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It is no judgment or insult to say that Armenians have big noses. It’s simply stating a fact. A fair description of an Armenian is to point out how well endowed his or her nose is (the gene for big noses does not discriminate between men and women).

Whether it’s an attempt to make peace with the size of the nose or a window into self-hatred, Armenians love to bring attention to the size of the nose. Now some of these noses are really big and really ugly, and so you would think that people may try their hardest to hide or defray attention from this body apart.

But Armenians will do no such thing. Instead, they will highlight the benefits of a large nose and proudly point out that Armenianness is tied up to the size of one’s nose. Legend has it that on the day that God was distributing noses, Armenians asked for the biggest ones upon learning that they were free.

There are few topics that bring out the civility of Armenians. And politics is not one of those topics. Armenians love to talk politics.

Of course, most people would not define such conversations as talking. The rest of the human community may describe such conversations as arguing, insulting one another, or debating. Because when Armenians discuss politics, every passion and emotion is thrusted into that particular conversation.

There is a sort of rule among Americans that you don’t discuss politics or religion in the workplace (or among friends). For an Armenian to hold back discussing politics is to deny him his raison d’etre. Of course, when Armenians discuss politics, there is no charity extended to any politician or anyone arguing the “other side.” Most certainly, there is always another side, regardless of the topic. Simply pick a position and you are guaranteed to have your Armenian friend argue passionately for the other side.

But don’t ever try to reason with an Armenian. Being right and argumentative are higher values than reason, understanding and even logic.

Favorite political discussions include:

• Conflict in the Middle East
• Israel
• Turkey and genocide recognition