I said I won't be rambling about Iran anymore. But it's just impossible! Iran is everywhere! People turn their Twitter icons into green to show their support and solidarity, it's non-stop in the news, it's the topic number one (like swine flu used to be a while ago). What troubles me is some Iranian people who commented on my blog and bluntly insulted me or people who tweeted @ me and complained about me or Westerners or USA... I don't know wheather these are the protesters or some people infiltrated on Twitter by the government. They're becoming nastier by the day. It's annoying.
What started as a movement where all the protesters had one goal - to repeat the elections or recount the votes or proclaim Mousavi as the winner - turned into a protest against the Iranian ruthless regime. After the killings and beatings and after so many journalists were silenced, more and more people became nervous and the whole movement seems to have been derailed. I remember when I first linked to my blog posts about Iran, I recieved very good comments and tweets, people were energized and optimistic. Now it seems they are demoralized and highly strung. And same goes for the rest of us in the West and everywhere else around the world. You can be supportive and interested only for a certain period of time. After a while, it's no big news anymore, it does not have any shocking moments and more and more people become apathetic. There was hope up until the Grand Smurf had a speech and crushed the whole movement. We knew this will happen. And as I said before, the Iranian regime only understands crude force, so unless these people get guns and start shooting the riot police (like they are shooting them), nothing will change! Nada. Niente. What we will get is something like Tibet. Iran will be even a bigger police state, they will blame the West on everything, most of the communication in Iran and from Iran will be censored. So it's only in the hands of Iranians. Either they go until the end and are willing to die for their freedom, or they give up and there probably won't be elections any time soon.
The point is, sooner or later we will all become apathetic about Iranians. Let's face it! Weren't we so supportive of movements in Burma and Tibet, when monks stood up to the regime that surpressed and still surpresses them? Yes! It was all the time in the news. And now? Many people were killed, imprisoned or chased out of their homeland. Where's the support now?
We are a media-driven society! And mostly we are apathetic to all the cruelty in the world, unless we see pictures on TV or online all the time. But we can take only so much! How about millions dying in Darfur or Kongo? Not in the news, no solidarity, no sympathy. Who cares about slaves in Brazil, famine in Tahiti or riots in Timor? Not in the news, no solidarity, no sympathy. Anyone changing their Twitter icons to whatever color in support of kids in India who are enslaved as stonecutters? Anyone? Yea, I thought so. Not in the news, no solidarity, no sympathy.
Unless you go to that country and protest with the people or help people out of their misery, I highly doubt that your supportive cheerful tweets or posts are helping anyone of for that matter are any better than someone's apathy. The one who's apathetic is at least honest. Yes, I do support Iranians in their struggle for freedom. But what does this statement mean? It means I wish or I hope they will be free and unharmed, but I know (with all my honesty) that after this is passed, after the media finds an new topic for that will run on TVB non-stop, I will be apathetic and most of other people, who now change their Twitter icons into green, will be, too.
I won't care about the daily struggles of Iranians when these protest are over. Same as I seldom think about Tibetans or Burmese or people in Kongo or Darfur. Let's be honest, do you? If you are any better than me, I commend you. I congratulate you. You're an exceptional human being. If you are no better than me, then please stop with your phony bullshit, don't insult me and leave me alone. I've done my best to express my solidarity with Iranian protesters (read my blog), but that's the best I can do. And most of those now so sympathetic people are like me. We just absorb whatever the media feeds us and do nothing. That's the sad reality of the year 2009.
[Cartoon: Source (writing in the cloud by me), Photos: Source]
What started as a movement where all the protesters had one goal - to repeat the elections or recount the votes or proclaim Mousavi as the winner - turned into a protest against the Iranian ruthless regime. After the killings and beatings and after so many journalists were silenced, more and more people became nervous and the whole movement seems to have been derailed. I remember when I first linked to my blog posts about Iran, I recieved very good comments and tweets, people were energized and optimistic. Now it seems they are demoralized and highly strung. And same goes for the rest of us in the West and everywhere else around the world. You can be supportive and interested only for a certain period of time. After a while, it's no big news anymore, it does not have any shocking moments and more and more people become apathetic. There was hope up until the Grand Smurf had a speech and crushed the whole movement. We knew this will happen. And as I said before, the Iranian regime only understands crude force, so unless these people get guns and start shooting the riot police (like they are shooting them), nothing will change! Nada. Niente. What we will get is something like Tibet. Iran will be even a bigger police state, they will blame the West on everything, most of the communication in Iran and from Iran will be censored. So it's only in the hands of Iranians. Either they go until the end and are willing to die for their freedom, or they give up and there probably won't be elections any time soon.
The point is, sooner or later we will all become apathetic about Iranians. Let's face it! Weren't we so supportive of movements in Burma and Tibet, when monks stood up to the regime that surpressed and still surpresses them? Yes! It was all the time in the news. And now? Many people were killed, imprisoned or chased out of their homeland. Where's the support now?
We are a media-driven society! And mostly we are apathetic to all the cruelty in the world, unless we see pictures on TV or online all the time. But we can take only so much! How about millions dying in Darfur or Kongo? Not in the news, no solidarity, no sympathy. Who cares about slaves in Brazil, famine in Tahiti or riots in Timor? Not in the news, no solidarity, no sympathy. Anyone changing their Twitter icons to whatever color in support of kids in India who are enslaved as stonecutters? Anyone? Yea, I thought so. Not in the news, no solidarity, no sympathy.
Unless you go to that country and protest with the people or help people out of their misery, I highly doubt that your supportive cheerful tweets or posts are helping anyone of for that matter are any better than someone's apathy. The one who's apathetic is at least honest. Yes, I do support Iranians in their struggle for freedom. But what does this statement mean? It means I wish or I hope they will be free and unharmed, but I know (with all my honesty) that after this is passed, after the media finds an new topic for that will run on TVB non-stop, I will be apathetic and most of other people, who now change their Twitter icons into green, will be, too.
I won't care about the daily struggles of Iranians when these protest are over. Same as I seldom think about Tibetans or Burmese or people in Kongo or Darfur. Let's be honest, do you? If you are any better than me, I commend you. I congratulate you. You're an exceptional human being. If you are no better than me, then please stop with your phony bullshit, don't insult me and leave me alone. I've done my best to express my solidarity with Iranian protesters (read my blog), but that's the best I can do. And most of those now so sympathetic people are like me. We just absorb whatever the media feeds us and do nothing. That's the sad reality of the year 2009.
[Cartoon: Source (writing in the cloud by me), Photos: Source]
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