an oversized ego.

Hence my reluctance to engage in argument.

It must be obvious to all by now that

an Armenian argument generates more b.s. than sense.

*

Where words fail, violence follows.

*

To expose an Armenian’s Ottomanism (or Stalinism)

all you have to do is question his infallibility.

*

There are two kinds of Armenians:

the smart and the smart-ass.

*

Our inability to engage in dialogue

is a collective blind spot.

It has alienated more Armenians

than victims of Turkish atrocities.

*

Don't ask for whom the bell tolls,

especially if you are doing the tolling.

*

This has been said before

but it bears repeating….

[ara baliozian]

Sunday, March 09, 2003

****************************

For the inquisitive mind

understanding is an endless process;

for the ignoramus it is a dead end.

*

In what way are we better than the Arabs

who so far have failed to reform

their own rotten regimes

but think they will have better luck

with Israel and America?

*

God created man

and man created charlatans.

*

When it comes to nonentities with monumental egos,

our collective cup runneth over niagarally.

[ara baliozian]

Monday, March 10, 2003

*******************************

Some think we are in good hands.

I don't! I suspect in a fully democratized environment

with an independent judiciary,

almost everyone who is someone in our communities today

would be impeached, tarred and feathered.

Cruel and unusual punishment?

Not if you think of all the innocent victims

of incompetence, lies, and blunders.

*

There are smart Armenians, no doubt about that.

But most of them are indifferent to the conditions of the people;

others are too busy parading their erudition

in medievalism and massacrism;

and the rest know that if they speak up

they will ostracized and reduced to the status

of Soviet-style non-persons – which means

no more invitations to symposia, banquets,

and medals awarded by bishops.

[ara baliozian]

Tuesday, March 11, 2003

*****************************

If you are against someone,

you will hate him even for the crimes

he has not yet committed.

But if you are for someone,

not only will you forget his past and present crimes

but you will also forgive all his future ones.

This may explain why with some people

Saddam is more popular than Bush.

Another reason: Only 24% of the American people

voted for Bush. As everyone knows by now

Saddam was elected by 100% of Iraqis.

Which may also explain why

some people are for a change in regime –

not in Iraq but in the United States.

*

There are two kinds of criticism:

criticism that is motivated by concern

and criticism that is an expression of hate.

The second variant of criticism is also known as

venom, verbal abuse, and death wish.

*

We love to argue because

it gives us a chance to assert

our intellectual and moral superiority.

Which may explain our collective ignorance

and lack of moral compass.

Because to say that we know better or are better

is the surest symptom of a closed mind.

*

Hemingway once remarked that

fascism cannot produce literature, only murder.

But I prefer Baronian’s dictum:

"I love mankind but I hate my fellow men."

*

I plead guilty to the charge (or is it capital offense?)

of forcing some of my readers to question their prejudices.

[Rubo]

Dear Ara It seems that you are practicing what you are condemning fellow Armenians for. Axel and Sasun brought up legitimate points and it is too bad that instead of understanding and dialogue, you might of distanced two more Armenians from yourself. I hope you do engage often not to argue but like you say mutual dialogue.

Regards

[ara baliozian]

Wednesday, March 12, 2003

*******************************

There was a time when I went out of my way

to meet fellow Armenians.

Now I go out of my way to avoid them.

The sad truth is

I no longer feel at ease in their proximity.

*

Some of my worst enemies today are Armenians.

In their eyes I might as well be

a combination of everything that is evil

(Talaat, Sharon, Bush).

And why?

Simply because I am not fond of suicidal fanatics

and brainwashed terrorists – sorry: my mistake:

I should have said freedom fighter.

*

We are a people with an ax to grind

and a score to settle.

If it’s not Turks, it’s Jews;

if it’s not Jews, it’s Yanks;

but since Turks, Jews, and Yanks are beyond our reach,

we take it out on fellow Armenians.

*

It is written: "Be aware of Turkish enemies

and Armenian friends."

[ara baliozian]

Thursday, March 13, 2003

*****************************

Anti-Americanism has acquired such depths of conviction

that one has the feeling some people view the United States

as a big mistake that should be corrected

by extermination – all in the name of peace, of course.

What then?

Who will be the next Superpower?

China? Russia? The EU?

Or perhaps a coalition of Muslim countries

under the leadership of an authoritarian leader

who will be an instrument of Allah the Compassionate,

the Merciful, and the Owner of the Day of Judgment?

Next question: Will the world be a better place then?

One can always hope so, of course.

But when was the last time

the world adjusted to our hopes?

