The "Dr Arash" in this RNZ item was an invented persona and the whole article was a load of bollocks.
Leaving aside the purely fabricated propaganda, the "dancing diaspora" is a real phenomenon which is best understood in terms of class. The Iranian revolution is portrayed in the west as "brutal" but made a rod for its own back by being too forgiving of the affluent westernized class which flourished under the rule of Shah Reza Pahlavi. These people were allowed to retain their often ill-gotten wealth on condition of becoming "good Muslims", or at least nominally observant Muslims. Behind the facade, they remained secularists, waiting more or less patiently for the demise of the Islamic Republic, and being willing to hasten its end by any means available to them. Although they had retained their wealth and privilege the Islamists denied them the opportunity to utilize it in the hedonistic or exploitative ways to which they had become accustomed under the Shah. So many hundreds of thousands of them left for the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand while millions more were obliged to remain in Iran, biding their time.
Whether in Iran or in the diaspora, these are not serious people. People who call for their "own" country to be bombed by foreign powers, who crassly celebrate the deaths of their enemies and call for more deaths, all from their safe places of exile are not the sort of people with whom serious people will identify.
Khamenei commanded respect at home and abroad. The Kardashians do not, and neither for that matter does our own Golriz Ghahraman.
At the end of the day, the crass element of the Iranian diaspora will not count for much. While pursuing their own personal and class interests they will betray "their" country and make themselves available as facile tools of western propaganda. They won't fight for their country and neither will they fight against it. They will just make a lot of noise and accept speaking slots on RNZ and invitations to dinner with David Seymour.
Iran's future will actually be decided by those who remain in Iran and who do join the fight. Yet we all have an interest in the outcome of that war, because if Trump succeeds in Iran he will not stop at Iran. His next target will be Cuba, after which China will be in his sights. Then we will have a third world war on our hands, and it will be a nuclear war.
If Iran successfully resists the US and Israel it will have saved the world from destruction, even if it is destroyed itself in the process.
No. I am not an academic and haven't studied the literature. For better or for worse my views have been shaped by my experience of living and working in Iran for a brief period under the rule of the Islamic Republic.
From my own observations I would characterize the Islamic revolution as a predominantly working class revolt in which the Shia clergy assumed and maintained the leading role while trying to coax the Iranian bourgeoisie into a style of capitalism that paid some heed to the legitimate interests of the working class. In certain individual cases that worked, but on the whole it was a balancing act between class interests which created perpetual social and political tensions. Those tensions may be brought to breaking point in the current war, and regardless of what Trump may be proposing, "regime change" is the likely outcome. In my view, political change of one kind or another is the inevitable result of any major or prolonged war that materially impacts the whole of a society.
In victory, I expect that the Iranian working class will emerge stronger and the surviving elements of the Shia religious establishment will align themselves more closely with working class interests.
In defeat, the country would face a long dark night of national humiliation and ruthless economic exploitation by the US, Israel and its own traitor class. God save the people of Iran from such a fate.
Some of the western media reports ostensibly originating from the Iranian diaspora are simply faked. Take for example "https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/585264/iranian-doctor-who-fled-to-australia-after-operating-on-massacre-victims-estimates-death-toll-in-tens-of-thousands".
The "Dr Arash" in this RNZ item was an invented persona and the whole article was a load of bollocks.
Leaving aside the purely fabricated propaganda, the "dancing diaspora" is a real phenomenon which is best understood in terms of class. The Iranian revolution is portrayed in the west as "brutal" but made a rod for its own back by being too forgiving of the affluent westernized class which flourished under the rule of Shah Reza Pahlavi. These people were allowed to retain their often ill-gotten wealth on condition of becoming "good Muslims", or at least nominally observant Muslims. Behind the facade, they remained secularists, waiting more or less patiently for the demise of the Islamic Republic, and being willing to hasten its end by any means available to them. Although they had retained their wealth and privilege the Islamists denied them the opportunity to utilize it in the hedonistic or exploitative ways to which they had become accustomed under the Shah. So many hundreds of thousands of them left for the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand while millions more were obliged to remain in Iran, biding their time.
Whether in Iran or in the diaspora, these are not serious people. People who call for their "own" country to be bombed by foreign powers, who crassly celebrate the deaths of their enemies and call for more deaths, all from their safe places of exile are not the sort of people with whom serious people will identify.
Khamenei commanded respect at home and abroad. The Kardashians do not, and neither for that matter does our own Golriz Ghahraman.
At the end of the day, the crass element of the Iranian diaspora will not count for much. While pursuing their own personal and class interests they will betray "their" country and make themselves available as facile tools of western propaganda. They won't fight for their country and neither will they fight against it. They will just make a lot of noise and accept speaking slots on RNZ and invitations to dinner with David Seymour.
Iran's future will actually be decided by those who remain in Iran and who do join the fight. Yet we all have an interest in the outcome of that war, because if Trump succeeds in Iran he will not stop at Iran. His next target will be Cuba, after which China will be in his sights. Then we will have a third world war on our hands, and it will be a nuclear war.
If Iran successfully resists the US and Israel it will have saved the world from destruction, even if it is destroyed itself in the process.
Well said. Any reading suggestions for understanding the class aspects of the revolution?
No. I am not an academic and haven't studied the literature. For better or for worse my views have been shaped by my experience of living and working in Iran for a brief period under the rule of the Islamic Republic.
From my own observations I would characterize the Islamic revolution as a predominantly working class revolt in which the Shia clergy assumed and maintained the leading role while trying to coax the Iranian bourgeoisie into a style of capitalism that paid some heed to the legitimate interests of the working class. In certain individual cases that worked, but on the whole it was a balancing act between class interests which created perpetual social and political tensions. Those tensions may be brought to breaking point in the current war, and regardless of what Trump may be proposing, "regime change" is the likely outcome. In my view, political change of one kind or another is the inevitable result of any major or prolonged war that materially impacts the whole of a society.
In victory, I expect that the Iranian working class will emerge stronger and the surviving elements of the Shia religious establishment will align themselves more closely with working class interests.
In defeat, the country would face a long dark night of national humiliation and ruthless economic exploitation by the US, Israel and its own traitor class. God save the people of Iran from such a fate.
Many thanks for your insights
Thank you Geoff