Tag: protests

Courage

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With the different outcomes of the protests in Tunisia and Egypt compared to Libya and Syria (and Bahrain), it’s important to recognize the courage of the protesters out there on the streets. It’s not really courage if there is nothing to risk. These men and women are risking everything.

Just like the lonely man who stood in front of a line of tanks during the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. No one knows what happened to him.

About midday, as a column of tanks slowly moves along Chang’an Boulevard toward Tiananmen Square, an unarmed young man carrying shopping bags suddenly steps out in front of the tanks. Instead of running over him, the first tank tries to go around, but the young man steps in front of it again. They repeat this maneuver several more times before the tank stops and turns off its motor. The young man climbs on top of the tank and speaks to the driver before jumping back down again. Soon, the young man is whisked to the side of the road by an unidentified group of people and disappears into the crowd.

To this day, who he was and what became of him remains a mystery.

— FRONTLINE, 2006: The Tank Man: The Memory of Tiananmen June 4-5, 1989.

What does it take to show such courage? We’ve talked about how your situation in life, like poverty, can affect the ethical choices you make. We’ve also seen how different social and demographic conditions can force countries toward revolutions.

So it’s worth taking a moment to think about the protesters. And about ourselves. What do we value so much that it would overcome our fear to risk our lives?

Author Lensyl UrbanoPosted on March 29, 2011April 28, 2011Categories Personal World, Social World, videoTags china, pbs, protests, revolution, videoLeave a comment on Courage

How protests lead to revolution

The events that spark revolutions can come as a surprise. While everyone at home might want to overthrow the dictator, they don’t know if everyone else wants to do so too, so they are reluctant to go against the government. This is why protests are so important (as well as news coverage of the protests), because then the people offended by the government can see that there are a lot of other people like them.

Dictators, like Mubarak, do a lot to prevent protests: their secret police will arrest and “disappear” opposition leaders; riot police will be out in force to suppress protests if people start to gather.

The Egyptian protesters faced this very problem. So they organized over the internet, as anonymously as possible, and, for the January 25th protests, they arranged several meeting places for protesters so the riot police were too spread out to suppress everyone.

Stephen Pinker talks about this in terms of Individual Knowledge and Mutual Knowledge. Individually everyone knows the dictator is bad, but with the protests, they all realize, mutually, that everyone else also thinks the dictator is bad. Which is really bad for the dictator.

Author Lensyl UrbanoPosted on February 16, 2011February 14, 2011Categories Social World, videoTags Egypt, government, politics, protests, revolution, videoLeave a comment on How protests lead to revolution

Photos from Egypt

TotallyCoolPix has several series of totally cool pictures spanning all the events of the Egyptian revolution. The images are all from the major newswires, and, with their excellent framing and composition, as well as the dramatic subject, are superb examples of the photographic arts.

egypt-Jan26 — January 26th, 2011. In the first days, the protesters squared off against the riot police. The marches start off peacefully. (From TotallyCoolPix:The Egypt Protests).

Egypt-Jan27 — Violence erupts as police try to disperse protesters using rubber bullets, water cannons and (U.S. made) tear gas. (Image via TotallyCoolPix:The Egypt Protests)

Egypt-Jan30 — January 30th, 2010. The Army came out, and the protesters saw them as protectors. (From TotallyCoolPix:The Egypt Protests Part 2)

Egypt-Feb4 — Feburary 4th, 2011. Pro-government loyalists attack anti-government protesters, 'exchanging' Molotov cocktails. The battle (which includes a horse and camel charge) goes on through the night, but in the morning the protesters held their ground. (Image from TotallyCoolPix:Egypt Protests: Anti-Mubarak vs Pro-Mubarak Riots)

Egypt-Feb10 — February 10th, 2011. Protesters wave shoes as Hosni Mubarak refuses to resign in a televised speach. (Image via TotallyCoolPix:The Egypt Protests: The Shoes Come Out)

Egypt-Feb11 — February 11th, 2011. Gridlock in the cities as Egyptians take to the streets to celebrate Mubarak's resignation. (Image via TotallyCoolPix:The Egypt Protests: Mubarak Resignation Celebrations)

Author Lensyl UrbanoPosted on February 13, 2011February 12, 2011Categories Art, Social WorldTags Egypt, government, politics, protests, revolutionLeave a comment on Photos from Egypt

What Victory Looks Like!

