1980_04 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper April 1980

              April, 1980
Hye Sharzhoom
Page 3
Letters to the Editor
Whaf s wrong with Hyes in the 'melting pot?'
This letter is in response to the Opinion
article that appeared in the January 11,
1980 issue of the Hye Sharzhoom.
I have always been proud and aware of
my Armenian background. I feel that it
sort of sets me apart from a lot of other
people that I know and interact with.
Many people feel the same way for similar reasons. They may be Mexican-
Americans, Afro-Americans or German-
Americans. These labels are looked upon
by many as distinguishing characteristics. The people may feel a certain pride
for this distinction. They should.
The United States of America has
been good to the Armenian people, and
we have been good to this country. As
with other groups the road has not
always been smooth. We overcame the
initial discrimination and have done very
well in our new home. There are certain
groups that have yet to have the success
that we have had, and we should be
aware of that. Too often some Armenian-
Americans forget about the kind of
discrimination that they suffered when
they first came to this country. Oh yes,
they' 11 still tell you about what it was like
being called "dirty Armenian" and
feeling the hatred that was directed at
them by persons who had arrived earlier
in this country than they. Unfortunately,
now that many of us who were lucky
enough to have "made it" have done so,
we forget. There are others who are still
below us on the economic ladder. They
should not be forgotten.
The Opinion article decried the fact
that Armenians are being assimilated.
True, we are. I am now an American, not
an Armenian. Yes, I do feel a strong
bond to my past culture, as most Armenian-Americans do. This is reflected in
the strength of my church and the rich
culture that has been transplanted to the
San Joaquin Valley from Armenia many
years ago.
What I object to is the portraying of
the assimilation that is taking place as
some sort of evil thing. There must and
will be a certain amount of assimilation
taking place as years go by. It's inevitable. If the U.S. were to maintain all of
the cultures in their original form we
would have a bitter and stratified
society. I need only point to Quebec
Province in Canada as an example.
In the San Joaquin Valley there are
some 70 ethnic groups represented. I
think that this is great. But, could you
imagine what would happen if all of
these groups decided to start emphasizing themselves above all others at the
same time? We Armenians are not the
only group that has gotten a raw deal in
history. What if all these groups decide
to reject the so-called "sterile WASP
traditions" of the U.S. That would make
the problems that the Canadians face
with Quebec look like a Sunday school
picnic.
Although I am not a white Anglo-
Saxon Protestant (WASP) I do resent
that label when it is stated in the phrase
•sterile WASP traditions." Quite
frankly, I don't think that there is much
that is sterile about the traditions of the
U.S., no matter what group we4are talk-
ing about. The U.S. has a richly diverse
ethnic tradition. I mean that whether
we're talking about any of the white,
black, red, brown or yellow people that
live in this country. It is inherently unfair for anyone to say that those traditions are any less rich than our own.
In this Opinion article it was stated
that 64 years after the "Armenocide" the
Armenian-American was still a refugee
and essentially homeless. I am not
homeless in any sense of the word.
After speaking with members of my own
family and others, I don't feel that they
agree with that statement either. We
are secure and happy to live our lives
in peace, to worship as we chose, and to
do just about anything else that we wish
to do. If that is the definition of a refugee, so be it.
It was also stated that one must choose
to be an Armenian or an American. Here
is my choice: I am an American of
Armenian descent. I have a rich heritage
to call on in a land that still does exist
in name and reality. Even in the Soviet
Union our people cannot be held back.
We have one of the most independent
republics in the U.S.S.R. True, it is not
a perfect existence from the Armenian
nationalists' standpoint, but groups
such as these are seldom, if ever,
satisfied. The more radical of these persons soil the reputation of all persons of
Armenian descent by doing such things
as murdering Turkish diplomats and
their family members. These are not
Armenian nationalists, they are bloodthirsty murderers and should be treated
as such.
The U.S. government came under
attack in the Opinion piece for resuming
arms sales to Turkey. This criticism is
uninformed and short-sighted. While
Turkey is not my favorite country historically (My grandfather on my father' s
side narrowly escaped with his brother
from Armenia when the rest of his family
was murdered in 1915-16 by the Turkish
Army) that arms' deal was the price
negotiated by our government for the
use of Turkish soil so we could keep our
military listening posts in operation.
Those bases we have are used to tell us
if the Soviets are obeying arms' control
treaties among other things. They have
become even more important since the
loss of our listening posts in Iran. Besides, the government that was responsible for the murder of my grandfather' s
family is not the one that runs Turkey
today. Hatred for hatred's sake has
never brought a person back from the
grave. In this case the only thing that it
would accomplish would be to allow the
Soviet Union a little more freedom to do
as it pleases.
