Dear Armenian,

I would like to express a few concerns of mine. Ones that I’ve had ever since I was introduced to my Rabizakan Akhperotyoon.

I am disappointed, time and time again, by the backwards morals of my fellow Armenians. And even more so by the backwards morals of my fellow Armenian youth. What time and what age is it for you to proudly proclaim your hate for other individuals who have done you no harm? In what sheltered and uneducated areas of the world were you raised? Under which unfortunate circumstances were you brought up to believe that you, a proud Armenian “man,” are better than any other human being - no matter their color, shape, or form, and no matter their sexual orientation, gender, or sexual preference? And, under which unfortunate circumstances were you taught to believe that you ever had the right to “put someone in their place,” simply because they are a woman?

Do you know what you are, and what you will be remembered as? Let me try to be as clear as I can:

Remember those fucking bastards who used to lynch “niggers”? Remember those sons of bitches who forbid women to go to school? Remember those fascist fucks who used to chant “Separate but Equal”? Remember those racists who wrote the Jim Crow Laws? Remember Hitler? Yea, the guy who persecuted people (Jews) for the way they were born, the way God made them? Remember the dick-heads in charge of the Spanish Inquisition? Remember the Turks who slaughtered innocent people, simply because they were born a certain way (Armenian)? Do you remember those people?

I bet you do. And you know what? In 20 to 30 years of time,f you will be included in that list of people. You will be part of those people in history who spread hate and fear. You, my dear akhper, are part of the scum of the earth who preach intolerance and inequality.

Sure, you drive your BMW and your Mercedes, and you wear your Coach shoes and Rolex watches- gifts from your daddy. You walk around proud. Proud of who you are, and who you’re becoming. You want to show the world, so you wear those uniforms and preach your poison. So proud. It’s embarrassing. It’s embarrassing to call you my brothers when I hear you say things like “God punished the gays with AIDS.” It’s embarrassing! It’s embarrassing to call you my brothers when I hear you say “Women need to know their place in life.” “Chaput pahi ay aghchi!” It’s embarrassing when I see you point at a young woman who doesn’t know anything about her own sexual organs, the way to use a condom, or the way sexually transmitted diseases can be spread, and call her a “normal aghchik.” It’s really fucking embarrassing. It’s embarrassing to know that you go to some of the most prestigious universities in America, and you still have not managed to drop your gyooghatsi mentality when it comes to the rights of women, and the rights of gays.

Whether you like it or not, you will eventually have to come to terms with the fact that all people are equal, and all people should have equal rights. You are not the shining light of the universe. God made women and the gays. And every single one of you was made by a woman. So the next time you decide to proclaim your hatred towards a fellow man, and the next time you decide to assume authority over any woman, think about what it is you’re about to say. Really think about it. And then shut your fucking mouth. Shut your mouth, before you manage to bring down the name of my people, my Armenian ethnicity, my Armenian beliefs, and my Armenian blood. I am sick and tired of hearing a countless number of you uttering words of sheer ignorance and discrimination, sexism and intolerance.

You are an embarrassment to my Armenian race, and my fellow human beings on this planet, Earth. You, my rabizakan unger, are backwards.

Genuinely and Sincerely (repulsed by you),

-Ani Khodaverdian
Anikhodaverdian@ucla.edu