Welcome to Iran, Where It’s a Crime to Be “Happy”

Some young Iranians in Tehran wanted to show the world what it’s really like in Iran. They thought, “You know, most people view Iran as this terrible place filled with hateful people. We want to show them a different version of Iran—one where people are free and happy.”

So they recorded a music video for Pharrell William’s hit “Happy.” It features three young Iranian men and three young Iranian women dancing together to the song on Tehran rooftops and stuff. It’s rated G by any standards. Well, apparently not by any standards.

The young people were all arrested by Iranian officials when the video went viral with over 200,000 views. What were the offenses?

While the video seems innocuous enough, several laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran were apparently broken. Among them: women appearing without hijab head coverings, dancing to Western pop music, and using an illegal web site to disseminate an unlicensed video.

 

All of these offenses regularly go ignored in Iran.

 

But this time around, it could be the fact that the video is part of a global pop culture trend and . . . that it had taken off, with tens of thousands of views, that prompted Iranian authorities to take action.

Well, I’m glad we finally got Iran on the Women’s Issues Committee of the UN. Would hate to lose their valuable insight on how women should be arrested for taking off their hijabs and dancing to Western pop music.

I especially love the fact that one of the offenses is “using an illegal web site.” Which one was that? YouTube? I don’t think we’re talking about some shady corner of the dark web here, oh wise and powerful masters of ignorant zeal. If you aren’t allowed to access YouTube, what are you allowed access to in Iran? Turns out, not very much. Over 50% of the most trafficked websites in the world are illegal in Iran. Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus? Nope. Not in Iran.

The bottom line is that Iran is not really a happy place. Ironically, the very young people who were trying to convince the world that Iran was really pretty hip and cool have succeeded only in reconfirming what we all already knew—Iran is a backwards and tyrannical place. There might be some people there trying to be happy, but they sure picked the wrong place to do it.

21 responses

  1. The U.S. is not a very happy place. It is a country where the people are forced to eat GMO because Monsanto deemed it unnecessary to label these toxins; it is a country where the people are forced to pay for war adventures of the corporations; it is a country that ignores Fukushima dangers; it is a country of pain pill addicts; it is a country where if you dare question the authorities, you will be killed – yeah, the U.S. is not a happy place – now, which pill do you want, the red one or the blue one.

    • Wow! If you’re so unhappy, why are you still here?
      I bet it’s because you know the alternatives are far worse.
      Who taught you the world is perfect?

      • Jessica22, you are a wanker for sure. Stop putting words in my mouth – were did I say anything about a perfect world. Every time you reply, I become more convinced that you are just a front for some type of corporate propaganda machine. Just for once why don’t you address some of the points I made. Don’t think Monsanto runs the govt – then say so. Think Fukushima is just a fairy tale – then say so. Think Americans don’t pay for corporate sponsored war – then say so. Do you eat GMO cereal for breakfast -then say so. Are thrilled happy about Obamacare stealing working peoples’ money – then say so. And why am I still here – to expose shills like you; fighting for the basics rights of our constitution is worth it.

        • I just can’t resist pointing out the limey use of the word”wanker”, talking about parts of the US the cretin has probably never visited.

        • First time I’ve been called a wanker… and you don’t know me well enough to call me one.

          I guess I don’t recite every trivial thought I have for fear of boring the reader. You, on the other hand, have never given that much thought; boring us to death is your goal, eh?

          Don’t like Big Business? Too bad!
          It’s what’s built the U.S., Japan, China… into the powerhouses they are today.
          (You should join my Aunt Kathy on the next Monsanto boycott… she hates them as much as you do.)

          • I know you well enough to not only call you a wanker, but any number of other things as well. Maybe some day we’ll see a response that doesn’t start with ‘Wow’; but then again, maybe that’s asking too much from a valley girl.

          • Like, wow… Thought we were on better terms, abinico.
            Where do you come up with calling me a wanker?

            Valley girl? Really? If you could see my transcripts, you wouldn’t be so voracious to insult me.

            Oh well… at least valley girls are fun.

          • I can imagine what your transcripts are like: Basic Finger Painting; Cooking With Love; Noodling; Envelope Opening 1A; Potty Basics; Cartoon Network Schedule; and most of all, Argument Diversions 101; You still have not said a single intelligent thing about this argument’s topics: GMOs, Fukushima, medical deaths – please show off your transcripts by saying something intelligent on GMOs, Fukushima, etc. For example – do you like cereal with spider genes in it; or how about tuna that doesn’t need refrigeration cause it does not decompose. Go for it, valley girl – ha, ha, ha…

          • You can be downright vicious… lay off.

