{
  "path": "/3mfx7dhsrqc2u",
  "site": "at://did:plc:yltnuhmi5446q5gixfz277lu/site.standard.publication/3mbm2gtkoz225",
  "tags": [],
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "title": "I'm having a hard time titling this one",
  "content": {
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    "pages": [
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              "plaintext": "I loved this video when I first watched it. I already had a love for Middle Eastern music and culture, but this just made it all so real."
            }
          },
          {
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              "plaintext": "Like, this video was made by a guy who just happens to be Iranian and who has a different first language than I do. But in this video he feels like... a guy. He's got uncles and aunts and loves his craft and feels passionate about some things. Not so different from me."
            }
          },
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              "plaintext": "And I realized... how many other people are out there just like that? People who have been demonized by politicians to justify their wars. I was a kid in 2003 and remember the videos and parody music glorifying the war in Iraq and, like many Americans, I went along with it. Islam bad. Democracy good! (So long as it's American Democracy.)"
            }
          },
          {
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            "block": {
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              "plaintext": "What a sad, small worldview."
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          {
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              "plaintext": "Meanwhile, at least part of the culture of my country is war-mongering — saber rattling, CoD, guns guns guns. We're a messed up bunch."
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              "plaintext": "I'm not going to pretend like I understand all of the geopolitics of Iran and the Middle East. I'm not trying to defend the terrible actions of wicked people, whether they're in power or not."
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              "plaintext": "But goodness... How many wonderful, amazing, brilliant, talented, radiant Iranians, Iraqis, Afghanis, Chinese, Russians, Venezuelans, Cubans — literally everyone that politicians have tried to make me hate — how many of them are there? If we were to meet in person, would we be friends? Probably. I would hope so."
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              "plaintext": "I grieve for the image I had of my country standing for peace and justice. I grieve for those who lose their lives to pointless wars, past, present, and future. And I grieve for my Iranian brothers and sisters. سلامتی. Salameti. I love you. May you find peace, health, and security."
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  "description": "But it comes from a place of both grief and love",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-28T21:49:09.346Z"
}