BELONGING TO MANY WORLDS BUT BELONGING TO NONE

AN ONLINE MAGAZINE

| 2006 Archive
| 2005 Archive
| 2004 Archive
| Respond

FROM THE MARGINS | BY PATRICK AZADIAN
Los Angeles Times Valley Edition | Glendale News-Press | June 3 2006

Loving conspiracy theories

Since I was young, I've been exposed to conspiracy theories. This seems to be a favorite Armenian pastime. Of course, as Armenians become more acculturated into the American society, this activity has lost some of its luster.

But still, for the older generation, coming up with conspiracy theories ranks up there with just about anything when it comes to having fun.

Iran, where many Armenian-Americans of Glendale trace their roots, is a hotbed of "bahs." The word in Persian (or Farsi, if you insist on sounding ethnically sensitive) means "argument," and it's the activity that follows the conspiracy theory.

Once the conspiracy theory is established, one can attend a social gathering, have a few drinks, maybe do a little bit of dancing, tell jokes and cap the evening with dark coffee and a heated "bahs."

Often, relatives and best friends leave the social gathering with a bad taste in their mouths. It's not uncommon that people will not talk to one another for months just because the argument got out of hand. Maybe an uncle's point of view was too leftist, or an aunt was too conservative. But the group is back at it again the next weekend, satisfying an emptiness that is probably a result of lack of opportunity for freedom of expression in an authoritarian state.

For my parents' generation, the main conspiracy theory revolved around how their "beautifully civilized" pre-Islamic Republic Iran took the road of revolution and fundamentalism. How did the country go from being a friend of America to the opposite?

The most common theory is that the British planned and executed the Iranian Revolution to keep America out of the region.

Of course, there are a couple of gaping holes in this theory, the most obvious of which is the fact that Britain has been a loyal ally of the U.S. for decades. But, conspiracy theories often defy logic. If the sky is blue, the people who like conspiracy theories will argue that the blue is really a quilt sewn by invisible forces, to mask the fact that the sky is really black.

The second conspiracy theory, revolves around Israel's role in the region. The basic tenant of this theory is that nothing happens in he region without the express consent of Israel, which, of course, is also a close ally of the United States. So, how is it that Iran was allowed to fall under anti-Israel forces without Israel's consent -- well, that's another conspiracy theory on its own. During a heated 'bahs' someone may claim: "If Iran was a close ally of America, then Israel's importance would lessen, therefore... blah, blah..."

A more general conspiracy theory has to do with the role of government in people's lives. Government and political parties are often perceived as corrupt and untrustworthy. Understandably, everything that happens is viewed as mandated from above.

The basis of these conspiracy theories lies in the belief that common people are incapable of bringing about change. It is a thought process unique to colonized peoples; individuals are pawns, not actors.

Another characteristic of conspiracy theories is that it is about a force that in some ways is feared or revered.

The last Glendale city elections put Armenian-Americans on the political map on the local level. Their perceived success has naturally generated some reservations, concerns and excitement from certain sectors of the population.

It is strange. Conspiracy theories are now rampant about Armenian-Americans, the most common of which is the one that claims Armenians are taking over Glendale. This of course refers to Americans of Armenian ancestry, and not officials from Yerevan running our city; God forbid!

I am not going to go into the details of why this conspiracy theory is gravely exaggerated or even false, but suffice to say that a quick look at the percentages of Armenians employed in our city institutions can disprove the theory very quickly.

Believing in this conspiracy theory is problematic in many ways. First, for the Armenian-American it creates a false sense of accomplishment. Armenian-Americans have a long way to go before they can match the accomplishments of other minorities in America.

And second, it is damaging in a way that it creates a feeling of animosity against a specific ethnic group of Americans. As a result, it is not impossible to believe that some may try to turn the tide of the 'takeover' by resorting to discriminatory measures when given the opportunity.

Conspiracy theories are fun, as long as we don't believe in them in the face of evidence supporting the contrary.

Copyright 2006 Glendale News Press