Shah's of Sunset-thoughts?

[Anonymous]

To our visitor: thank you for answering the question about the self flagellation being common in other Shi'ite populations in other countries too.

Can you answer a question about the superficiality and materialism of the ultra wealthy? Is this common among wealthy Iranians? Why do you think that is?

Also, I've known about a handful of Iranian women and every single one of them has had plastic surgery on their nose. I've met Indians, African Americans, South Americans, etc...yet none frequent the plastic surgeon as much as Iranian women. Is it because of their wealth that they can simply afford it and thats why they get plastic surgery (similar to many non-Iranian women getting plastic surgery in Beverly Hills)? Or is it a dissatisfaction with what genetics has given them?

You mentioned that the Iranians in Iran are very modern. Can you tell me what you deem to be "modern" then from the Iranian perspective? And what percentage of the Iranian population is indeed modern?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To our visitor: thank you for answering the question about the self flagellation being common in other Shi'ite populations in other countries too.

Can you answer a question about the superficiality and materialism of the ultra wealthy? Is this common among wealthy Iranians? Why do you think that is?

Also, I've known about a handful of Iranian women and every single one of them has had plastic surgery on their nose. I've met Indians, African Americans, South Americans, etc...yet none frequent the plastic surgeon as much as Iranian women. Is it because of their wealth that they can simply afford it and thats why they get plastic surgery (similar to many non-Iranian women getting plastic surgery in Beverly Hills)? Or is it a dissatisfaction with what genetics has given them?

You mentioned that the Iranians in Iran are very modern. Can you tell me what you deem to be "modern" then from the Iranian perspective? And what percentage of the Iranian population is indeed modern?

Actually, I'm not the visitor, I'm a PP who has done a lot of travel in the region.

FWIW, plastic surgery is crazy common in Lebanon as well. The post-surgery nose bandage was a badge of honor in some circles. You'd even see women in full abaya/hijab from the Gulf visiting during the summer sporting it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To our visitor: thank you for answering the question about the self flagellation being common in other Shi'ite populations in other countries too.

Can you answer a question about the superficiality and materialism of the ultra wealthy? Is this common among wealthy Iranians? Why do you think that is?

Also, I've known about a handful of Iranian women and every single one of them has had plastic surgery on their nose. I've met Indians, African Americans, South Americans, etc...yet none frequent the plastic surgeon as much as Iranian women. Is it because of their wealth that they can simply afford it and thats why they get plastic surgery (similar to many non-Iranian women getting plastic surgery in Beverly Hills)? Or is it a dissatisfaction with what genetics has given them?

You mentioned that the Iranians in Iran are very modern. Can you tell me what you deem to be "modern" then from the Iranian perspective? And what percentage of the Iranian population is indeed modern?

Actually, I'm not the visitor, I'm a PP who has done a lot of travel in the region.

FWIW, plastic surgery is crazy common in Lebanon as well. The post-surgery nose bandage was a badge of honor in some circles. You'd even see women in full abaya/hijab from the Gulf visiting during the summer sporting it.

Yes, I have a Lebanese friend who told me that nose jobs are extremely common among the wealthy Lebanese. So do you think it's because of a dissatisfaction with what genetics has given them? And what kind of nose are they getting - is it the aquiline, chiseled nose of white caucasians?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To our visitor: thank you for answering the question about the self flagellation being common in other Shi'ite populations in other countries too.

Can you answer a question about the superficiality and materialism of the ultra wealthy? Is this common among wealthy Iranians? Why do you think that is?

Also, I've known about a handful of Iranian women and every single one of them has had plastic surgery on their nose. I've met Indians, African Americans, South Americans, etc...yet none frequent the plastic surgeon as much as Iranian women. Is it because of their wealth that they can simply afford it and thats why they get plastic surgery (similar to many non-Iranian women getting plastic surgery in Beverly Hills)? Or is it a dissatisfaction with what genetics has given them?

You mentioned that the Iranians in Iran are very modern. Can you tell me what you deem to be "modern" then from the Iranian perspective? And what percentage of the Iranian population is indeed modern?

Actually, I'm not the visitor, I'm a PP who has done a lot of travel in the region.

FWIW, plastic surgery is crazy common in Lebanon as well. The post-surgery nose bandage was a badge of honor in some circles. You'd even see women in full abaya/hijab from the Gulf visiting during the summer sporting it.

