It's quite remarkable how your personal perceptions of any one individual can colour your views about an entire race or ethnicity. (I say that without qualification, because life is too short to delve into statistics that will disprove this sterotype - and right now, I don't care for any politically correct insights). In the past few days I've had business dealings with 4 individuals - 2 Greeks and 2 Iranians, none of whom knew each other. Without going into specific details, both Greeks tried to either renege on the deal or short change me, whilst the Iranians were willing to go the extra mile and put their personal credibility on the line...after all, personal trust still forms the basis for the wheels of commerce to flow smoothly.
I will never look at Western pro-Hellenic accounts of ancient Greek-Persian conflicts in the same light again...the phrase "beware of Greeks bearing gifts" has never sounded so true. The only Greeks I want to meet now are those who are either serving me in a restaurant or who are located on the other side of the TV screen....
...and I wish Iran all the best for World Cup 2006. :)
ps. just in case you were wondering - no, I'm ain't no drug dealer. ;)
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