Just How Many Michaels ARE There?

Posted by parhad on July 06, 2001 at 21:19:35:

In Reply to: Re: Just How Many Michaels ARE There? posted by Michael on July 06, 2001 at 17:50:10:

Of course I wont deny myself or my heritage. My "people" however are a different matter. As it stands now there is no "Assyrian" heritage, none that I've been able

to determine. All cultural indicators are dead in the water for us. We have a Christian-minority-complex we are used to thinking of as a culture. It is at best only a

small part of any "Culture".

Our single-minded purpose has been to skip this life and get to heaven, the sooner the better...and why not? What has there been for Christian Assyrians other than

a cycle of mild good fortune followed by disaster? And who stands to benefit from this cyclical experience of ours...film directors, artists, architects, city planners,

composers, symphony orchestras, dance and theatre directors? No, the one entity that has thrived, and therefore struggles to maintain the status quo has been the

church. Who else sees no real disaster in a "Real Disaster" for our people? Who benefits most from the long list of murder victims we've amassed who are fobbed

off on us "martyrs", as if they gladly chose to die DOING something? Who holds our hand while we weep for these tragedies, while they hold out a poor box with

the other hand, and gets its talons even deeper into as our only friend and

'savior" than this same pernicious priesthood?

What I meant to say was that if I was the type to go elsewhere looking for fame and fortune, if fame or fortune were even things I wanted....I would NOT come

back to be a part of "my" people. Not the same people who denied me any help or recognition. Since I'm not that type, I choose to remain here and take what

comes. Andre was forced away by "my people", "our" people..."HIS" people. He was not turned away by his "other" people. Now, what would YOU do? I'm

certain his own father, as an Assyrian athlete himself, would have liked nothing better than to have HIS people support HIS son. It must have hurt, and been a great

shame to him, in his own son's eyes to see his father treated as a Ghassan would treat a man on such a mission, who would have accused the father of turning his son

into a cash cow for his own greed...you know someone did that to the father.

Andre doesn't owe us a damn thing.

I have been lucky to find and inspire and cajole a handful of Assyrians into having faith...faith in themselves first that they were not easily fooled...then faith in me, that

I could do what I said I could. Far more important than the money they gave was the trust and vulnerability they expressed in daring to believe that Assyrians could

do such a thing.

This is the kind of people we are though...placing public monuments reflecting OUR own heritage no less...would have been thought of as a "great" and a "grand" and

a very "difficult" thing to do...until... until WHAT? Until an ASSYRIAN did it. As sson as we placed the first monument..."monument making" became "no big deal"

And why? because if WE could do it, and do it so well (The Director of the Art Committe for san Francisco told me that in her 16 year tenure our Ashurbanipal was

the first project all 16 arts commissioners had voted to accept Unanimously),,,then it wasn't really anything of significance after all. It was just a "job" for me, and I

was out to "make money" for myself.

That's how this church culture has taught us to value ourselves as nothing BUT gorgeous victims with lovely children whose throats we should expose gladly to the

butcher when the ONE thing any animal knows is that you PROTECT your offspring with your LIFE because they are your life. Only people hell bent on suicide, on

their own genocide, offer their children up willingly...teaching each generation to hate and loathe themselves for any greatness in them except the greatness to be

slaughtered for a Jew.