Yes, I have a Lebanese friend who told me that nose jobs are extremely common among the wealthy Lebanese. So do you think it's because of a dissatisfaction with what genetics has given them? And what kind of nose are they getting - is it the aquiline, chiseled nose of white caucasians?

Well, some of it is born out of a combination of wanting to get rid of the "Lebanese nose" (which is stereotypically bigger) and yes, also appearing more Caucasian. Segments of Lebanon's population are super obsessed with being "better," more "refined" (which in their minds means Euro/Western, etc) than their neighbors and the superficiality has also possibly been a way to deal with the fact that the country is still a mess after the civil war. It's easier to focus on your looks rather than the corruption and poverty that surrounds you.

[Anonymous]

I thought Iranians are Caucasians.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My spouse is iranian and I can tell you that LA iranians have a lot of wealth and the show does depict the reality of iranian life and culture there. They are generally materialistic. Lots of iranian women admire blond hair so they color their hair blonde (at least the affluent ones do). Many are uncomfortable if they have the typical iranian nose and get nose jobs. They are not religious per se but more attached to their culture.

And I should add that there is no such thing as being "Persian." The Persian empire hasn't existed for eons. Would it be appropriate for anyone to go around saying they were "Roman" or "Mesopotamian"? These civilizations haven't existed for centuries. These people are Iranians. Persia was once Iraq and Iran combined. Iraq and Iran, however, are now distinct cultures with separate ethnicities and language. One group is arab, the other is not. I think they like to call themselves Persian because the U.S. has not had good relations with Iran in many, many years and they fear discrimination.

Well, you just showed you are a liar, or that your husband is a liar because if he was Iranian he would have educated your ignorant lying ass Although as much hate as you showed towards Iranians I seriously doubt you are married to one.

Persians are a ethnicity and in Iran they are found in 3 folk groups, the Pars, Lors and Bakhtiari, these 3 central states in Iran make up the Persian ethnic group. Jewish Persians are a separate ethnicity but are grouped together with Persians because of cultural assimilation, and since they lived with Persians for +2500 years its probably safe to say they are ethnically Persians too. There are also Persian minorities in Armenia, Azerbajan, Turkmenistan and other Caucasus countries. Iran as always been know as Iran or a version off that name by it's own inhabitants, the name with its current pronunciation has been used for about a 1000 years, before that it was know as Ayran. Iran has been known as Persia to outsiders because many of the dynasties who rose to power and formed the different Persian Empires where in fact members of the Persian ethnicity. Back when Iraq was a part of the Persian empire there where no arabs there the population there was a mix of Persians and Assyrians and other ethnicity, which significantly changed after the arabs invaded in the 7th century. Modern Iraq, in fact, is not a very old country, and its borders were demarcated and formed in essence by the British in the 1920s, the name Iraq comes from Middle persian Er?q which means the lowlands. I am sure there a remnants of Persians there as there are in other parts of what belonged to the Persian Empire. Iran and Iranic people are composed of many different ethnic groups, i.e. Armenian, Turkmen, Kurds, Azeri, Gilani, etc, put together these groups outnumber the Persian ethnic group. Imperial Iran issued a decree in 1935 that instructed countries with diplomatic contact to refer to it as Iran instead of Persia, in at least all political contexts. USA was the first country to immediately comply with this change. However until today both names are recognized by the UN as official names. There are other countries with similar confusion over name and ethnicity, for example Hungary, which is derived from the name of the Hun folk group (you know Attila the Hun), but in fact the majority of Hungarians identify themselves as decedents of the Magyar ethnic group, and in the hungarian language the name for their country is Magyarosag and not Hungary.

There a little free education for you since you felt forced to comment on the issue.

/A Persian

[Anonymous]

Yes, I actually should have said that some want to look more Euro rather than Caucasian as Persians and Arabs technically fall into that category, I think.

[Anonymous]

"FWIW, plastic surgery is crazy common in Lebanon as well. The post-surgery nose bandage was a badge of honor in some circles."

Marlo Thomas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I actually should have said that some want to look more Euro rather than Caucasian as Persians and Arabs technically fall into that category, I think.

