Posted by farid from customer-148-233-71-75.uninet.net.mx (148.233.71.75) on Thursday, August 28, 2003 at 1:07PM :
If we discount being Christian, there isn't any substance to being Assyrian. What is it? How does an Assyrian behave? Truth is they behave in any of the ways humans behave. There isn't any marked way to be Assyrian...no official guidelines. But jeezus christ...do all the ways there are now have to tend towards the ridiculous? Can't we decide there have to be two ounces of nobility in this ton of manure called Assyria in its Diapers?
It's like making up a language. You get to decide which word signifies "lion" and which one "chicken". You can deicde what words will be verbs...what correct spellig and proper usage will be...it's all there for the creating. Why can't we do that with what being Assyrian means? The definition we've been handed leaves a lot to be desired. We're stuck having to ask for cream for our coffee by saying to the Divine Waitress..."Come goombah for crowbar intuit". She doesn't understand what we're saying...we don't get the cream we want...our coffee goes begging and the other customers get nervous and move away. There's no satisfaction in it and not likely to be any.
There's a reason language was invented. There's a reason cavemen felt the need to be precise when they invented the words for..."There's a lion behind you"!...and didn't say any old thing like, "want cream for your coffee"?...when the lion inched closer. Meaning is important, it's crucial...it's especially crucial if you have something to do in Life. We have no purpose...no task that needs doing. We can afford to say..."Are you Chaldean or Suryoyo and do you have the papers to prove it"? There isn't anything on our agenda that calls for the greatest number of willing hearts, minds and muscles...no huge boulder in our path that needs moving so that all hands are wanted. We can afford to be fussy because in the end we`re just going to sit around and compare our collective dics anyway.
Being "American" MEANS being capable, talented, able to work long hours, lie cheat and kill if you have to...anything to make America shtrong. Being "Assyrian" means being the sissy on the block. You have to not get your fingernails dirty, you have to keep your hair from getting mussed...your clothes have to bring honor to your family and like any poodle you have to be prepared to yap incessantly whenever anyone comes near who might ruffle your curls. Is Peter BetJizzim or Firas Was-Jones-But-Stayed Jatou an "Assyrian? If being issued out from proximity to an Assyrian rectum qualifies you, then sure...they're as Assyrian as the next one. But can't we decide that running and hiding...screening words...just words and ideas...placing a monitor at the door to Assyia to make sure no one gets in you can't handle...instead of increasing your ability to handle anything...can't we decide this isn't, or doesn't have to be, "Assyrian"? Right now "Assyrian" means all sorts of raggedy and unbecomming things we don't know came from where. Who decided these things?
The way these forums operate and the clubs and the AANF seems more reminiscent of...of...of...of a Saddam than an Ashurbanipal. They are secretive, afraid, ever more likely to stab you in the back than face you...they're scared witless of standing out in the open and taking on all comers without a crowbar hidden behind their backs. They are neither American, nor Assyrian in their methods...but pure petty tyrant, the one thing they claim to have suffered the most from. And why not...people can be as influenced by the person who beats them as the one who does them a kindness. Look at the Israeli Army...is there a tactic they've employed that couldn't have come as easily from "Mein Kampf"...or the "Gestapo Cookbook"?
-- farid
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