alabamagal
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Post by alabamagal on May 2, 2013 11:20:34 GMT -5
I think I am a very educated person, in general. I have a technical degree that most would cringe at. But I did not know where Dagestan is. I do know approximately where Georgia (the former Russian republic) is because it is different than the Georgia I live in.
Since I think most on here are reasonably intelligent adults who have access to the internet, we have the ability to research just about any topic. If you are curious about a subject, you have the ability to quickly learn about it on the internet. In the past, you might have had to head to a library.
If you are uneducated about any subject, there is no excuse for not learning about it if you have the desire. Uneducated is different than unintelligent. My grandfather was uneducated, he only made it through 3rd grade before having to quit and go to work. But he was a very intelligent individual who was well aware of world politics (from watching TV news) and could easily complete the New York Times crossword puzzle. He did not let is lack of education get in the way of knowledge
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on May 2, 2013 11:27:16 GMT -5
But even that can be overwhelming. Sure I googled Dagestan and got the map - but how am I suppose to get the executive summary of the mid-east? If I google "Mid-east conflict" I get 8 billion returns, and none of them are an overview of the whole enchilada. (Or should I say the whole falafal?)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2013 11:33:16 GMT -5
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on May 2, 2013 11:46:24 GMT -5
Perfect - when I googled that before, I got a book. I'm not sure I care THAT much. ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/tongue.png)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2013 12:34:47 GMT -5
I think you and I are about the same age, davebo. The Oklahoma City bombing happened while we were on Spring Break. We heard about it on the drive back from Florida. I wasn't completely clued in back then, but I choose to believe that if I had been at home I would have known in a more timely manner. Yeah, I was on spring break but was at home so I'm not sure what my excuse was ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/tongue.png) Another embarrassing thing is that I really didn't know what the "Twin Towers" were when 9/11 was going on. I couldn't get on the internet at work to see what they were talking about and the entire drive home I wasn't exactly clear what got hit. Everyone kept saying "The twin towers got hit with an airplane" and I was thinking "What the hell are the twin towers?", but felt too stupid to ask cause it seemed like common knowledge. I had visited NYC exactly once before the attacks. My friend who lived there kept trying to teach me how you could orient yourself by looking for the towers. I'm not sure I even registered which buildings she was pointing to. They may have been big, but they were the least interesting things in the skyline. I decided that "blindly follow Jill or get in a cab" was a better navigation strategy.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on May 2, 2013 14:10:14 GMT -5
That's alright. I was in my exercise class and it was filled with college kids who hadn't heard about Boston and wondered where "west Texas" was? ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/sad.png)
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on May 2, 2013 14:26:02 GMT -5
Didn't we all wonder where West, Texas was? Especially because they kept showing on the map that it was not on the West side of Texas.
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happyscooter
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Post by happyscooter on May 3, 2013 8:11:37 GMT -5
I was an average (or below) student in the 70s. So when I got out in the real world, I didn't know alot. About anything. It took traveling to interesting/historical places to learn things. Then I started reading the newspaper/watching news reports and I understood more than I did sitting in a classroom.
But I felt triumphant one day when a college graduate at work (I was a temp) insisted that Bill Clinton had served 3 terms. I told her that no president after Roosevelt had served 3 terms. She didn't believe me and googled it.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on May 3, 2013 8:12:51 GMT -5
Didn't we all wonder where West, Texas was? Especially because they kept showing on the map that it was not on the West side of Texas. I had a hard time grasping that one. I kept hearing on the news about West Texas and I was wondering why they wouldn't tell us the town name.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2013 10:36:20 GMT -5
When my Dad had surgery we were talking to the nurse in the recovery room, and my Mom asked where she was from and she answered "Persia." We all nodded and then my father said "Isn't that Iran?" And she said "We left when it was Persia." That didn't sound right, because she wasn't an old lady, and they have been Iran for a long, long time. It was awkward. But, I can see why she maintained her status as a "Persian" rather than an Iranian. OMG, I would have just laughed out loud. Because I entered into college in 1979 (Iranian Hostage Crisis) one of my degrees is Political Science. Where I went to school, UCSD, we had a lot of Iranian students and I had a lot of Iranian friends from a broad spectrum of political and religious views. Although I've done a lot of reading about it, I'm still no expert. A couple of months ago I met a Zoroastrian lady while I was hiking our local mountain. She comes from a long line of them. I didn't know there were people who still practiced it. I thought it was just an ancient religion that had died out.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2013 10:45:53 GMT -5
thyme4change, One of the best periodicals for keeping up with what is going on in the world is the Economist. The subscription is about $300 so get your husband to subscribe for his practice. You get to read it first (or on-line) and then leave it in the waiting room just like the doctors do. ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/wink.png) The writing is excellent and thoughtful. And while there's usually an economic component, I find that with politics in general, there's usually a financial angle.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on May 3, 2013 11:17:14 GMT -5
Nope, anyone we know from Iran calls themselves Persian. It used to be called Persia and they want that distinction. I'm not about to ask why.
