How to "convert" dormant Armenians to the Hye Tad?

[Eddo211]

Re: How to "convert" dormant Armenians to the Hye Tad?

I don’t know what you guys are so worried about. Armenians integrate, they do not assimilate…….at least here in the USA (and I am sure other places as well).

Here is an article that describes very well what I witness here in Cali.

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ACCULTURATION AND ASSIMILATION

Throughout the diaspora, Armenians have developed a pattern of quick acculturation and slow assimilation. Armenians quickly acculturate to their society, learning the language, attending school, and adapting to economic and political life. Meanwhile, they are highly resistant to assimilation, maintaining their own schools, churches, associations, language, and networks of intramarriage and friendship. Sociologist Anny Bakalian observes that across generations, U.S. Armenians move from a more central "being Armenian" to a more surface "feeling Armenian," expressing nostalgic pride in their heritage while acting fully American.

The U.S. Armenian community is best viewed as the product of two sets of intense, opposing forces—centripetal pressures binding Armenians closer together, and centrifugal pressures pushing them apart. Centripetal forces among Armenians are clear. More than most U.S. nationalities, diaspora Armenian youth and adults feel like the proud guardians charged with protecting their ancient, highly-evolved culture—its distinctive language, alphabet, architecture, music, and art—from extinction. This sense of duty makes them resist assimilation. They tenaciously maintain their own schools, churches, associations, language, local hantesses (festivals) and networks of intramarriage and friendship. Today's U.S. Armenian community is bound together by a network of Armenian groups including, for example, some 170 church congregations, 33 day schools, 20 national newspapers, 36 radio or television programs, 58 student scholarship programs, and 26 professional associations. Anthropologist Margaret Mead suggested that over the centuries, diaspora Armenians (like J.ews) have developed a tight-knit family structure to serve as a bulwark against extinction and assimilation ( Culture and Commitment [New York: Columbia University Press, 1978]). There is merit to the sentiment expressed by some Armenians that America's culture has evolved for less than 400 years since the 1600s, at a time when Armenian culture was already 2,500 years into its evolution.

Meanwhile, centrifugal forces also can be strong, driving Armenians out of their community. Due to political and religious schisms, the many groups often duplicate or even compete with one another, creating ill feelings. The American-born and youths, in particular, often view organization leaders as "out-of-touch," while others avoid Armenian organizations due to the plutocratic tendency to allow their wealthy sponsors to dictate organization policy. Unlike most U.S. nationalities, there is no coordinating body at all among the many wealthy Armenian groups, often leading to discord and a vying for leadership. The few recent efforts at community coordination (like the compilation of the Armenian Almanac, Armenian Directory, and Who's Who ) are the efforts of well-intentioned individuals, not funded community groups. Perhaps the emergence, in 1991, of a stable Armenian Republic for the first time in 500 years may serve as a stabilizing force within the diaspora. Meanwhile, it is not clear how many U.S. Armenians have left behind their community, if not their heritage, due to divisive forces within it…

http://www.everyculture.com/multi/A-Br/Armenian-Americans.html

[jgk3]

Re: How to "convert" dormant Armenians to the Hye Tad?

The difference between Armenians and xxxs in their diasporan conditions and mentalities throughout history are few, except that xxxs have historically, as a whole, been united at a commercial level to a degree that most of us cannot even fathom. If we could be more united this way, then the threat of assimilation and extinction would be much smaller. We'd be able to rise to the upper echelons of our host nations with much greater ease, and would not waste our energies bickering against one another (at least not before achieving the crucial end of reaching very great political influence in our host nation, as the English and French Rothschilds did respectively). Otherwise, leaving the door open to have our factions manipulated by odar powers for their own political/commercial gains will leave us with no gains at the end of the day. We must be able to identify friendship at a basic, commercial level between one another as a strategy to attain political leverage for all Armenians. We can have our plurality of institutions and ideologies after this foundation has been set.

[KanadaHye]

Re: How to "convert" dormant Armenians to the Hye Tad?

The difference between Armenians and xxxs in their diasporan conditions and mentalities throughout history are few, except that xxxs have historically, as a whole, been united at a commercial level to a degree that most of us cannot even fathom. If we could be more united this way, then the threat of assimilation and extinction would be much smaller. We'd be able to rise to the upper echelons of our host nations with much greater ease, and would not waste our energies bickering against one another (at least not before achieving the crucial end of reaching very great political influence in our host nation, as the English and French Rothschilds did respectively). Otherwise, leaving the door open to have our factions manipulated by odar powers for their own political/commercial gains will leave us with no gains at the end of the day. We must be able to identify friendship at a basic, commercial level between one another as a strategy to attain political leverage for all Armenians. We can have our plurality of institutions and ideologies after this foundation has been set.

