
not to get too off track but I went to a crappy public HS, and a non-fancy schmancy state university (the horror, the horror!) and certainly have an inkling about French involvement in Indochina. Wouldn't anyone who studied the Vietnam War in high school? There are plenty of books (Marguerite Duras) and movies (Indochine) about it, and French-Vietnamese restaurants abound. I would be more surprised to meet someone who didn't know about the relationship, it is like someone being unaware that Belgians were involved in the Congo. |
Yep, exactly. Probably less than 25% in both cases. |
We actually never made it to the Vietnam War in my history classes. Up to WWII and then modern politics in Civics, but there was a big hole around mid-century. No Korea, no Vietnam, no civil or women's rights movements. History was NOT my school's - and as a result, isn't my - strong suit. I truly wasn't aware of the French/Indochina connection until I saw Apocalypse Now. |
Umm - that's not really surprising. Darius was Emperor of the Persian Empire about at 500 BC. The Persian Empire was centered in . . . wait for it . . . Iran. |
I think your post shows that while you may have attended a "fancy schmancy high $$$ school" and received a "grad degree" from that high school (how exactly does that work?) you are not in fact "very well read and well educated." No offense. |
I wonder if the people who were ignorant of the French involvement in Indochina were also surprised to learn that there's some kind of bad blood between Afghans and Russians...?
Go ahead and forget your algebra, kids... but keep your notes on colonialism. It usually comes back to bite someone in the ass. |
OP, come back! What is the name?? |
Giancarlo Esposito. |
It's an extremely common Iranian name. Kind of like John or Mike here. I went to elementary school there and there were several Darius's in my class. |
Did you go to the same fancy schmancy high school as our friend who was unaware of French involvement in Vietnam? |
Darius was not the first King of Persia. The Persian Empire was founded by Cyrus the Great - Darius was the third King of Kings after Cambyses. |
Good lord, what does that say about our education system and our citizens. I grew up in Jamaica and I know both these facts. They were part of my "world history" class in high school, and I have read about them in books, articles etc. No wonder the rest of the world thinks that Americans are idiots. |
Expatriation I thought treason was one of the reasons that you could be kicked out. |
Nope, the worse you can get is life imprisonment. Of course, you can always choose to leave before your trial. |
Since this is anamyous...
My husband (a white guy) has a pretty typical AA name. People assume he's black and he's even had people TELL him "I thought you were black". In social situations, his response is almost always: "I am...in my pants" It makes the point that they are stereotyping based on name and so he'll just do the same...and he is rather gifted...but I've never been with a brother (or 500) so I don't know if that rumor is true. |