            I have zippo… zero interest in debating GMOs and will NOT be baited into a confrontation on the topic.

            Having said that, I will add that there is an overwhelming scientific consensus that food on the market today derived from GM crops pose NO GREATER risk to humans than traditionally manufactured foods.
            You don’t like it… don’t eat it, big boy/girl.

            What amazes me is when someone is confronted with the truth and they don’t like it – instead of rationally debating the topic – they become nasty and start calling names
            (i.e. valley girl, shill, wanker…).

            When you don’t have reason behind your argument, seems like shrieking and name-calling are the only answers.

          • AS SENT TO “abinico ”
            WOW<<<<<< 🙂 According to "your logo" DARK PUSSY, All YOU’RE DOING IS SHOWING HOW STUPID YOU ARE AND A HINT OF YOUR BACKGROUND………. hummmm, AS FAR AS "HOUSTON hell holes "….. COME SHOW ME, THE ONLY "HELL HOLE" I KNOW OF IS WHERE ARAB, AND OTHER FOREIGN PEOPLE HAVE MOVED INTO DECENT NEIGHBORHOODS AND BROUGHT DOWN PROPERTY VALUES.
            IT’S AMAZING TO ME HOW MANY "FOREIGN PEOPLE" COME TO THE STATES TO "GET AWAY FROM THE "CRAP BACK HOME", ONLY TO TRY TO CHANGE THIS PLACE TO BE LIKE WHERE THEY RAN AWAY FROM……… IF IT’S SO GREAT WHERE EVER YOU "CAME FROM"….. WHY ARE YOU HERE..??????
            AND DON’T WORRY J22…. MOST PEOPLE (men) THAT TAKE LITTLE BLUE PILLS HAVE OTHER ISSUES TO WORRY ABOUT……….. RIGHT PUSSY CAT…..??? 🙂 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
            ~~~~~~~~~~~
            TO BE CALLED A "WANKER"……. "OR A NUMBER OF OTHER THINGS…"
            CONSIDER THE SOURCE

          • wierd
            I always thought wanker was a male oriented derogatory slang.

          • Never heard it before, but when I googled it, the definition said it WAS for a guy.
            Some losers like using filthy words… makes then look tough…

          • If you’re truly interested, google it. I did.
            It’s a disgusting term and I bet the dude who used it was just hungry for some attention (which he got plenty of… the loser)

        • WOW<<<<<< 🙂 According to "your logo" DARK PUSSY, ALL YOU’RE DOING IS SHOWING HOW STUPID YOU ARE AND A HINT OF YOUR BACKGROUND………. hummmm, AS FAR AS "HOUSTON hell holes "….. COME SHOW ME, THE ONLY "HELL HOLE" I KNOW OF IS WHERE ARAB, AND OTHER FOREIGN PEOPLE HAVE MOVED INTO DECENT NEIGHBORHOODS AND BROUGHT DOWN PROPERTY VALUES.
          IT’S AMAZING TO ME HOW MANY "FOREIGN PEOPLE" COME TO THE STATES TO "GET AWAY FROM THE "CRAP BACK HOME", ONLY TO TRY TO CHANGE THIS PLACE TO BE LIKE WHERE THEY RAN AWAY FROM……… IF IT’S SO GREAT WHERE EVER YOU "CAME FROM"….. WHY ARE YOU HERE..??????
          AND DON’T WORRY J22…. MOST PEOPLE (men) THAT TAKE LITTLE BLUE PILLS HAVE OTHER ISSUES TO WORRY ABOUT……….. RIGHT PUSSY CAT…..??? 🙂

          • The liberals in CA do that too. They move to Oregon, Washington State, Colorado, and make their new homes as hellish as the nightmares they fled from in California.

      • Jessica, I also want to know what alternatives are you talking about. Do you mean New York city ghettos; maybe LA Watts; the Chicago war zones; or is it the Houston hell holes – you need to take the blue pill.

        • Isn’t the little blue pill a guy thing?
          Sorry, I don’t do guy things.

          For alternatives, I was thinking North Korea, Afghanistan, Iran, Nigeria… Long list of foreign countries devoid of any freedom.

          Really can’t handle whiners…

        • try Switzerland, New Zealand, Chile, Costa Rica
          I thought about them once and decided that starting over in a foreign country wasn’t for me. (we have issues, but I’m not planning to move to Iran for its organic food)

  2. SO WHAT? Who cares? Don’t we have enough issues of our own, without looking for more? Why don’t we try to mind
    our OWN business, get our noses out of everyone else’s, and maybe we can clean our own house.

  3. Its funny, I know several Iranians and they are happy. Happy to be here in the US than in Iran. they have not only renounced their country, they have renounced islam.

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