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tloonya
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Post by tloonya on May 3, 2013 12:06:53 GMT -5
But you don't know how to get the information you need? I've never been great at world political events. It doesn't interest me. But, I would like to be somewhat a non-idiot when the subject comes up. Today, I realized that I have never even heard of Dagestan. And when I looked it up - I realized that until today, I thought Georgia (the country) was somewhere totally different. This isn't the first time I've thought I needed to know a little more about the whole mid-east make-up and what's going on over there. But if I try to get information about it, it gets overwhelming - FAST. Anyone know a good place to start learning the basics about that soup-sandwich of an area? Sort of a "Dummies Guide to the fill-in-the-blank-estans" of the world? No one knows everything. However I have to rub it into you...I knew what and where Dagestan was. And I speak 3 languages...but you can always read more if you weren't born smart. www.barnesandnoble.com - this place sells books. Good luck with that.
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tloonya
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Post by tloonya on May 3, 2013 12:16:43 GMT -5
...Aren't we even curious? Are we all so comfortable and well-fed and well-employed and caught up in EFs, retirement accounts, Little League and Pop Warner, to breast feed or not to breast feed, are those veggies we bought organic, that we really don't give a rat's rear what goes on in the rest of the world and believe that what goes on in the rest of the world has nothing to do with us? That what goes on in the rest of the world will never have anything to do with our children? Oy. I'll be very serious. Growing up in Ukraine I was always curious about one thing I had heard. That Americans don't care about rest of the world opinion about them and USA athletes and celebrities happy as long as they are known to their citizens... because back in USSR we were always rubbing into Europe/USA/World face that our athletes are the best and Bolshoi theatre is the best and we went to space first etc. Someone on TV once said that americans don't care as much about space because they are building life on Earth for themselves and I had not seen that person on TV anymore. I was dying to know HOW COME americans don't care to be famous in Europe. And when I got here I had realized that when you are having a good (and busy) life where you are - you don't really give a damn about whats outside of your 'circle'...and I am proud of US! (as USA and 'us' as 'we')...
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2013 14:58:17 GMT -5
Nope, anyone we know from Iran calls themselves Persian. It used to be called Persia and they want that distinction. I'm not about to ask why. It hasn't been "Persia" since the 1930s when Reza Pahlavi's (the last Shah of Iran) father became the Shah of Iran. Therefore unless someone was born in the early 30s or earlier, legally they are Iranian. Iranians started calling themselves Persians in order to distance themselves from the Islamic Republic government. I always thought it was vaguely insulting that someone would assume that an American wouldn't know the difference between Persia and Iran.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on May 3, 2013 15:00:39 GMT -5
This was an older man who was very high up in the shahs regime. His family feels the same way, even generations later.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2013 15:04:06 GMT -5
I had to wikipedia that one recently. Since there isn't a Persia anymore, I thought "Persian" actually referred to people from the larger region that used to be part of the Persian Empire. Nope, just Iran. And I think Persians come from most of Iran, but not quite all of it.
