Two fictional web characters ...
... from two different cultures, but the same respect from their loyal supporters.
Hiding behind a nom de plume (pen name) as a blogger is not unusual and is done for a number of reasons:
This blog uses a pen name, for some of the privacy reasons above, as do most other blogs in the world.
However, elsewhere there are blogs and Tweet accounts that do so for more important reasons ..... in Argentina, there was a popular Tweet account run by 'Dr Alcira Pignata'. It was a fictional Twitter character, run by an anonymous person in 2010, and over the next 5 years 186,000 Argentines followed the account. Its appeal was across the political board .... Right-wingers liked her frank and risky talk, and the Left-wingers liked to laugh at an exaggeration of an extremely conservative rich old lady. No one knew where the joke actually lay .... that was part of the fun.
The Pignata account, fought for the return of the generals dictatorship, and the character constantly railed against gays, Muslims, black people and liberals, as well as Peronism,(the working-class political movement based on the legacy of former president Juan Domingo Peron and Eva Peron).
Then in 2015, after listening to President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner on national TV. Pignata tweeted for the last time "That's it, I let myself die. I close the account. It is over. They win," .... and despite thousands tweeting her back, begging her not to "die", that was it.
For Iranian dissidents, the Pignata tweets would have been too risky from inside the country. Even outside the country in exile, its not many Iranians who would dare mock the country's religious leaders on-line .... so if your brave enough to do it, anonymity is an absolute must. On such warrior is using the name Ayatollah Tanasoli - which can be translated as "Ayatollah Genitals" or "Ayatollah Penis." .... a death sentence and torture for sure if the Iranian regime get a hold of the writer of the Blog and Twitter account.
Even liking or following the fictitious Ayatollahs accounts or comments is a risky business, but even so, the account had 20,000 likes on Facebook and 7,000 followers on Twitter .... however, possibly like the anonymous writer (his location is not known), many probably live abroad and are safe from the clutches of the torture squads. The author had been in Iran when he did his national service, and it was there that he got the inspiration to create the hard-line Ayatollah character. He created him with one eye instead of two because he only sees things his own way .....
Once you see some of the comments attributed to the Ayatollah you can see how risky even liking them is:
The author of the blogs and tweets says that "I hope someday people can be who they are, who they want to be and say what they want to say."
.... Perhaps that day will come, but it looks a long way off.
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| Nom De Plume's Are Normal For Most Bloggers, But Also Vital For Some |
... from two different cultures, but the same respect from their loyal supporters.
Hiding behind a nom de plume (pen name) as a blogger is not unusual and is done for a number of reasons:
- Privacy: Bloggers can attract some strange readers, who take a keen interest in the bloggers views, and not always positively. Having them know who and where you are could be ill advised. e.g. Views on religion.
- Stalking: Female bloggers could attract dangerous admirers - self evident from all the stalker cases in the press.
- Police or Intelligence service interest: You may be admitting to something of interest to some organisation that could attract security services attention.
- Family: You may be discussing thinly disguised family matters, that you or they wouldn't want tagged to to them or you.
- Employers: You may be expressing views that your employer would not approve of e.g. On race, politics, or them etc.
- Politics: You may be expressing views or support for matters that are punishable in your country or former country e.g. Reform, Gay Rights or even Regime change.
This blog uses a pen name, for some of the privacy reasons above, as do most other blogs in the world.
 |
| The Fictitious Dr Alcira Pignata |
However, elsewhere there are blogs and Tweet accounts that do so for more important reasons ..... in Argentina, there was a popular Tweet account run by 'Dr Alcira Pignata'. It was a fictional Twitter character, run by an anonymous person in 2010, and over the next 5 years 186,000 Argentines followed the account. Its appeal was across the political board .... Right-wingers liked her frank and risky talk, and the Left-wingers liked to laugh at an exaggeration of an extremely conservative rich old lady. No one knew where the joke actually lay .... that was part of the fun.
The Pignata account, fought for the return of the generals dictatorship, and the character constantly railed against gays, Muslims, black people and liberals, as well as Peronism,(the working-class political movement based on the legacy of former president Juan Domingo Peron and Eva Peron).
Then in 2015, after listening to President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner on national TV. Pignata tweeted for the last time "That's it, I let myself die. I close the account. It is over. They win," .... and despite thousands tweeting her back, begging her not to "die", that was it.
 |
| The Fictitious Ayatollah Tanasoli |
For Iranian dissidents, the Pignata tweets would have been too risky from inside the country. Even outside the country in exile, its not many Iranians who would dare mock the country's religious leaders on-line .... so if your brave enough to do it, anonymity is an absolute must. On such warrior is using the name Ayatollah Tanasoli - which can be translated as "Ayatollah Genitals" or "Ayatollah Penis." .... a death sentence and torture for sure if the Iranian regime get a hold of the writer of the Blog and Twitter account.
Even liking or following the fictitious Ayatollahs accounts or comments is a risky business, but even so, the account had 20,000 likes on Facebook and 7,000 followers on Twitter .... however, possibly like the anonymous writer (his location is not known), many probably live abroad and are safe from the clutches of the torture squads. The author had been in Iran when he did his national service, and it was there that he got the inspiration to create the hard-line Ayatollah character. He created him with one eye instead of two because he only sees things his own way .....
Once you see some of the comments attributed to the Ayatollah you can see how risky even liking them is:
- "We condemn any sort of violence, except for the violence we commit ourselves."
- "If they had Islamic democracy in France, just like ours, those cartoonists wouldn't have been assassinated; they would have been hanged ten years earlier."
- "Islam values women's rights, especially the rights of those women who give birth to male children."
The author of the blogs and tweets says that "I hope someday people can be who they are, who they want to be and say what they want to say."
.... Perhaps that day will come, but it looks a long way off.
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