I dislike Those. It is hard enough to remain optimistic nowadays, and Those is already creeping back, bringing with it a lapse into passivity; an expectation for matters to fall into place of their own accord, absolving responsibility. Every way I turn, I only notice the fire of the recent weeks receding inside Iranians. Perhaps this is a natural occurrence while fatigue, fear, and impatience settles in, but it does not diminish the irritation from hearing about Those. Most people I speak to on the streets seem to be aware of the ongoing events, and most of the time I do not find myself breaking any news to them, but it seems as if they are once again resigning to the wills and wishes of Those. Surprisingly, in a culture that should be habituated to hints and half-steps, to nuances and to reading between the lines, people take the news at face value, and the uncertainty about what happens behind the curtains of politics leads them only to despair. I have been getting into discussions with many people about Rafsanjani’s speech at the Expediency Council and instead of receiving views in agreement or contrary to my own, most seem to have already settled on trying to make a living, while Those divvy up their shares and ignore people once again.
I will refer you to a typical conversation I had with an atypical taxi driver – in his mid thirties, clean-shaven, wearing a green T-shirt – to explain what I mean. Dialogs on politics with strangers open with difficulty these days, but you can bet that if a conversation continues it will eventually lead to politics. No doubt, people are mistrustful. Anyone can be an intelligence agent. But everything is political as this man mentioned; otherwise, you will find yourself sitting in silence. This is how I broke it:
“Traffic around Vali-Asr is horrendous.”
“It’s really bad. I don’t know who’s plan it was to make it one way. And from Abbas-Abad all the way to Parkway.”
“I know. I was stuck on the Parkway bridge for an hour this morning.”
There was a long pause before the driver continued:
“This is the problem with Iran. First we do, and then think about it. They are now asking us drivers and the stores in the area how things are and whether we are having any issues. They should research these changes from months before.”
“How long ago did you find out about it?”
“Nothing. They announced it a couple of weeks ago.”
“Same here.”
After another minute of silence, I had another go:
“Some say they did it because of the protests.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that. At first we thought they were going to make all lanes northbound so more cars can go through, but that’s not it, they’ve just closed off two lanes for the bus service. It’s strange, but who knows, everything is seen as political these days.”
“True. It’s natural though. There’s no trust in the system.”
“Yeah, if these guys so much as breathe, we would say it’s political… Seriously, politics has even changed the way people talk to one another. But how is it because of the protests?”
“Well, word is that it was easy to deploy security forces on streets that have these special lanes, like Enghelab, but in a place like Vali-Asr where people packed all the lanes with cars they had a lot of trouble getting around. Most of them had to go on foot or ride their bikes on the sidewalks. But it’s only a rumor.”
“It’s really not that far off. They’re capable of anything. All that matters to them is keeping their power. They are really at each other’s throats now.”
“Right. I tend to see that as a positive thing. The whole uprising was and I’m talking about it as a whole, of course the atrocities that have been committed are nothing but tragic.”
“Yeah, but so what? We are not going anywhere. It’s the same old. Who in this country is thinking of people?”
“You may be right, but I have the feeling Rafsanjani is behind many of the moves that have been made recently. Ahmadinejad is being cornered and it is hard to imagine how he will continue in this atmosphere.”
“I don’t know. Looks like Rafsanjani just switched sides though. Didn’t he say everyone should listen to the Leader?”
“Yes. I think the rest of his speech was more important though. He pretty much reiterated all he had said in the Friday Prayers and during Sadegh Larijani’s ceremony. He couldn’t come out and talk directly against the Leader. It’ll put him in a tight position.”
“That’s another thing. Larijani is not exactly a friend of the people. Besides he was appointed by the leader himself. You think Larijani is going to act against him? His brother has been in the Leader’s pocket too.”
“I’m not saying Rafsanjani is our fairy godmother, for all I know this may be the end of the green wave and the beginning of the Amoli clan’s hold on power. Along with the Hashemis. A dawn of the centrists. But what seems to be happening is that a coalition is forming that is using the law to combat the group that has taken over. Look at who was at Larijani’s ceremony and who wasn’t. Or more importantly, how he repeated Rafsanjani’s line in his speech.”
“If that’s true then they’re too slow. They should just come out and say it. Say everything. What’s with all these announcements and letters? They should do something.”
“That’s how it’s done. With letters and announcements. And a problem with the law is that it’s slow. It’s the same everywhere.”
“I don’t know. I think they are all the same. Rafsanjani, Larijani, Ahmadinejad, they’re all the same. They’re all insiders who are now in a battle over power, and as usual the smoke is going into the people’s eyes.”
“So what do we want then? I was under the impression that the rule of law was desirable.”
“That’s never going to happen. Iranians are never going to get anywhere. Because we don’t matter.”
He paused for a moment.
“Hamoonhaee ke inaro ovordan, khodeshoon ham biyan bebaran.”
This is one of the most detrimental and dangerous phrases in the Iranian political discourse. I have heard it countless times over the years from people of all walks of life: Businessmen, artists, janitors, craftsmen, store owners, and intellectuals. “Those who have brought These, should come and take them away themselves”, would be a literal translation of it. When discussions reach this point, you know you have been disarmed, and wasting your time.
Those is an escape, and so is These, and we always fall back on them. In my attempts to fathom what this sentence may convey to its narrator, it has never lived up to scrutiny, so I have had to blame it on ignorance, or lethargy. The problem with Those is that it is a shape-shifter, a specter, depending on who applies it and in what context. It is Jimmy Carter, the Russians, the Enemy, the Monarchs, or the West, standing behind the central plans in the Islamic Revolution, the Shah’s regime, the Constitutional Revolution, the Qajar Dynasty. Pick and choose, and if the analysis fails, then you can always equate Fate with Those and be done with it. The government has been using Those as a tool since its inception, to rally people behind a cause and create unity, to manipulate public opinion, or to simply confuse everyone, but when people turn to it, it is particularly alarming. It is always used to explain the state of affairs as a chain of events completely outside the grasp of the Iranian.
Most of the time I hear about Those from people who belong to the pre-revolution generations. With the majority of our population being under 30, mostly educated, dissatisfied and under political and social pressures, and underexposed to Those, I am hopeful that Iran’s youth will have the stamina to see us through this round and perhaps make it a final one, and to realize that Those are nothing but Us.
I didn’t have any more success in my probing this time either, but at least I had one of the more amusing conversations about it with a fan of this theory.
“So who are these Those?”
“Those who changed the regime and installed These.”
“You mean Iranians?”
“One must be naïve to think this was the work of Iranians alone.”
“So who?”
“Those who do not have an interest in seeing Iran make progress.”
“And what about These? Aren’t they Iranians? Let’s talk about this government. It is now 30 years after the regime change.”
“These are worse than Those of 1400 years ago. How can an Iranian behave like These?”
“Well, we clearly see that they do. And it’s nothing new. Look at our history…”
“In our history, people have never had a hand in the government.”
“I’d say proper representation. Those who have had a hand in governing were Iranians. They still are.”
“Yes but they never want us to make progress.”
“They?”
“These.”
“I’m confused.”
“You’re pulling my leg.”
“Maybe a little. Let’s leave this for the next time we meet. I’m getting off here. Thanks.”
“I hope I didn’t cause you a headache.”
“No, I enjoyed the talk. Always do. But let me just squeeze in the last word. If Those are real, we should think about why we have always let them succeed in taking away our rights. How much?”
“Be my guest.”
“We both know you don’t mean that, and we both know I wouldn’t let you anyway. Please, how much?”
“You’re so brutal. Five Tomans.” And he was smiling.