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imawino
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Post by imawino on May 3, 2013 15:37:27 GMT -5
Nope, anyone we know from Iran calls themselves Persian. It used to be called Persia and they want that distinction. I'm not about to ask why. It hasn't been "Persia" since the 1930s when Reza Pahlavi's (the last Shah of Iran) father became the Shah of Iran. Therefore unless someone was born in the early 30s or earlier, legally they are Iranian. Iranians started calling themselves Persians in order to distance themselves from the Islamic Republic government. I always thought it was vaguely insulting that someone would assume that an American wouldn't know the difference between Persia and Iran. I'm no expert, but a quick google search does seem to indicate that there are ethnic Persians, and that referring to oneself as a Persian (either from Iran as most are, or from parts of Afghanistan or Asia) may be perfectly appropriate. But I think Crafty is right - not all Iranians are Persian.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2013 15:40:00 GMT -5
This was an older man who was very high up in the shahs regime. His family feels the same way, even generations later. Of course because they feel like they are exiled royalty. What we (the US) and Britian did in terms of engineering the assasination of Mosadeq, who had been the democratically elected Prime Minister and installing Reza Pahlavi back on the throne led to the mess that is there now. Once again, oil politics makes for an unstable regime and a ruthless dictator. And while Pahlavi did many good things for the country in terms of bringing it into the 20th century, being in power for 30+ years made he and his minions more and more isolated from the rest of the population. I would tease some of my wealthier Iranian friends that when they spoke Farsi together I heard more French than Farsi. Add in the cruel way Pahlavi dealt with his opposition and he was no better than former Egyptian President (for life) Mubarak. He was seen as a US puppet and the only way the population felt they could get rid of him was through their religious leader. What a mess that's been and such a shame for a country with one of the most amazing histories, culture and hospitality. ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/sad.png)
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Peace Of Mind
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Post by Peace Of Mind on May 3, 2013 15:44:20 GMT -5
...Aren't we even curious? Are we all so comfortable and well-fed and well-employed and caught up in EFs, retirement accounts, Little League and Pop Warner, to breast feed or not to breast feed, are those veggies we bought organic, that we really don't give a rat's rear what goes on in the rest of the world and believe that what goes on in the rest of the world has nothing to do with us? That what goes on in the rest of the world will never have anything to do with our children? Oy. I'll be very serious. Growing up in Ukraine I was always curious about one thing I had heard. That Americans don't care about rest of the world opinion about them and USA athletes and celebrities happy as long as they are known to their citizens... because back in USSR we were always rubbing into Europe/USA/World face that our athletes are the best and Bolshoi theatre is the best and we went to space first etc. Someone on TV once said that americans don't care as much about space because they are building life on Earth for themselves and I had not seen that person on TV anymore. I was dying to know HOW COME americans don't care to be famous in Europe. And when I got here I had realized that when you are having a good (and busy) life where you are - you don't really give a damn about whats outside of your 'circle'...and I am proud of US! (as USA and 'us' as 'we')... Can you also type 3 languages? Which ones? I have found that if I'm interested in a subject I will read up on it. If I'm not I just try not to comment on it since I don't know much about it. Even if I read up on something I'm not interested in I will forget it quickly so I don't waste my time trying.
