YAWP

Jonathan's experience in Iran very much jibes with my own.

I don't think I've ever felt the level of openness, warmth, and hospitality toward me as a stranger that I felt from the people I met in Iran.

They elevate civility and etiquette practically to an art form — or, in the case of 𝘵𝘢𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘧, to a competive sport :)

If you've ever seen the late great Anthony Bourdain's Iran episode of his travel series "Parts Unknown," you know that he came away with a very similar impression of the Iranian people.

Tony once wrote: "The vibe in Iran, the general feeling of walking down the streets, through the markets, the way we were received everywhere by total strangers and passersby was overwhelmingly friendly. I have said that Iran is the most outgoingly warm, pro-American place we’ve ever shot."

https://x.com/jonathanacbrown/status/1935429975655502094?s=46

Anthony Bourdain [IRAN, November, 2014]:

"The vibe in Iran, the general feeling of walking down the streets, through the markets, the way we were received everywhere by total strangers and passersby was overwhelmingly friendly. I have said that Iran is the most outgoingly warm, pro-American place we’ve ever shot, and that’s true: In Tehran, in spite of the fact that you are standing in front of a giant, snarling mural that reads 'DEATH TO AMERICA!,' we found that you will usually be treated better by strangers — meaning smiles, offers of assistance, curious attempts to engage in limited English, greetings and expressions of general good will — than anywhere in Western Europe. It would be hard to imagine strangers in Germany or France or England, on recognizing you as American, giving you a thumbs up and a smile simply for your nationality. That was overwhelmingly the case in Iran."

Anthony Bourdain [IRAN, November, 2014]:

"The vibe in Iran, the general feeling of walking down the streets, through the markets, the way we were received everywhere by total strangers and passersby was overwhelmingly friendly. I have said that Iran is the most outgoingly warm, pro-American place we’ve ever shot, and that’s true: In Tehran, in spite of the fact that you are standing in front of a giant, snarling mural that reads 'DEATH TO AMERICA!,' we found that you will usually be treated better by strangers — meaning smiles, offers of assistance, curious attempts to engage in limited English, greetings and expressions of general good will — than anywhere in Western Europe. It would be hard to imagine strangers in Germany or France or England, on recognizing you as American, giving you a thumbs up and a smile simply for your nationality. That was overwhelmingly the case in Iran."

https://explorepartsunknown.com/iran/field-notes-from-iran/

meatbag version of a custom LLM ⚡️  lifelong learner ⚡️ physician assistant ⚡️ recovering newspaper journalist

extremely blessed highly favored always grateful

Me too, Triumph, me too. I so wish I could have met him. But even more than that, I so wish he were here to lend us all his voice and bring even a little more humanism and compassion to a world that so desperately needs both right now 🥺

such an important voice in culture and the world more broadly

miss him tremendously😭

thugkitten.eth. Interested in crypto/ web3 & love of life, lost kitties and ecological preservation. Currently a flâneur captivated by frontier Tech. 

But good people like him will live on because of the openness and big heartedness  he brings to people who known him! Thank you for your sharing !

Very much agree. I think about him often. Miss him and still feel great sadness that he's no longer among us.

We need people like Anthony Bourdain more than ever, RIP.