*

Why is it that Arabs and democracy

appear to be incompatible concepts?

*

You can insult some people without being rude:

all you have to do is let them know

as diplomatically as you can that

you don't share their high opinion of themselves.

*

What’s the use of having a thousand crackpots on your side

if logic is against you?

*

If you say "To hate is wrong,"

take care to say it with love.

*

The ambition of every fool

is to be told that he is wise.

[ara baliozian]

Friday, March 14, 2003

***************************

Everybody loved MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING

except Greeks. The whole world admired Kazantzakis

except Greeks who excommunicated him

when he was alive

and shat on his grave

after he was buried.

I suppose, very much like Armenians,

Greeks too are hard to please.

Or perhaps they don't care

to be observed and assessed by an honest insider.

Or perhaps they suspect

their inferiority complex may not be a complex….

What they want and demand is flattery and nothing else.

*

Who takes Greeks and Armenians seriously?

Not even Greeks and Armenians.

*

Is there an Armenian word for détente?

I suspect if there is, it is seldom or never used.

*

Once a loser always a loser.

If this is a curse it must surely be a self-inflicted one.

*

If I knew how to pray

I would say and repeat:

"God (or Allah) save me from men

who speak in Your name."

*

Why do I go on writing for Armenians?

The hope that one in a thousand will agree with me

and the mathematical probability that

where there is one there may be two,

and where there are two

there may be four and so on….

Am I being overly optimistic?

Perhaps. But I am also relying

on the universal distribution of common sense

and the rules of logic.

*

On reading my obituary

some of my gentle readers will no doubt rejoice.

This prospect is so repellent to me that

I will live to be a hundred even if it kills me.

*

From a work in progress:

"Like most honest Armenians

he knew the expression ‘smart Armenian’

to be an oxymoron."

[ara baliozian]

Saturday, March 15, 2003

******************************

I love controversy

but I hate the gutter.

Why is it that in our environment

you cannot have the one

without the other?

*

Even the word of God has been misunderstood.

Does that mean the Good Lord did not know

how to express Himself clearly?

*

God created man and man created perversions.

Which is why man will pervert the meaning

of the simplest assertions.

*

It is not that our problems are insoluble.

Rather, our Ottomanized and Stalinized perverts

prefer charlatans to honest men.

*

We practice verbal massacre

because it is against the law to practice the real thing.

Given the opportunity – the political context

and the legal framework (which is what Stalin did) –

we will exterminate as ruthlessly as Talaat’s henchmen.

*

Some say God is Love.

I am not sure about that.

If God were love

He would not allow anyone

to preach hatred in His name.

Some say (among them Gandhi) God is Truth.

I am not sure about that either.

If God were Truth

He would not allow anyone

to preach lies in His name.

And if you were to ask me:

What is God? I would reply:

God is Tolerance and He allows

intolerance in His name because

His tolerance is without limit.

The only limitless thing about man

is his stupidity which is not an attribute

but a punishment for those

who cannot tell the difference between

smart and smart-ass.

*

If the shoe fits, you know what to do with it.

[ara baliozian]

Monday, March 17, 2003

****************************

Why do I go on writing for Armenians?

Wrong question.

I don't write for any specific club, group, tribe, or species.

I write for my fellow men

some of whom happen to be jackasses.

*

Gandhi once said that

a coward does not deserve to be

a member of the human race.

The same applies to anyone

who has no respect for human rights

(one of them being free speech),

and what could be more cowardly

than fear of words?

*

Understanding and dialogue cannot always be

painless because they may require flexibility, compromise,

and sometimes even the admission

of doubt, ignorance, and charlatanism.

*

Democracy and fascism are as mutually exclusive

as dialogue and infallibility.

*

It’s extremely difficult to diminish others

without diminishing oneself.

*

My job description includes thinking for myself

and if my thoughts do not always agree

with those of mullahs, bishops, bosses, and charlatans,

I do not feel the need to apologize.

*

I had an Armenian education

and I don't remember a single instance of a teacher

defining or even mentioning the word democracy;

and on more than one occasion

I have heard it said that we Armenians

are not yet ready for democracy,

which amounts to saying:

We are not yet willing to respect

the fundamental human rights of our fellow Armenians

because we consider them to be subhuman.

*

It is not that Armenians don't respect writers.

Armenians don't respect doctors

(according to a friend of mine who is a doctor)

or lawyers (according to a lawyer friend)

and one another (according to many ones and others).