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Chocolate Lover
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Post by Chocolate Lover on May 3, 2013 15:44:44 GMT -5
Didn't we all wonder where West, Texas was? Especially because they kept showing on the map that it was not on the West side of Texas. I had a hard time grasping that one. I kept hearing on the news about West Texas and I was wondering why they wouldn't tell us the town name. Want to feel better about yourself today? Until it was discussed in this thread I didn't actually know they were talking about a proper town name. It was on the news at the same time as all the Boston Marathon stuff that I didn't feel the need to overdose on, so I missed most of it. ![](http://syonidv.hodginsmedia.com/vsmileys/shucks2.png) I didn't even wonder why they were being lazy and saying west Texas generally instead of a town name. Lol!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2013 15:54:06 GMT -5
It hasn't been "Persia" since the 1930s when Reza Pahlavi's (the last Shah of Iran) father became the Shah of Iran. Therefore unless someone was born in the early 30s or earlier, legally they are Iranian. Iranians started calling themselves Persians in order to distance themselves from the Islamic Republic government. I always thought it was vaguely insulting that someone would assume that an American wouldn't know the difference between Persia and Iran. I'm no expert, but a quick google search does seem to indicate that there are ethnic Persians, and that referring to oneself as a Persian (either from Iran as most are, or from parts of Afghanistan or Asia) may be perfectly appropriate. But I think Crafty is right - not all Iranians are Persian. I'm responding to the response when someone is asked "where are you from" or "what nationality are you"? To say that you're from Persia or are Persian is delibrately misleading. I get annoyed enough that when someone says that I'll ask, so what part of Iran are you from? I usually get a little embarrassed smile and I let them know how I went to school with a lot of Iranian friends. Over the years I've resented that I haven't felt comfortable visiting Iran but I may go in the near future. One of my college friends who was one of my bride's maids is Armanian Iranian. I saw her while I was in San Diego last month and she'd like to visit. Her American fiance won't go, I think he's afraid. But I've known enough Iranians who have visited where I don't think it would be a problem so long as you're not blatantly flaunting the rules.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2013 16:58:25 GMT -5
@miss Margarita said: As I stated in an earlier post I resent the assumption that Americans are too ignorant to know the difference between Persia and Iran. The person wouldn't be embarrassed unless they were trying to play a little game and just got caught. Believe me, I've gone on to have wonderful conversations about how much I enjoy the food, miss my friends and how I would like to visit Iran some day because I've heard how beautiful it is. And I always say "good bye" in Farsi ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/wink.png)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2013 17:21:33 GMT -5
@miss Margarita said: As I stated in an earlier post I resent the assumption that Americans are too ignorant to know the difference between Persia and Iran. The person wouldn't be embarrassed unless they were trying to play a little game and just got caught. Believe me, I've gone on to have wonderful conversations about how much I enjoy the food, miss my friends and how I would like to visit Iran some day because I've heard how beautiful it is. And I always say "good bye" in Farsi ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/wink.png) I would imagine you come across as quite rude and self-important... but if you're fine with that so you can "make your point"... more power to ya! I suppose you could view it that way. My experience has been that they seem to be happy about making a new friend who appreciates their culture.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2013 19:38:37 GMT -5
I never feel uneducated, because I'm not. But I readily admit that I am definitely ignorant about certain topics. Thank goodness for the internet lol.
I learn about things I don't know on either a "need to know" basis, or because of curiosity, because of something I heard or saw or read.
My DS1 is a humanitarian aid worker who was posted to three Stans. I'm an ACE speller, but I couldn't even spell the countries he was posted to, let alone locate them on a map, let alone know anything about their history. So, I learned about them. Now DS1 is based in the Middle East. I definitely know more about that part of the world than I did about the Stans LOL.
And I'm going to side with Bonny on the "Persian" issue. DH's ex, a very good friend even if she makes me nuts sometimes, lol, is Iranian. SHE says that the Iranians that call themselves "Persians" are akin to Americans who would call themselves British because their forefathers came over on the Mayflower. Her huge extended family agrees.
Obviously you can call yourself whatever you want! But, it's living in a time warp, and erasing most of this century's history of that part of the world. Once you know a bit about it, it just comes off as silly.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on May 3, 2013 19:40:40 GMT -5
Oneof my sorority sisters was Persian. But she told everyone she was Iranian because nobody knew what Persian meant.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2013 19:47:43 GMT -5
From what I have gathered from spending a LOT of time with them (I am very close to her sister), Persian defines the cultural aspect of people from that part of the world: their language, their food, etc. They even invented Backgammon!
But today, like it or not, the nationality is generally Iranian. Plus, to most people, the mere fact of their being expats shows that they are not in agreement with the current political regime.
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tloonya
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Post by tloonya on May 3, 2013 19:51:41 GMT -5
Oneof my sorority sisters was Persian. But she told everyone she was Iranian because nobody knew what Persian meant. Persian cats are $1500 a head. Or more. What do you mean nobody knows?
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swamp
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Post by swamp on May 3, 2013 19:54:06 GMT -5
Oneof my sorority sisters was Persian. But she told everyone she was Iranian because nobody knew what Persian meant. Persian cats are $1500 a head. Or more. What do you mean nobody knows? Persian rugs are even more expensive but some dumbasses still don't know where Persia is.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2013 19:55:21 GMT -5
Personally, for that price, I'd want the whole cat.
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