One of the headlines that appeared
over the Opinion article was the question: "will Hyes fall into the 'melting
pot'?" My answer to that question is
that we fell into that pot long ago. Yes,
we are not as Armenian as we used to
be. But, we have given our culture to
many people in the United States. We
have not become poorer for this. We
have instead enriched the American
stewpot with our influence. At the same
time I have become familiar with other
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peoples's cultures and I know that I
am a better person for it. The time has
come for all those who comprise the
'melting pot' of America to raise their
heads with pride. Cultural identity is a
good thing. Not just for Armenian-
Americans, but for everyone. We must
remember one thing, however; as proud
as we are of our past, we are Americans
and even greater things lie in the
future— if we work together.
Tom Bohigian
Defining Armenian and
American nationalism
Two opinion articles have been
written to the Hye Sharzhoom. The first
letter appeared in the Jan. 11,1980 issue
and the second letter is in this edition
of the Hye Sharzhoom. Both articles
take very idealistic and opposite views
on whether we should be classified as
Armenians or Americans.
In the first article "Assimilation
Threatens Armenian-American's" the
author states that there is a dual identity
in the life of the Armenians and we must
now choose to be either Armenian or
American. A good Armenian cannot
be a good American,he said. Rather
than confront this identity crisis many
Armenian-Americans have chosen
to become "better" Americans.
The second author,Tom Bohigian,
says he is an American first,but makes it
clear that he still has a strong bond to his
past culture, as do most Armenian-
Americans.
Both articles present interesting views,
but why should we even make a choice?
It seems that both authors are confused
with nationality and citizenship.
America gave us the opportunity to
prosper and our cultural background
gave us the initiative to succeed. Trying
to compare the two would be crass.
This country is a melting pot. Having
the attitude that we should give up our
cultural ties to fight solely for the
American dream or solely fight to free
Armenia are both idealistic views. To
accomplish anything in this country we
must have a combination of both views.
However, many Armenian-Americans
have the "look forward "attitude, which is
we're proud of our past, but we must
look forward and forgive and forget.
I ask you how can you forgive a crime
that is non-existent in the eye's of its
perpetrator and forget that two million
Armenians were massacred.
To this day the Turkish government
claims that the death of two million
Armenians was due to a revolutionary
war and bad environmental conditions,
not a genocide. Their effort to rewrite
history is unjust.
Until the Turks and the rest of the
world recognize the massacre of two
million Armenians our accomplishments
as a culture will never exceed our
heinous loss.
Warren Paboojjian
Praise from 'Uhuru'
Dear Editors:
I recently had the opportunity to read
an edition of the "Hye Sharzhoom," and
I must congratulate you and your staff
for putting together a very enlightening
interesting publication. Being a Black
student, I was especially pleased with
interview with Professor George. The
interview illustrated to some degree
the relationship between Armenians
and Blacks in America. I believe that
although the Black experience and history is somewhat unrelated to that of
the Armenian people, Blacks and Armenians do share some common goals.
In conclusion, I would again like to
congratulate you on your work, and I
look forward to reading more of your
newspaper. David Booker
Editor, "Uhuru na Umoja"
Fall course meets
GE requirements
A new, general-education course in
" Armenian    Studies    will    be    offered
at CSUF this fall.
The course, entitled "Introduction
to Armenian Studies," will be found
under the new "Armenian Studies"
listing. The course number is ARM
S 10. Dr. Dickran Kouymjian, who will
teach the course, received approval
from the university's General Education
Committee to have the three-credit
course count as part of the G.E. requirement under the Social Sciences category
for all students.
Meeting at prime time on Monday,
Wednesday and Friday from 1010-1100,
the class will introduce students to
various areas of Armenian studies:
history, literature, language, art, politics, Church history and doctrine,
the Armenian Question and Genocide,
and the Diaspora. Students will also
become acquainted with various library
resources in Armenian studies, bibliography and historical methodology,
and research techniques and problems.
Other courses to be taught in the
fall semester include: History 108T,
Armenian History (3 credits) MWF,
1210-1300; Armenian 1A, Intoduction
to Armenian language (4 credits)
MTWF, 1500-1600; Armenian Studies
50T, American Writers of Armenian
Origin (1 credit) TH, 1910-2000; and
Ethnic Studies 130T, Armenian Art
(1 credit) Saturdays, Oct. 4 and 11,
0830-1630. Community     members
may attend any of these courses through
the University Extension Division
by paying $39.00 per credit, or, if
they wish to attend without earning
credit, they may take advantage of the
Armenian Studies Program special
half-price sale of only $20.00 per credit.
For further information call the Armen-
, ian Studies Office, 487-2832.