When you say arabs you have to make a difference between genealogy and linguistics, the latter being "arabized", i.e. there are more common genealogy traits between most Iranian ethnic groups and the Lebanese population than the latter compared to Saudi Arabia or UAE population. I can't spot the difference between most italians (south), greeks, iranians, armenian, azerbajani and all those other countries and lebanese and assyrians (both arabized people). But I do find it pretty easy to guess when someone is from one of the Arab countries which mostly have Bedoin roots, i.e. Saudi Arabia.

[Anonymous]

The reason why Iranians are obsessed with plastic surgeries is because ever since the 1979 revolution Iran was forced into changes no one voted for. One of these included the islamic laws which dictated women should wear clothes that did not reveal to much of their female figure, and to cover their hair in public. This lead to females felt a need to correct any minor perceived imperfection, because the face is the main thing that you are portraying to the outside world. Every day Iranian women find unique ways to be fashionable and push the islamic laws to the extreme.
I included a link showing a women in Tehran
http://media.nowpublic.net/images//cc/6/cc6c29f5e72bba30fed97a530096d5e4.jpg

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To our visitor: thank you for answering the question about the self flagellation being common in other Shi'ite populations in other countries too.

Can you answer a question about the superficiality and materialism of the ultra wealthy? Is this common among wealthy Iranians? Why do you think that is?

Also, I've known about a handful of Iranian women and every single one of them has had plastic surgery on their nose. I've met Indians, African Americans, South Americans, etc...yet none frequent the plastic surgeon as much as Iranian women. Is it because of their wealth that they can simply afford it and thats why they get plastic surgery (similar to many non-Iranian women getting plastic surgery in Beverly Hills)? Or is it a dissatisfaction with what genetics has given them?

You mentioned that the Iranians in Iran are very modern. Can you tell me what you deem to be "modern" then from the Iranian perspective? And what percentage of the Iranian population is indeed modern?

Actually, I'm not the visitor, I'm a PP who has done a lot of travel in the region.

FWIW, plastic surgery is crazy common in Lebanon as well. The post-surgery nose bandage was a badge of honor in some circles. You'd even see women in full abaya/hijab from the Gulf visiting during the summer sporting it.

Yes, I have a Lebanese friend who told me that nose jobs are extremely common among the wealthy Lebanese. So do you think it's because of a dissatisfaction with what genetics has given them? And what kind of nose are they getting - is it the aquiline, chiseled nose of white caucasians?

Well, some of it is born out of a combination of wanting to get rid of the "Lebanese nose" (which is stereotypically bigger) and yes, also appearing more Caucasian. Segments of Lebanon's population are super obsessed with being "better," more "refined" (which in their minds means Euro/Western, etc) than their neighbors and the superficiality has also possibly been a way to deal with the fact that the country is still a mess after the civil war. It's easier to focus on your looks rather than the corruption and poverty that surrounds you.

Very intriguing indeed. I've been to different countries (Jordan, Germany, India, etc..) and it never ceases to amaze me how much of a love/hate relationship they have with the western culture. This is with the exception of Germans who don't seem to look up to American culture but rather look down on us. lol But as for the others, they seem obsessed with copying American culture, the jeans, the coca-cola, the hairstyles, the way Americans dance, copying hip hop music, imitating American colloquialism, etc...but on the other hand they loathe American international policy and many loathe American liberalism and their tolerance for homosexuality, premarital sex, etc...

[Anonymous]

Do Iranians not feel accepted as Caucasian in the USA? How do you classify if not as White? What do you choose as your race? Do White Americans exclude other Caucasian groups?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The reason why Iranians are obsessed with plastic surgeries is because ever since the 1979 revolution Iran was forced into changes no one voted for. One of these included the islamic laws which dictated women should wear clothes that did not reveal to much of their female figure, and to cover their hair in public. This lead to females felt a need to correct any minor perceived imperfection, because the face is the main thing that you are portraying to the outside world. Every day Iranian women find unique ways to be fashionable and push the islamic laws to the extreme.
I included a link showing a women in Tehran
http://media.nowpublic.net/images//cc/6/cc6c29f5e72bba30fed97a530096d5e4.jpg

This is really a fascinating explanation....that when a law is passed designed to discourage the beautification of women, the women actually sought out ways to beautify that which was legally permissible to show off. So the intent and purpose of the law was never truly achieved, which makes me wonder if imposing such strict modesty laws on women make sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do Iranians not feel accepted as Caucasian in the USA? How do you classify if not as White? What do you choose as your race? Do White Americans exclude other Caucasian groups?

