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What is your first memory of thinking about leaving your community and what was the "final push" for you?

Hi, I am not armenian, but I am incredibly facinated with armenian history, language and culture. So as someone who is an outsider- I was curious. How has the genocide shaped your own personal self identity as an armenian and just as an individual. It has been really interesting to see how themes of the genocide ring through loud and clear through things like music and poetry. (I'm currently reading der-hovannisyans poetry on the genocide and diaspora). Then branching off of that question. I was recently talking to a friend of mine who is middle eastern and Jewish who was talking about her family raising her without stories of the Jewish holocaust because they didn't want her to grow up with a "victim mentality" associated with her cultural heritage. Putting aside the correctness of her family's approach... How do you think the focus on the armenian genocide effects the collective consciousness of its people? Surely it must impact their sense of justice, but Do you think it is something that is unifying and empowering or do you think the focus and rememberance creates a more victim like mentality? I hope I asked those questions respectfully enough. Thanks so much for doing this ama. It's so important and good that you do!

Would recommend Dadrian's book on Germany and the holocaust and the influence of the armenian genocide. I also think there is a book called hitler- that is much shorter and about how he looked to the armenian genocide for crafting his own... But for some reason that one is stupidly expensive.

If your hypothesis turns out OPPOSITE from expected, how exactly do you structure the discussion about that in your results? (Not like a null, but actually opposite) Say the hypothesis is that kids in small classes have higher anxiety and as it turns out, they have lower anxiety.

Wow, thanks for the response. This is really interesting and gives me a lot to think about. Would you by any chance have any book recommendations at the top of your heard as far as books about the genocide that supply a rich perspective as either someone directly affected or as a diaspora armenian? I've read the burning tigress, passage to ararat and children of the genocide so far. The only book I could find thats a more first hand memoir of that time is "not even my name" by thea halo, but thats pontian greek, i beleive, rather than armenian.