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drew’s journal

10 Things I like about Ahmadinajad

· · 🌡️ 71°F

Another challenging one. I'm not sure I can come up with 10, but I'm going to try.

1. Courage of conviction. Sure, he's wrong on just about everything, but he had to know he would get laughed at for saying that there aren't gays in Iran, and he said it anyway.

2. He called the US hypocritical for having nukes but asking other nations not to. He isn't wrong about EVERYTHING.

3. His name is fun to say. Especially if you imagine Adam Sandler tilting his head back, chin out, eyes closed, and stuttering slightly as he says it.

4. His "openness" to study the Holocaust, if applied to other disciplines, will allow for a much more progressive system of Education in Iran.

5. His country has healthcare for everybody written into the constituion (my guess is that he has something to do with its implimentation).

6. I think he actually wants peace.

7. He gently reminded the guy that introduced him at Columbia that they practice hospitality differently in Iran.

8. Before doing that, he smiled through a litany of attacks.

9. He desired, for whatever reason, to show sympathy for victims of 9/11, and did not protest when told he could not, at least not publicly.

10. He's stayed alive during his visit. Conspiracy-theory Drew was worried that he was brought here so that he could be hurt or killed in such a way that would start a chain reaction that would end in war. As dumb as the guy is, the world will be much better off if he keeps breathing, at least until he is home.


I did it!


261 words

💬 9 comments

  1. museumchick ·

    Wow... this was an interesting top 10 list.

  2. brit ·

    That guy who introduced him (pres of Uni) was a cowardly douche bag....if you invite someone to talk you introduce them then listen. What a cheap shot to introduce him by insulting his country and his beliefs whilst the over privileged Columbia frat boys cheered......

    That was unbelievable when he denied the gays though.....he's right that there aren't any in Iran principally because he had them all stoned to death!

  3. james ·

    Ya, the introduction was lame "you show all the signs of cruel and petty dictator. He was though democratically elected, and the office of the Presidency acts as like an economic guide. Real political power is in the hands of the religious leader Ayatollah Khamenei.

    But I like your list. It was a tough task to do.

  4. joshua ·

    Trying to pick this guy's brain is akin to being interested in how Hitler views the world. I can't even come close to be bothered, and to be honest he's a puppet anyway. A puppet who jails and tortures his political rivals, denies the holocaust, wants to kill Americans and Jews, insists on nuclear proliferation (remember, its only bad when the USA proliferates!), is cracking down on personal freedoms in his own country on behalf of his Islamic masters and sponsors acts of terror. What a fascinating individual - I wonder who would be more welcome on the Columbia campus, based on the reaction to how Bollinger behaved - Ahmedinijad or Bush?

    We should invite Kim Jong Il to speak next! Congratulations @drew, by writing this list you accomplished something that I wouldn't even bother trying... the man has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

  5. drew ·

    thanks for the compliment, I think. Really, I am often tempted to say "there is nothing good about (x)," and that is why every once in a while I challenge myself to make a list like this--because I do believe that if I can find good in the people I am more likely to hate, it will be good for me and the world in some way.

  6. jason ·

    I loved how Bollinger laid into him a little. Of course, he did not bring out any of the real big guns. Instead of denying Ahmedinejad, he was allowed to come, and had his ridiculous ideas challenged firmly. The thought of him just being up there, not being challenged, being given deferential treatment just because we do not want to be "rude" - well, it is a little vomit-inducing, so I'm glad he was given a little "rough" treatment, if we really want to call it that.

    I respect the idea of trying to come up with something you like about someone who is, by most accounts, impossible to like. It's an exercise almost nobody is willing to go through, so I really do give you a lot of credit, Drew. Well done.

  7. brit ·

    I meant that if he really wanted to challenge him, instead of calling him names he should have had an academic and informed head to head with him, challenged his views then allowed him to respond. Inviting a despicable human being to speak at Columbia then allowing the president of said institution to make himself look like a completely uneducated fool was a mistake. He should have listened to him rant then responded with intelligent rebuttals and a debate about the nature of democracy. We need to know what these people are thinking before we can do anything about them. Personally, I would have been extremely interested in how Hitler viewed the world a couple of weeks before he started loading the camp trains up, but maybe that's the woolly academic liberal in me....

  8. drew ·

    related, and thoughtful. I like Jim Wallis, the guy that wrote it:
    :::link:::

  9. fellyconnelly ·

    drew i think this list is awesome. thanks for bringing it to the attention to everyone that no matter how much somebody is hated - there is still good points!

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