J3ws created western culture... it wasn't just a convenient natural occurence. It took years of media influence and manipulation which they knowingly planted into the minds of youths. They aren't as susceptible to the culture since their heritage is more deeply rooted. The problem with us Armenians is that we either adapt/blend into any society too well or not at all. What we need is an enemy to keep us united and most of us don't see assimilation as a threat since in most cases, blending/marrying into other cultures may be seen as an easier way to integrate into the host country and/or improve status/living conditions. Furthermore, we are widely spreadout in small communities across the globe making it difficult to maintain our identity and culture since for the most part we are interacting with odars on a daily basis.

We could decide to emphasize our language, our religion, our dna, our distinctive artforms, cuisine and/or our historical narrative... How should each of these categories be addressed to create our basic banner that will survive this century and the next? In my view, having an independent Armenia is a good start, but what if we didn't have that, what would our diaspora need to survive without an independent nation under our present circumstances?

We need more of them to join HyeClub

[jgk3]

Re: How to "convert" dormant Armenians to the Hye Tad?

xxxs did not create modern western culture, they assimilated into/acquired it culturally after the Enlightenment era, and then promulgated it commercially from earnestly acquired positions of power over the industry of western nations. Since they're naturally shrewd businessmen, they will always do a good job in this. We could do the same if we don't throw hissy fits against one another and forget where the ball is in the real world.

And I agree, joining Hyeclub is a good way to gain awareness, or at least some orientation towards learning about Armenia and its culture. That's been my experience.

[Haykakan]

Re: How to "convert" dormant Armenians to the Hye Tad?

Well Armenia is not really independent but i dont see why we need to pretend that we dont have it. I think much of the disconnect-problem is exactly the fact that many in the diaspora have not been to Armenia thus they dont know what it is that they have and will easily disregard it. Sure there are some similarities between xxxs and armenians but there are plenty of differences to and i for one dont want to be more like them, I find the level of narcisism in that culture rather nausiating. This doesnt mean i hate xxxs or that i am racist, it simply means i dont like that aspect of their culture and i sure dont want ours to emulate it. We are who we are and we need to accept it rather then emulate others. When i say we need to be more accepting of others i am not saying we need to copy USA or England or Isreal. What i am saying is we need to be more welcoming to people who do express interest in finding their roots and place in the armenian nation. Interests in cooking or religion are fine but they are not really what tell our story, i think jk3 has the history part right though. I will reitterate the main point i made earlier- ACCEPTANCE is the key to many things including growing our nation. Much of the same crap being said today about the Kim Kardatians of the world today was being said about people like Cherr yesterday yet when our nation was stricken by the earthquake in spitak she went there and donated and helped. Who knows what more she would have done had we been more accepting of her then we were. Eddo you need to take your yeraguin collored glasses off and realize that ACCULTURATION AND ASSIMILATION lead to same place-EXTINCTION! Sure Armenians are more resistant then most groups to assimilation but resistance does not mean immunity. Slowly but surely it takes its toll, ethnick groups dont die a fast death (unless the likes of turckey succeed in genocide) they die a slow death which is almost unnoticable on a daily bases but when looked at in a longer time perspective, assimilation does its job efficiently. Our diaspora cannot exist indefinetly without a homeland and even if it does it will be more like whatever nation it is a part of then anything we ever thought was Armenian. Without a country the superficial things become the focus of attention and the real issues of a nation become irrelavent. This can easily be seen in the resent reaction of the diaspora regarding the protocals. The diaspora is so consumed with haydat that they fail to consider that what was going on could actually be a good thing for ARMENIA! Not that haydat is superficial but it was obvious that Armenia was playing a game where regardless of its outcome, it would be on top in the end yet people who focused on one issue only failed to see this fact because their peripheral vision is gone. Take the blinders off people, have a good look around. Our only future is Hayastan and anyone who is interested in it and its future should be welcomed and accepted.

[KanadaHye]

Re: How to "convert" dormant Armenians to the Hye Tad?

xxxs did not create modern western culture, they assimilated into/acquired it culturally after the Enlightenment era, and then promulgated it commercially from earnestly acquired positions of power over the industry of western nations. Since they're naturally shrewd businessmen, they will always do a good job in this. We could do the same if we don't throw hissy fits against one another and forget where the ball is in the real world.

