So, I met a whole new kind of Bush supporter here these last few days. (None are pictured here- these are just photos of folks having fun) These are young snowboarding types who actually love Obama- yet support Bush and really wanted McCain to win. Why? They have been hoping the entire duration of the Bush administration that the US would bomb Iran. They feel the only way for their government to be overthrown is by outside influence. I find this attitude both interesting and disturbing at the same time.
"Why don't you do something if you don't like it?" I say. "We can't." they reply. I do not know what' s it's like to be raised in an environment like this, but I cannot imagine that I could ever have such a defeatist attitude. But my upbringing is so different. I'm the daughter of immigrants. They left their country and surroundings because they didn't suit them on some level. I've always been taught to change things I don't like- and have largely been able to do that.
I remember when I first started working in the inner city in LA- the most shocking thing to me was the overwhelming attitude of apathy I found there. I was working with teens and had expected to find the medias portrayal of these kids as wild and rebellious. But what I found was the majority of them parked in front of a TV not caring about anything. I was the one who was saying, "Aren't you mad? Don't you care?" Nope. Most were happy to stay in front of their TVs are not care about much. So here are these young men snowboarding all day hoping the US bombs them so they can get alcohol legally. Over simplified, yes. But that certainly was the gist of our conversation.
The little sister decides to get herself the shovel sled today too and it's working quite well!
Our last day in Iran is a good one. Tomorrow will start our 2-day journey home.
