Protesting across the globe for Iran

Over the past few days I've been keeping up with the protesting in Iran. The most amazing thing I've seen is the will of the Mousavi supporters. I've also seen how important Twitter's role has been in relaying information out of Iran for the world to see. Many passionate Americans have also taken in upon themselves to help the protesters in any way they can. This moment shows how far we've come technologically speaking. It can't be denied that we've reached a new age where we don't have to rely on mainstream media to know what's going on across the world. All over the country people are showing their support by doing something as simple as changing their avatars to green and spreading information to setting up proxies so those from Iran can still access Twitter and other social networks. The seriousness of the situation is sometimes hard to grasp. Many Twitter users ask that their names remain anonymous due to fear of government retaliation. It's speculated that hundreds have been arrested, from protesters to journalists but it's hard to get a count on how many deaths there have been. We've seen photos of computers destroyed and dorm rooms ransacked by Iran's hired militia, of men bloodied and bruised. Their militia seem like nothing more than bullies who only know how to resort to violence. Death threats seem to be the mantra of the Iranian government at this time.

And yet Twitter has proven to be a powerful tool. The US State Dept must think so too since they asked Twitter to delay their usual update time on Monday so Iranians could continue communicating. Iran has blocked most forms of communication in an effort to stifle the movement and exposure to the violence they're putting their people through. They've blocked things like Gmail, Yahoo Messenger, SMS, cellphones, and ISP's. They're also not allowing journalists to report on the riots. So the Iranian people have taken to using Twitter and Youtube to show the world what is going on.

At first I wasn't sure where I stood on the issue. I had no idea what the candidates stood for in the presidential race but at this point, after seeing the violence committed against peaceful protesters and the complete disregard for those voices I now stand with them. I don't agree with any type of suppression against people who only want their voices heard. I've found out more about what's going on in Iran through Twitter than any other media source and I think that really says something.

It's hard to watch the videos and images of people being shot and beat and not get angry. I can't imagine how hard it must be for some of these people to not fight back. There must come a point where enough is enough, where rage takes over. I feel at a loss as to what I can do to help but I'll continue what I have been doing and hope that justice prevails.


5th day of protesting:


California:


Toronto:


Germany:

1 comments:

Unknown said...

Somebody should have thanked you because you cared enough to write. So now I do it.