Bill Maher on CNN Live with Larry King on the difference between Iranians and Arabs!

Pofak

Ball Boy
Nov 7, 2002
384
0
#21
We are neither Western nor Arab. Our roots are Central Asian, and so is our culture related to the people there and in the Caucasus, still. We do have some Arab habits, but we are very different. All the land that used to be Zoroastrian share this differentness. Even the most Islamic Iranian is still little more than a hidden Zoroastrian. We need to resynch and restablish our relationship with those closest to us, meaning the people of Tajikestan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, etc..

And yes, it was thousands of years ago that we seperated from other Aryans, but a lot survived. Our ancestors fused and were civilized by the the Elamites when they entered Iran, and a highly sophisticated advanced and dominant culture resulted.

One of the most amazing things about Iranian culture which the scholars comment on a lot is its continuity. Even though it absorbs change, it never itself changes. Iran always conquered its conquerors, and these conquerors then went and spread Iranian culture all over the world. This happened with the Greeks, Arabs, Mongols, Turks... Whoever passes through Iran is changed.

We can be proud of who we are without the ugliness of putting down of some groups, or trying to relate ourselves to others.

Btw, when I'm asked, I usually say 'I'm Persian, I'm from Iran.' This links modern Iran to its history, and invites questions if the person is uninformed.

Nice to be back to this group. :)

...Roodabeh
 

Bauvafa

Bench Warmer
Oct 26, 2004
1,987
1
#23
without getting into details, CNN programming is not much different from the network channels. They all try to get a part of the viewing "targetted" audience and send their message across. During "prime time" hours, major networks have sitcoms. sitcoms are meant to bring in humor, coziness, and "wrap up" a hard day for an average mainstream American. Larry King's show tries to acheive the same thing but in the "domain" of daily events or historical events relating to "today".
So, Larry King is excellent in providing the "desired message of the day" by having mediocre discussions with his guests who are supposed to be subject matter expert. At times, due to lack of "hot daily news" or lack of credible guest, Bill Maher is like a wild card for Larry King to provide humor, "different prespective" and "sending the MOD" to its targetted audience. I think those two are both brilliant at what they do, and have a common interest besides both being Jewish.

In a way, it would be cool if an Iranian had a show on prime time and could bring in another Iranian to help "shape" public opinion about different issues. Having a show like that 5 nights a week would certainly give you a lot of power. ;)