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Trapped in Iran: My Summer as a Guest of the Revolutionary Guards

1843magazine.com

61–70 of 169 posts

Re: Trapped in Iran: My Summer as a Guest of the Revolutionary Guards

#61
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I absolutely can not wait to go. I would like to go too. Unfortunately, I also travel frequently to the US and visiting Iran would make further trip to the US potentially problematic.

Just get a fresh passport after the trip, with no Iranian stamps. You should be fine unless you are person of interest to intelligence agencies.

This is a bad idea. Just get a visa. I did that and had no issue with getting the visa nor entering. Do not try to break immigration law — you can easily get permanently banned from entry if you lie to immigration officials.

Re: Trapped in Iran: My Summer as a Guest of the Revolutionary Guards

#63
post #2

I don't have an economist.com account, but the byline suggests it's from 1843 Magazine, which doesn't require registration to read: https://www.1843magazine.com/features/trapped-in-iran

This is correct; they're the same piece.

Re: Trapped in Iran: My Summer as a Guest of the Revolutionary Guards

#64

All these politics and political games are such a shame. The Tehran that the author describes seems like a really vibrant city that I'd really like to visit and experience. But I never will for fear or something like this happening, becoming some tiny pawn in a much bigger game. And I wish that Iranians could come to the US and visit NYC or SF and see our culture. Then we might realize that the other side is somethin…

I can't think of any examples where people in the US have erroneously conflated the Iranian public and government in recent times. That seems like a strawman. The green revolution a few years ago had widespread support in the US.

The recent pushback against the regime in the days following the recent soleimani killing should have led to more support from the public in the US. Sadly, since doing so would 'align' them with Trump's anti-regime rhetoric, many people who so eagerly donned green avatars on Twitter many years ago decided to stay silent and ignore it. I don't think people in the US think of the regime and public as the same entity, but I do think that the US's public support of Iran's counter-regime forces will be fickle as long as Trump supports those forces.

Re: Trapped in Iran: My Summer as a Guest of the Revolutionary Guards

#65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

funny how you didn't call out the OP and ask them for "some additional arguments backing" up their claim that the Iranian TV show was propaganda, but here you do when its American politicians. Isn't that a bit hypocritical? as for context, a good book on the subject is "manufacturing consent" by Noam Chomsky. In it he details how american media of all forms is used as a propaganda vehicle in order to shape and create…

Saying "what about that [falsely equivalent] thing over there, now read [HN meme book of the month]" isn't exactly a sound argument...

pointing out hypocrisy is not a false equivalency, but nice try.

also, you calling a foundational work in propaganda theory a meme book isnt exactly a sound counter argument, either. Here, educate yourself: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufacturing_Consent

Re: Trapped in Iran: My Summer as a Guest of the Revolutionary Guards

#66
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

very clever propaganda indeed. our politicians do the same thing. Madam Secretary [0] was propaganda for Hillary Clinton Diary of a Future President [1] is propaganda for Michelle Obama [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madam_Secretary_(TV_series) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diary_of_a_Future_President

I bet you are a Fox News viewer demographic

Nope. But way to make assumptions in an attempt to validate your world view, very nice.

Re: Trapped in Iran: My Summer as a Guest of the Revolutionary Guards

#67
post #19

I've driven from Alaska to Argentina[0] and right around Africa[1], and I've met a bunch of people that have explored a lot more of the planet than I have. Without fail, every single person that has been to Iran rates it their number one country, and the one they most want to go back to. The people are so friendly, the culture so rich, the landscape and architecture so stunning. I absolutely can not wait to go. [0] t…

I really want to visit Iran, as well. As an American, I love the look on people's faces when I tell them that. I also think it's important to distinguish between the government and the people. It can be easy to see them as one and the same, but that would be a mistake. Peter Santenello opened my eyes to Iran. I couldn't believe how pro-America so many Iranians are; the culture seems so rich, and the people so pleasan…

>I also think it's important to distinguish between the government and the people. It can be easy to see them as one and the same, but that would be a mistake.

To a degree they are one and the same though. The government still requires the consent of the governed.

Re: Trapped in Iran: My Summer as a Guest of the Revolutionary Guards

#68
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Without fail, every single person that has been to Iran rates it their number one country Only heard similar opinions, which really makes me want to visit. Three female friends of mine went together and they loved it even though there is this omnipresence of the religious police, reminding them to cover up. The stories they told me of how friendly people are and the things that go on behind closed doors makes it so…

> the things that go on behind closed doors "House parties"? That happens to be something I hear about a lot from young Iranians that come to the US for school. My understanding is "house parties" are essentially the only time young men/women can socialize together. I also understand sometimes even alcohol will appear at house parties which again I understand to be at least taboo if not outright illegal generally.

Indeed, house parties. Friends met a couple working in a coffee shop type place and they were invited back to their house, they told their neighbors they were siblings cause "informal" couples are frowned upon if not illegal. At home the blinds stayed closed, the conservative clothing discarded and they all had a wonderful night. But "if people find out we're in deep shit".

Apparently the hospitality is so "strong" in Iran you have to almost argue or tell lies to not end up in a different stranger's house every night.

A friend of mine here is an Iraqi refugee, when I met him I was amazed at how cosmopolitan and cultured he is. Like more so than anyone I know here.

It's very humbling to experience all that especially when all we see on TV is screaming religious nutbags.

Re: Trapped in Iran: My Summer as a Guest of the Revolutionary Guards

#69
post #4

The internal political wonkiness where the Guard makes their own policy and other departments don't want to play along is amusing.

That's how mafias work though. The mafia don has to keep his underlings paranoid and distrustful of one another. Otherwise they might conspire to overthrow him. It's a never-ending game of deceit, gaslighting, capricious violence, and palace intrigue.

It's also why these organizations are so dysfunctional. All of these machinations stand in direct contrast to the principles of effective management. Transparency, alignment of incentives, pooling of resources, cross-training expertise, and clear communication are all impossible to achieve in that kind of environment.

The difference between Tony Soprano and Jeff Bezos is that if you stab Tony Soprano in the back, you have a pretty good shot at becoming Tony Soprano. Same story holds true for authoritarian regimes. In democracies, the mandate to rule comes from popular approval. Simply conspiring to depose the ruler is not a viable path to power. Yet in Iran, China or Russia there's nothing to stop this besides fear and paranoia in the regime.

In a healthy org, it'd be nuts to have two divisions working at cross-purposes against each other. Yet in mafias, we see this kind of behavior all the time. For example, Hitler was notorious for giving different generals contradictory orders. Clearly it has some adaptive utility within that context.

Re: Trapped in Iran: My Summer as a Guest of the Revolutionary Guards

#70
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The CIA is well known for recruiting journalists. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mockingbird

What do you feel that means in relation to what the person you're replying said?

To me: that it’s important to be aware of, because unaccountable selfish interests win by default.
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