The Reuters headline says a puzzling thing: Outrage turns to laughter at Ahmadinejad NY speech.
So what warmed the cockles of the hearts of the audience? A joke:
“In Iran we don’t have homosexuals like in your country,” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said at Columbia University on Monday in response to a question about the recent execution of two gay men there. “In Iran we do not have this phenomenon,” he continued. “I do not know who has told you we have it.”…
After his assertions that Israel persecutes Palestinians and that Iran’s nuclear program is for energy not weapons, the Iranian leader’s comment on gays broke the tension.
Ah, so the execution of two gay men is now a joke at one of America’s most esteemed universities.
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Nancy Reyes is a retired physician living in the rural Philippines.
Her website is Finest Kind Clinic and FishmarketÂ
3 users commented in " Homophobia a joke to Columbia audience "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackNancy, you may want to read Ahmadinejad’s actual speech. Here’s a link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/24/AR2007092401042.html
I read his entire speech this morning, and I’ve got to tell you, this guy does not seem like the crazy murderous psycho the media is portraying him as. The answers he gave to the questions throughout his speech appeared honest in in the spirit of cooperation (seriously, you’ve got to read his words for yourself).
The Reuters headline you have quoted misrepresents the conversation that was being had. If anything, no conclusion can be made because that entire discussion of capital punishment (which was the topic Ahmadinejad was discussing at the time) was just plain confusing and there were no decent follow up questions to clear it up.
Unfortunately, when in comes to the topic of Iran, I don’t think we Americans can trust our mainstream media to be completely honest with us because of the saber-rattling we are witnessing. The climate looks a lot like it did in 2002 regarding Iraq, and we know where our trust has lead us in that situation. If we learn from our recent past, as tedious as it may be, before we pass judgment on the leaders of Iran, we need to be sure that we are hearing what is said straight from the source.
In this case, we have a transcript. Read it. I think you will be surprised with the conversation that actually took place.
I think you’re missing the point…those in the audience at Columbia were laughing at the sheer absurdity of the assertion by Ahmedinejad that Iran has no homosexuals…as if by stating such a thing, it becomes fact. Such is the way of dictators, and the ridiculousness of dictators’ ways to those of us who are free is indeed laughable.
Jen Clark hasn’t noticed I am not living in the US and so am not brainwashed by the US press.
On the other hand, several of my friends and professors had their entire family killed in the Holocaust (most but not all were Jewish…remember, six million Catholic Poles were killed by Nazis) so don’t tell me he is reasonable.
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