Friday, June 19, 2009

Tear Gas and Twitter: What's happening in Iran?

I've been following the situation in Iran, although not as closely as I should be. I'm amazed by the tenacity of the Iranian people, and their willingness to truly fight for what they believe in. I really don't doubt that the elections were rigged in some way. Obviously I'm not Iranian, so I don't know for sure. And since communications have been virtually cut off, not much is known about what for sure is happening on the inside.

One thing that has been amazing to me is the impact that social sites like Twitter and Facebook have had. 70% of Iranians are under the age of thirty and as TOR mentioned this morning (on twitter, ironic?) Iran has more per capita bloggers then any other country. Since the elections, mobile and text communications have reportedly been intermittent across the country (coincidence?) and Internet speeds have also reportedly been slow.

CNN has posted a few great articles on the subject, here and here. Also here is another amazing article written about the protests and violent suppression surrounding them. One blogger risked the censor that has in place for reporters to get out this story, which was very moving to me.

A friend made a comment on Twitter that I posted earlier as the quote of the day. Which if you didn't see it read, "Can't get Iran protesters outta my head. Risking arrest, ruin, beating & death for personal freedoms & democracy. Puts shit in perspective". And it's so true. Here I am whining about how gas went up 10 cents. I wish I could really put into words how I really feel.

I hope these protests change Iran, hell I hope they change the world.

1 comment:

  1. I was watching Fox this morning, and he said no matter who comes out on top in this matter, both sides share two things. One is an unshakable desire to possess nuclear weapons, and the other is a commitment to destroy Israel. If that's true, the outcome won't benefit us much either way.

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