Updated: 8 July 2019The other day I was feeling frustrated and muttered under my breath, khabare margeshun! (the news of their death!) and chuckled upon realizing what I had said. Suddenly all these Persian phrases related to death started piling up in my head like Jenga: marg! (death!), boro bemir! (go die!), che margeshe? (what’s his death?). And then the mother of all phrases came to me: marg bar [Amrika]! (death to [America]!) It seems we Iranians have a death wish worse than Charles Bronson. So what’s the deal? Well, here’s my take on why Iranians chant “death to America” (and other places and people) and a lesson on the many Persian phrases related to death. About this whole “Death to America” thing… Now just a word about my people and this last phrase because as an Iranian-American, I can definitely understand how it would be offensive. Ask any Iranian, and they will tell you how ugly this phrase is and that they wish it would just go away. But it’s how we express ourselves linguistically. And when we do use this phrase, it strictly refers to governments, not people. Unfortunately, this is where a lot of misunderstanding happens. I have … Continue reading Death to America Explained & Other Persian Phrases Related to Death