[ara baliozian]

Tuesday, March 18, 2003

**************************

If you want to analyze any given situation

or if your aim is to understand reality,

stop preaching.

And if you want to make your explanations

more convincing, stop propagandizing.

Leave sermons and propaganda to professionals

who get paid for their lies.

Patriotism, ideology, religion:

these are obstructions to understanding.

They may enhance performance

(slaying infidels, terrorizing civilians, moving mountains)

but not understanding.

*

Remember! You cannot hide your Ottomanism

by repeating patriotic slogans.

*

A Negro in the United States,

an Untouchable in India,

an Armenian in Turkey enjoy more freedom today

than an Armenian among Armenians.

*

If we listen to one another,

we may learn something.

But if we degrade one another,

we degrade the nation.

*

One does not have to study our history and literature

to understand who we are and where we come from.

All one has to do is visit one of our discussion forums.

History and literature are abstractions;

a forum is today’s reality.

*

If I have been rude to anyone,

I apologize and plead extenuating circumstances –

on grounds of Ottomanism.

*

Yervant Odian: "Ear: a wide open door to flattery,

the eye of a needle to truth."

[ara baliozian]

Wednesday, March 19, 2003

****************************

In a Chekhov short story I just read,

an obnoxiously assertive woman

begs a writer to listen to her endless and badly written play.

He says no. She insists. He gives in.

The story ends with the writer

hitting the woman with a heavy ashtray.

She dies. He is arrested and tried.

He pleads not guilty.

The jury agrees with him.

*

An Arab from Egypt on Canadian radio this morning:

"If Iraq is dangerous, so is North Korea."

This, of course, is an argument for two wars.

*

Once upon a time many Armenians

attacked and insulted fellow Armenians

in the name of Lenin and Stalin.

Now they do it in the name of Saddam.

Plus ca change plus c’est la meme merde!

*

Some of my critics insult me

because I am a bad writer.

Which means they are against bad literature

and for good hooliganism.

*

Man begins by idolizing women

and forever after regrets that blunder.

[ara baliozian]

Thursday, March 20, 2003

*****************************

On the day we learn to disagree without being offensive,

we shall have taken a step in the right direction.

Until then we have no right to call ourselves civilized.

*

"If you are right, massacre! -- if not literally than verbally."

What could be more Ottoman?

To those who say it’s a big jump

from harmless words to murderous deeds,

I say, it’s all in the disposition, or, if you prefer,

in the convolutions of our brains.

*

An Armenian who cannot tell the difference

between Armenianism and Ottomanism

is a dangerous Armenian.

*

To criticize is not patriotic, I am told again and again.

And I say: To cover up our Ottomanism is treason.

*

The only thing I know about my maternal grandfather is that

he was a judge in Adana and he was assassinated by thugs.

Until very recently I assumed the assassins to be Turks,

but I have my doubts now….

*

I have been very successful in making enemies of friends

but I have consistently failed to make a friend of an enemy.

*

I have heard it said that President Bush

and the American people in general

don't give a damn about the Iraqi people,

unlike Saddam Hussein who loves them tenderly.

*

If you call an Armenian skinhead a skinhead

he will spend the rest of his life

trying to prove that you are the skinhead.

I speak from experience.

[ara baliozian]

Friday, March 21, 2003

***************************

Speaking of political leadership and IQ:

If we were to add up Saddam’s wars,

defeats, disasters, massacres, murders,

violations of human rights, blunders,

palaces and monuments to himself,

the result may well be a triple-digit negative IQ.

*

Again and again we are informed that

Saddam is a creation of the CIA.

No one denies that.

You and I recognize it as a blunder

and so do the Americans.

But whereas we can only yak about it,

the Americans are in a position to do something

and the only thing to be done with a blunder

is to admit it and, having done so, to correct it.

Remember, the President of the U.S.,

unlike the Pope of Rome,

has at no time asserted infallibility.

*

An Iraqi on Canadian radio this morning:

"Only the Iraqi people have a right to decide

who is going to be their leader!"

He neglected to add that

they had already done so – unanimously!

*

Even if God were to run for office in the West,

he wouldn't get 100% electoral support.

But I am willing to concede that

Allah would have better luck in the Middle East.

*

You can always rely on a certifiable moron

to demolish his own credibility.

*

If an American president committed

a tiny fraction – and tiny to the point of being invisible

to the naked eye – of Saddam’s abuses and crimes,

he would have been impeached and thrown out of office

if not from day one than from day one-and-a-half.

One is therefore justified in assuming that

Muslims are by nature a much more

broadminded, tolerant, and forgiving folk.