Voting Frenzy
Yes, the lines are long.... Yes, it's somewhat of a hassle... Yes, it MAY be pointless... but we're all voting! In my entire life, I've never seen SUCH a big deal about an election. Correct me if I'm wrong (since I'm not all that old to begin with). haha :) I think I might be the only American not glued to the TV, listening to different news channels reporting on the election. In fact, this morning I heard that DirectTV was offering a pay-per-view channel where you could watch 6 news channels all at one time, covering the election. Craaaaaaazy business!
Now, something else I'd like to log about. When I read Hagop's log.. I seriously felt my own blood pressure rising. What do you MEAN you never went back to work cause of your Turkish supervisor???? I wrote in the comments section, and I'll repeat myself here, because I think this is such an important thing. First off, I know you're not the only person who this has happened to. It happens to a lot of Armenians... so what do we do when it DOES happen? Second, I'm so sorry that you're once again jobless. Third, I'd like to tell you about something we used to do with our badanees once every few years. A couple of years ago, when I was an assistant advisor with the badanees (youth group), we asked a friend of ours to come to the meeting and act as though he was a Turk and tell the kids (ages 9-16) that all these years they've been lied to. He showed up dressed in a suit, looking professional. He started telling them that there was no Genocide, and in fact soooo many Turkish people died.. etc etc. You get the idea. I have to say that the reaction from the kids was INCREDIBLE!!! Some of them started crying(out of frustration)... some started asking us "Why did you bring this guy here?" in Armenian. But most of them stood up, looked that guy straight in the face and started arguing with him... with facts! They remained calm... so they WERE listening all those times we gave them educationals about facts and historical events. They knew so much, I was even surprised!
Hagop (and other people who face similar situations), I know that if one of those badanees sat in that room while your supervisor said those things, they would've known exactly how to respond.... Fight it to the bone! Think about it like this, more than a million of our ancestors died...and if you were going to be fired for sticking up for them... isn't that the least you could do? The reason why it's SO hard for Armenians to have a rational discussion about the Genocide with a Turk, is (in my opinion) because the Genocide is something SOOOO personal and close to our hearts. It's part of our own personal identity... especially in the diaspora. It is the reality that began our existance. When the Genocide is questioned, our own personal identities are indirectly questioned too.... we go into "panic" mode, automatically relating "no Genocide" with "I don't exist". And that's what some of the kids were feeling.... It's important for us to be able to step outside that emotional approach to the Genocide, and work on ways to confront and have open dialogue about it.
Just my $.02 for today....
TSUH :)~
Yes, the lines are long.... Yes, it's somewhat of a hassle... Yes, it MAY be pointless... but we're all voting! In my entire life, I've never seen SUCH a big deal about an election. Correct me if I'm wrong (since I'm not all that old to begin with). haha :) I think I might be the only American not glued to the TV, listening to different news channels reporting on the election. In fact, this morning I heard that DirectTV was offering a pay-per-view channel where you could watch 6 news channels all at one time, covering the election. Craaaaaaazy business!
Now, something else I'd like to log about. When I read Hagop's log.. I seriously felt my own blood pressure rising. What do you MEAN you never went back to work cause of your Turkish supervisor???? I wrote in the comments section, and I'll repeat myself here, because I think this is such an important thing. First off, I know you're not the only person who this has happened to. It happens to a lot of Armenians... so what do we do when it DOES happen? Second, I'm so sorry that you're once again jobless. Third, I'd like to tell you about something we used to do with our badanees once every few years. A couple of years ago, when I was an assistant advisor with the badanees (youth group), we asked a friend of ours to come to the meeting and act as though he was a Turk and tell the kids (ages 9-16) that all these years they've been lied to. He showed up dressed in a suit, looking professional. He started telling them that there was no Genocide, and in fact soooo many Turkish people died.. etc etc. You get the idea. I have to say that the reaction from the kids was INCREDIBLE!!! Some of them started crying(out of frustration)... some started asking us "Why did you bring this guy here?" in Armenian. But most of them stood up, looked that guy straight in the face and started arguing with him... with facts! They remained calm... so they WERE listening all those times we gave them educationals about facts and historical events. They knew so much, I was even surprised!
Hagop (and other people who face similar situations), I know that if one of those badanees sat in that room while your supervisor said those things, they would've known exactly how to respond.... Fight it to the bone! Think about it like this, more than a million of our ancestors died...and if you were going to be fired for sticking up for them... isn't that the least you could do? The reason why it's SO hard for Armenians to have a rational discussion about the Genocide with a Turk, is (in my opinion) because the Genocide is something SOOOO personal and close to our hearts. It's part of our own personal identity... especially in the diaspora. It is the reality that began our existance. When the Genocide is questioned, our own personal identities are indirectly questioned too.... we go into "panic" mode, automatically relating "no Genocide" with "I don't exist". And that's what some of the kids were feeling.... It's important for us to be able to step outside that emotional approach to the Genocide, and work on ways to confront and have open dialogue about it.
Just my $.02 for today....
TSUH :)~
posted by shooosh at 7:22 AM
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