The peaceful demonstration chanting "God is Great" has filled the streets of Iran and continues to build. Millions, even, protesting, creating a revolution, standing on their own two feet, to overturn a controversial election. It's scary and hopeful to watch. Two of my favorite people (the cute intern and my big sis) sent me news articles that reported Twitter as one of the channels being used to organize the rallies and coordinate protests. The emphasis, in my mind, is more on the activism of people and communication than the messaging service itself. Sooo, the tweets about how much you love donkeys are still lame. Sorry. (Neither the cute intern or my sister are on Twitter.)
First of all, it's great that people are getting involved on a global scale. If it's helpful. Is it? I don't know. The flow of communication is obviously favorable in this situation. The days of censorship are over, maybe? How much support do I offer and how much do I really know as the truth? If I join an online group, how am I helping? Does that make me an activist? Or am I just jumping on the bandwagon?
I think, more importantly, it is awesome that "we" get to watch people in action changing the world they live in. Social activism being something that, in my opinion, my generation studies and even appreciates that our predecessors did for us, but none of us will ever experience. Some of us still don't vote in our own elections. I can appreciate that we are connected with the ability to pull together for a good cause. And I believe being informed makes us smarter.
My support (for now) will be to keep my love for hotdogs off the Twitter feed so those using it effectively (activists, programmers, local freedom fighters, the State Department, whomever) can continue communicating. And in the meantime, I can listen and learn more about Iran's situation to see if I really can help. It's easy to pithily say something online. Do it. Or at least make sure you're willing to do it for your own situation. Just think first. It's not about you. It's not about me. There is a rather articulate blog entry about how online media is impacting the situation at Iran Protests: It’s not about Twitter, it’s not about us. Check it out.
Of less importance, I played two softball games tonight and I literally can't move my legs because they hurt so bad. I feel like a jerk complaining because I love playing softball, I am physically able to, and I get to come home and sleep next to my beautiful daughter in a warm, safe bed. But they hurt damn bad--the legs. And we got killed in the second game.
Sigh.
So, I plead total ignorance and I am not in bliss for it. I was on Wilshire and something yesterday in LA and saw one of these Iran demostrations. I even got a few pictures of the flags, posters, and peace signs but I could not identify the history of the conflict behind it. I will change that and educate myself on this. While pleading ignorance, through all the honks for peace, I found complete patriotic beauty in their freedom to hold such a deomstration without the thought of retrobution from their government or society. I was on that street because I was looking to take some pictures all the white headstones in the LA National Cemetary. Instead, I got pictures of people whose freedom to stand on that street corner on a Sunday afternoon were bought with the lives of those men and women inturned in those graves. It was a great sight.
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