Well my father-in-law who is Iranian always instructed his three children to state that they were caucasian if anyone asked. And he himself also would say he was caucasian. But he was a fairly dark complected Iranian who looked every bit Iranian. I don't think anyone bought that he was caucasian or white. And I certainly doubt the blue eyed, blonde haired farmer whose ancestors are from Sweden and Denmark in middle America would buy it either! I get that phenotype and genotype are two completely different things. One can have ethnic features but their DNA could show they have some evidence of caucasian genes. But I would be interested in hearing what Iranians have to say.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My spouse is iranian and I can tell you that LA iranians have a lot of wealth and the show does depict the reality of iranian life and culture there. They are generally materialistic. Lots of iranian women admire blond hair so they color their hair blonde (at least the affluent ones do). Many are uncomfortable if they have the typical iranian nose and get nose jobs. They are not religious per se but more attached to their culture.

And I should add that there is no such thing as being "Persian." The Persian empire hasn't existed for eons. Would it be appropriate for anyone to go around saying they were "Roman" or "Mesopotamian"? These civilizations haven't existed for centuries. These people are Iranians. Persia was once Iraq and Iran combined. Iraq and Iran, however, are now distinct cultures with separate ethnicities and language. One group is arab, the other is not. I think they like to call themselves Persian because the U.S. has not had good relations with Iran in many, many years and they fear discrimination.

Well, you just showed you are a liar, or that your husband is a liar because if he was Iranian he would have educated your ignorant lying ass Although as much hate as you showed towards Iranians I seriously doubt you are married to one.

You must be that bigot from before. It's clear from your wikipedia cut and pastes that you had to do your own research before you could adequately reply. And you're the Iranian here. lol Regardless of whether you can accept it, my husband is indeed an Iranian. But the obvious difference between him and you (and maybe other Iranians) is that he is only half Iranian, which has made him more introspective and honest about Iranians and their culture. He doesn't feel the need to vehemently defend the culture or the people and can admit if they have problems. You obviously can't.

Persians are a ethnicity and in Iran they are found in 3 folk groups, the Pars, Lors and Bakhtiari, these 3 central states in Iran make up the Persian ethnic group. Jewish Persians are a separate ethnicity but are grouped together with Persians because of cultural assimilation, and since they lived with Persians for +2500 years its probably safe to say they are ethnically Persians too. There are also Persian minorities in Armenia, Azerbajan, Turkmenistan and other Caucasus countries. Iran as always been know as Iran or a version off that name by it's own inhabitants, the name with its current pronunciation has been used for about a 1000 years, before that it was know as Ayran. Iran has been known as Persia to outsiders because many of the dynasties who rose to power and formed the different Persian Empires where in fact members of the Persian ethnicity. Back when Iraq was a part of the Persian empire there where no arabs there the population there was a mix of Persians and Assyrians and other ethnicity, which significantly changed after the arabs invaded in the 7th century. Modern Iraq, in fact, is not a very old country, and its borders were demarcated and formed in essence by the British in the 1920s, the name Iraq comes from Middle persian Er?q which means the lowlands. I am sure there a remnants of Persians there as there are in other parts of what belonged to the Persian Empire. Iran and Iranic people are composed of many different ethnic groups, i.e. Armenian, Turkmen, Kurds, Azeri, Gilani, etc, put together these groups outnumber the Persian ethnic group. Imperial Iran issued a decree in 1935 that instructed countries with diplomatic contact to refer to it as Iran instead of Persia, in at least all political contexts. USA was the first country to immediately comply with this change. However until today both names are recognized by the UN as official names. There are other countries with similar confusion over name and ethnicity, for example Hungary, which is derived from the name of the Hun folk group (you know Attila the Hun), but in fact the majority of Hungarians identify themselves as decedents of the Magyar ethnic group, and in the hungarian language the name for their country is Magyarosag and not Hungary.

Almost all Iranians I know and even the country itself may refer to itself as Persia. If they are found in only three sub groups, it is inaccurate for all Iranians to say Iran is synonymous with Persia or that they are all Persian.

There a little free education for you since you felt forced to comment on the issue.

Yes, thank you for your wiki-research.

/A Persian