Western culture is highly dependent on "pop culture" which as far as I know is owned and controlled by Hryas. Their literature is taught in western schools which they have sucessfully integrated into the curriculms. What of our culture or heritage have we been able to expose to the western world aside from our churches and private institutions that have been built for our own use?

[jgk3]

Re: How to "convert" dormant Armenians to the Hye Tad?

Kanada, frickin Christianity and Islam have the Old Testament as the foundation from which their respective innovations were built on, what is your point? Not many nations could be responsible for having half the world follow religions based on their own patron God, it seems this is a unique feat of xxxish culture. It would be like the rest of the world worshiping Hayk, rather than Yahweh if we could compare to the xxxs in that arena.

This influence of xxxish culture on western culture is so old and deep that European linguists in the 16th century still tried to link their lexicon, which we presently know to be Indo-European, to their Hebrew origin which Adam began for all of humanity. The Christian Holy land is the same as the xxxish one, and Jerusalem had been used time and time again as a metaphor for Heaven. The same cannot be said for anything English, Armenian, Italian... not even Greek. So it's worthless to bicker about how much xxxish culture there is in Western culture, we can't change that. What we can learn from them is the extent of their success that they realized through their economic partnership with one another, a strategy known to all sorts of diasporan and emigrated groups, but none can compare to the success they entail for Israel. And they are enthusiastic in this endeavor. We should feel the same way. Haykakan brings up a good point, that we forget our homeland too easily. If we linked entrepreneurial success with working with other Armenians, especially in Armenia, then we will all rise together. We face barriers though for achieving this end, mainly hostile attitudes between Armenians from different factions or backgrounds... This is the problem I'm trying to address. It's a problem that xxxs don't seem to experience, and this is why I think they've so successful in propping each other up. And presented with obvious socio-economic benefits as an incentive for participating in their heritage community and their vast global network, xxxs have an easy time attracting xxxish born children to remain within their fold as they grow up, and they become natural promulgators of their culture while remaining small and close-knit enough to keep the benefits of being xxxish relatively exclusive to their own fold. This is something no other nation has done to the extent they have, and it is the secret to their resilience without numbers. We also lack numbers, we aren't 50 million strong. We cannot afford to base our strategies on a model too unlike the xxxish one. I'm not saying we should adopt their unique culture, but we must pay attention to the similarities and differences between our strategies and their own in the diaspora. I'm just saying... look at their business strategies. As pathetic as it may sound, commerce keeps people peaceful, and working together. in order to have successful commerce between different parties, they must all agree to put their differences aside when interacting with each other. How are we doing this as Armenians? Are we doing a good job? How can we be better?

[KanadaHye]

Re: How to "convert" dormant Armenians to the Hye Tad?

My point is when I tell people I'm Armenian... they look at me with a blank face. Everyone knows who the J3ws are. Why is that when we supposedly have around the same population of people? Cher, Kim K., Agassi, etc. are/were westernized and didn't have an ounce of influence of exposing our ethnicity in the media. I watched Agassi in an interview the other day... he's so far gone that he doesn't even know who he is.

[Haykakan]

Re: How to "convert" dormant Armenians to the Hye Tad?

Propping each other up is a great idea indeed. Sure there are barriers but helping each other can turn into a infectious phenomenon with great results for all who participate. Once trust is established between people who really do want to help each other, a great number of other benefits will follow. Trust will lead to cooperation which will lead to success which will lead to more success which will lead to more people wanting to join in and accepting these people kind of brings us back to the topic of this thread. This kind of help me-i help you strategy can be put into place rather easily to adress common everyday issues and it will evolve into business and other types of cooperation. The thing it needs is commitment from its participants and the absence of sabatuers. Anyone can start this chain, it can even start right here if you guys want it to.

[Haykakan]

Re: How to "convert" dormant Armenians to the Hye Tad?

My point is when I tell people I'm Armenian... they look at me with a blank face. Everyone knows who the J3ws are. Why is that when we supposedly have around the same population of people? Cher, Kim K., Agassi, etc. are/were westernized and didn't have an ounce of influence of exposing our ethnicity in the media. I watched Agassi in an interview the other day... he's so far gone that he doesn't even know who he is.

I am pretty sure there are way more xxxs then armenians in the world especialy in the usa and they had and continue to have way more money. Your post illustrates rather well what i was explaining to eddo that assimilation does happen and it is deadly no matter how slow it is. Accepting the likes of Agassi or Kim when or if they show interest in their roots is the best way to get people back into our community.