Cultural Context of “Death to America” Chants
I went to school and grew up in Iran. Chanting death to America and Israel and even to poor (already) dead Shah was part of an official ritual every morning in the school.<p>As a teenager, you don&#x27;t grasp what you&#x27;re saying. You&#x27;re just part of the crowd. In an environment that there&#x27;s almost no other forms of entertainment at reach; you feel powerful in these rallies. It&#x27;s like being in a rock concert and singing the songs.<p>I imagine most people that show up in the rallies these days have nothing else to do. It&#x27;s a recreational event for most.<p>Actually I think this is exactly what makes this culture most dangerous. There are big crowds of mostly low or unemployed people blindly following their leaders. And they enjoy it the same way that you enjoy a sport event or a concert.<p>I speak Farsi and &#x27;death to America&#x27;, well means death to America. I even didn&#x27;t know about the historical reference mentioned in the post. But I doubt that the big majority of the individuals that are shouting death to something truly mean it.