I don't any longer, if I ever did. Once again, Khalid you have opened my eyes to so many subtleties. And reading your and Noora's conversations makes me sad because I believe most Americans have respectful conversations like that, even though we disagree about this or that, but the media distorts everything--both you and us.
Anyway, I just wanted to comment on your observation that Khomeini's views could be discovered by anyone at the time and the irony that the Shah was the more independent one who challenged England in a real way.
Trump is our nation's Khomeini. Their views are completely different but the way the media makes them into people they are not, to those who pay attention, is the same.
Trump is a functional illiterate. He is 100% rich, talentless narcissist. What so many American aspire to become because that's how most things are sold here. Yet the media says he wants to ban abortion (though he clearly says differently if asked), or that he wants to pack the Supreme Court (I doubt he could name any justice but those he appointed and even them I'm not sure he remembers). As a New Yorker I've been following him for a long time. I believe everyone of my age in NYC understands he is NOTHING like the way he is portrayed.
Like Khomeini, people have rallied around him because of what they want to see (not what is true should they study them with any objectivity).
Again, beyond fascinating stuff. If either of you hasn't seen Dave Chappelle's SNL monologue in 2022 about "The" "Jews" I highly recommend it. It's next level brilliance from someone around my age and what we perceive.
As the Shah might say, there are more Muslims in the world than Jews, exponentially more, yet count up the number of times you see a Jewish holiday being celebrated in American TV. You tell me how such references got there. If one only watched American TV they would believe Jews are 98% of the population instead of the other way around.
But I can't talk about that here anymore. Even though it is in plain sight and has been my whole life. However, that IS changing rapidly.