The resignation of Hosni Mubarak and the deafening sound of celebration in Egypt (via the Guardian).

Egypt. A victory for peaceful protest (even though they had to fight off attacks).

Going forward, things will not be easy, but for today, euphoria. Will Wilkinson has an excellent essay, in which he puts aside his natural skepticism for a little while:

It is impossible, for me at least, to watch the crowds in Egypt, overjoyed at Hosni Mubarak’s hotly-desired resignation, with dry eyes and an unclenched throat. … Whatever the future holds, there will be disappointment, at best. But there is always disappointment. Today, there is joy.
–Will Wilkinson (2011) Egypt’s Euphoria

Fireworks are necessary:

The singing (via NY Times) before Mubarak’s resignation:

And after:

To be liberated is one thing, but to earn your freedom is fundamentally at another order of magnitude.

Author Lensyl UrbanoPosted on February 12, 2011April 5, 2011Categories Social World, videoTags Egypt, government, politics, protests, revolution, videoLeave a comment on What Victory Looks Like!

The Battle of Tahrir Square: Getting Medieval

egypt-catapult — Anti-government protesters prepare catapult that will fire flaming debris. Image from Al Jazeera English.

egypt-id — This ID is of an undercover security officer who tried to start a fight, he was apprehended but not hurt, however, he said he was paid to come and start trouble. (via Al Jazerra English)

Anti-government protesters, who’ve been occupying Tahrir Square for the last week, fought off pro-government protesters yesterday in a vicious turn to the insurrection in Egypt. The army stood out of the way, and the police were no where to be found, except for reports that some captured pro-government rioters had police identification cards on them.

Although there was some shooting, the battle was mostly fought with impromptu weapons: rocks, Molotov cocktails, knives, and swords. Then there were the horses, camels and catapults.

egypt-camel — Pro-government camel-man charges photographer and anti-government protesters. (via the Daily Dish)

A number of horsemen were pulled off by the anti-government portesters and beaten (WARNING: the video below is quite vicious).

egypt-cobbles — A main street leading into Tahrir Square by the Egyptian Museum was completely covered in broken rocks, which had been used as weapons. (via Al Jazeera English).

More pictures from Al Jazeera English’s Flickr page.

Author Lensyl UrbanoPosted on February 3, 2011April 5, 2011Categories Social World, videoTags Egypt, history, politics, protests, revolutionLeave a comment on The Battle of Tahrir Square: Getting Medieval

Friends or Enemies

One of the more interesting observations from today’s reenactment of the ongoing protests in Egypt, was the almost instinctive eagerness of, at least some of the simulated protesters, to want to confront the simulated army.

egypt-in-your-face — 70. A demonstrator (L) argues with police during a protest in Cairo January 28, 2011. Police and demonstrators fought running battles on the streets of Cairo on Friday in a fourth day of unprecedented protests by tens of thousands of Egyptians demanding an end to President Hosni Mubarak's three-decade rule. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis (via TotallyCoolPix)

One protester, who’d been given the role of “angry student demonstrator” was extremely eager to get in the face of the army.

We were, after all, playing a simulation game, and that particular student had been told that he was angry, frustrated with the lack of opportunities, and all riled up. However, the way the actual Egyptian protesters are dealing with the army is really important to observe. They’re treating them like the friends and brothers they actually are: taking them in, rather than fighting against them.

I did have one of the protesters offer to hug the “army”, so, in the end, I hope the message that co-option can be much better than confrontation.