Iranian professor calls for burning US flags in solidarity with protesters
"I think that more people should burn [American] flags. We aren't burning enough [American] flags. We need to prioritize our target audience if we want to start acting in America."
By AARON REICHProtestors burn a US flag(photo credit: REUTERS)
Burning American flags will help Iranians establish solidarity with the protesters in the US, a Tehran University professor said in an interview last month, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).Speaking to Iran's Ofogh TV on July 18, Prof. Foad Izadi explained that these protesters should be Iran's "target audience," assuming the Islamic Republic wants to start having an active presence in the US."I think that more people should burn [American] flags. We aren't burning enough [American] flags. We need to prioritize our target audience if we want to start acting in America," Izadi explained."So far, we haven't done anything serious. In order to start acting, we need to define our target audience. Our initial target audience are [Americans] who have also been hurt by America – those who are tearing down statues and burning flags. When they see that Iran is also burning [American] flags – and they may have learned to do this because they saw us doing it – then it creates relations and solidarity between us. It could be that burning American flags will hurt some Americans, but even they will ask: 'What have we done to Iran to cause it to do such a thing?' This is why people should burn American flags. There is no problem with this."The protests in the US were sparked following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25. An African-American man, he was killed by police officers after he was subdued with the officer's knee pressed on his neck. After over eight minutes of not being able to breathe, Floyd died while onlookers videoed the entire thing, unable to stop the police officer.This incident was the spark of numerous protests in cities across the US against racism and police brutality. It also caused people to call for a reexamination of historic figures with problematic legacies, particularly of racism and slave owning. This was particularly targeted toward statues of figures in the Confederacy, which were found throughout the southern US. Many protesters took to vandalising and even toppling the statues.The wave of protests remains ongoing in many cities throughout the countries, causing law enforcement and federal agents to begin strict crackdowns.
