Iran Hosts About 20 U.S. African-American Activists at Conference on Police Brutality... Wait... What??? RU*KM???

2015-10-31T15:14:36-04:00

No... This is not a joke...
OK... So, here is the challenge...
What can we/you professionally and intelligently (humor welcomed as long as it meets the prerequisite) respond about this post that won't get us/you into some type of RP trouble...?
Are the challengers ready?
Annnnnd GO!

"TEHRAN — Twenty American activists, writers and commentators flew to Iran this week to participate in a two-week conference on U.S. police brutality and racism.

Political scientist and commentator Wilmer Leon said he welcomed the opportunity to appear at the Third International Conference of Independent Thinkers and Scholars.

"The United States holds itself out as being the bastion of human rights, the arbiter of human rights, the shining city on the hill as President [Ronald] Reagan tried to characterize it," Wilmer told NBC News at the conference center in Tehran earlier this week. "And there are incredible contradictions between what America is supposed to stand for and the practices and atrocities that America continues to engage in."

The deaths of unarmed black men have sparked widespread outrage, with the shootings of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in 2012 in Florida and 18-year-old Michael Brown in 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri, among those inspiring protests under the "Black Lives Matter" moniker.

Iranian organizers told NBC News that they had paid for attendees' expenses in the country, but it did not say whether their flights were paid for. Organizers said the Americans would be speaking to university students and appearing on talks shows.

At a keynote speech, Ahmad Salek, a cleric and head of the cultural committee in Iran's parliament, referred to the U.S. as the "Great Satan" — a common refrain among Iranian hardliners — and compared its police and law enforcement to ISIS. He also vowed that "Israel will not exist in 25 years — Muslims of the world must come together to ensure this."

Last year's Horizon conference was accused of being anti-Semitic after the program included a panel discussion entitled "Zionist Fingerprints on the 9/11 Cover-up." It was also condemned by the Anti-Defamation League, a prominent Jewish advocacy group.

When asked by how he felt about comparisons between the U.S. and ISIS, poet and Harvard University fellow Amir Sulaiman said "the scale" of murders was not the same.

"But I do understand the ideological reference ... of you killing an innocent person an unarmed person and the state allowing it," he said.

One of the conference's organizers, U.S.-educated filmmaker Nader Talebzadeh, said victims of American police brutality had been invited to attend, but "a lot of them did not have passports" and could not come.

Iran is no stranger to controversial conferences. In 2006, an international group participated in the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust in Tehran. It was widely condemned as a gathering of Holocaust deniers."

Iran Hosts U.S. Activists at Conference on Police Brutality

Iranian organizers kicked off a conference about U.S. police brutality featuring about 20 African American activists flown in specially to participate.

Response by 1stSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 31 at 2015 3:20 PM

2015-10-31T15:20:03-04:00

I thought this was a duffleblog at first. All I can say is wow. Police equate to ISIS.

"When asked by how he felt about comparisons between the U.S. and ISIS, poet and Harvard University fellow Amir Sulaiman said "the scale" of murders was not the same." The scale? Hyperbole in overdrive.

Response by SN Greg Wright made Oct 31 at 2015 3:24 PM

2015-10-31T15:24:07-04:00

Response by CPO Andy Carrillo, MS made Oct 31 at 2015 3:34 PM

2015-10-31T15:34:48-04:00

Booker T. nailed it...

Response by CSM Michael J. Uhlig made Oct 31 at 2015 3:36 PM

2015-10-31T15:36:04-04:00

Here's the elephant in the room for you.....Will these Scholars and Activists address the black on black violence, or is that not of concern?

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made Oct 31 at 2015 5:05 PM

2015-10-31T17:05:34-04:00

This should be no surprise. We also had American leftists go to Iraq to support Saddam before we attacked. The left is like that.

Response by SFC Wade W. made Oct 31 at 2015 5:33 PM

2015-10-31T17:33:30-04:00

Why do we need a country as volatile as Iran to advise Americans on race issues? I believe this is counter-productive to the work already being done in our communities. The only advice Iran can give is martial in nature. They do not have any of the freedoms we do so what will they bring to the table?

Response by MCPO Roger Collins made Oct 31 at 2015 6:11 PM

2015-10-31T18:11:40-04:00

Want to bet none of them were admittedly homosexual? If one checks out the policy and statements in the past, Homosexuality and racism is alive and well. All these people are doing is trying to build up the "BLM" movement.

Response by LTC John Shaw made Oct 31 at 2015 6:51 PM

2015-10-31T18:51:21-04:00

MSgt Curtis Ellis Looks like the Iranian's have read Sun Tsu. They are acting to leverage the internal divisions within the American society. I can't imagine accepting the Iranian offer to attend this conference.

Response by CPT Ahmed Faried made Oct 31 at 2015 7:17 PM

2015-10-31T19:17:38-04:00

During the era of the Civil Rights movement the Soviet Union often used our deplorable racial attitudes as a propaganda tool against us. I have no doubt Iran is using the Police brutality issues in the United States for the same purposes.

Response by TSgt Kenneth Ellis made Oct 31 at 2015 10:41 PM

2015-10-31T22:41:08-04:00

Under The Obama administration anyone who is white is a racists and any one who has a job works hard and has sacrificed for his busines and seen there company grow. Did that by taking advantage of minorities. I don't see any difference from them going I to the White House or Iran.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 1 at 2015 12:02 AM

2015-11-01T00:02:29-04:00

Hmmm I didn't get an invite.

Response by SSG Warren Swan made Nov 1 at 2015 1:05 PM

2015-11-01T13:05:01-05:00

Marshawn, do you think this is one of the most ignorant things you've seen?
Marshawn, do you think Iran gives on single f*ck about blacks in the US? You do?
Marshawn are you here just so you won't get fined?

Response by PO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 2 at 2015 7:43 AM

2015-11-02T07:43:43-05:00

and then they will arrest all of them lol

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 2 at 2015 10:01 PM

2015-11-02T22:01:32-05:00

This must be true, because you couldn't make this stuff up. Iran is hosting a conference about abuses by the U.S. police.

It is frankly not worth our time. The Americans who attend ... Well, let's keep it professional on RallyPoint, eh?