#IranElection and the US
I've been thinking about how/what to post about the ongoing situation in Iran. And in the end I've decided that there are people who are much more suited to the task than I am. In all honesty, I have little knowledge or experience with the Middle East in general beyond what I've been told by my government, my media, and my education. And while I'm more familiar with some of the people of Iran having had the pleasure of becoming friends with several Iranians during my grad school experience, I know that it tells me little of the country as a whole. Instead I'll let the pictures that have made their way into the US media speak for themselves.
15-June: Iran's Disputed Election
16-June: Iran's Continued Election Turmoil
What I would like to rant about here are some of the comments I've seen in response to news articles at MSN, CNN, and the BBC. There seem to be a few general types of comments/reactions: echoing the words of President Obama, condemning the actions of those in power outright, pleading for help, telling the US (and anyone else) thanks but butt the hell out, thinking that this is all a CIA/pickyourfavoriteagency scam, and comparing this to the election of GW Bush. These last two seem to me to be the most dangerous.
Blame Canada -
This reaction scares me because it blatantly ignores the voices of the Iranian people and it plays directly into the story I would expect those currently in power in Iran to use to retain their positions. Maybe I'm naieve (I know the US's history of meddling in the Middle East, doesn't help here) but I have a hard time believing that all of this has been faked by the CIA. Instigated, in the sense that Mousavi had help reaching the position where he was seen to threated Ahmadinejad, possibly maybe even probably, but the idea that someone could discount the photos and videos and tweets and posts that have been made in the last four days as irrelevant/unreal blows my mind.
Clearly some level of scepiticism about what we see is not unwarranted. After all most of the world does not speak or read Farsi so we must accept someone else's word as to which side people are representing and the anonymity of the internet can make it easy for people to pretend to be something they aren't. But there is one thing I know - the frustration and anger you see in the photos, videos, tweets, and posts is real for some percentage of the Iranian populace. My Facebook page is awash in green and filled with links to videos, news stories in English and Farsi, and and other related things. I can show you pictures of protests here in the US where I could name every person in the picture and tell you about how friendly, welcoming, and willing to engage in dialogue they were. What they are feeling is real.
We should have done this when Bush was elected / I feel your pain it's just like when Bush was elected -
This type of comment makes me want to reach through the interwebs and strangle someone. The reason this makes me so mad is because as far as I'm concerned the situations are not alike at all.
First, whether or not you liked/agreed with/supported the outcome of the 2000 election the majority of the peoples' votes were properly counted and alotted. Unfortunately the US Presidential Election is not decided by the popular vote.
Second, the race was incredibly close and complaints were filed and handled in a legal and publicly open manner. Would it have mattered if there had been a hand recount or a revote in FL? I'm not sure anyone knows.
Third, the US system is built on checks and balances with the majority of the power positions being filled by elections. Plus there's this thing called term limits. Have we as a nation become complacent because of these things? Possibly, voter turnout generally hovers around 50% in Presidential election years and 40% in off years.
From what I can tell none of these three things is applicable in the current situation in Iran. While there is no clear proof of voter fraud reports that none of the "losing" candidates won their home districts while the "winner" claimed 60+% of the vote across the board are very suspicious. While the process of "recounting" has yet to even begin in Iran the current use of violence and "office arrest" on non-State media leaves me with little hope of honesty and transparency. And finally, while there appears to be many checks in the Iranian system balance seems to be missing. All candidates must be approved by the council which is appointed by the elected and religious leaders.
And finally I will say this - I believe that the election results announced Friday night in Iran do not reflect the votes cast by the people of Iran. I have a hard time believing that the forth coming recount will result in an actual change of the outcome of the election. I think Obama has made the right choice by commenting on the treatment of the people instead of the elction results directly. I hope and I pray that a resolution can be reached without larger quantities of bloodshed or complete suppression and that people remember that their actions will be juged not by their fellows but by God.
And finally I want the people of Iran to know that the World is watching, and waiting, and will remember.
15-June: Iran's Disputed Election
16-June: Iran's Continued Election Turmoil
What I would like to rant about here are some of the comments I've seen in response to news articles at MSN, CNN, and the BBC. There seem to be a few general types of comments/reactions: echoing the words of President Obama, condemning the actions of those in power outright, pleading for help, telling the US (and anyone else) thanks but butt the hell out, thinking that this is all a CIA/pickyourfavoriteagency scam, and comparing this to the election of GW Bush. These last two seem to me to be the most dangerous.
Blame Canada -
This reaction scares me because it blatantly ignores the voices of the Iranian people and it plays directly into the story I would expect those currently in power in Iran to use to retain their positions. Maybe I'm naieve (I know the US's history of meddling in the Middle East, doesn't help here) but I have a hard time believing that all of this has been faked by the CIA. Instigated, in the sense that Mousavi had help reaching the position where he was seen to threated Ahmadinejad, possibly maybe even probably, but the idea that someone could discount the photos and videos and tweets and posts that have been made in the last four days as irrelevant/unreal blows my mind.
Clearly some level of scepiticism about what we see is not unwarranted. After all most of the world does not speak or read Farsi so we must accept someone else's word as to which side people are representing and the anonymity of the internet can make it easy for people to pretend to be something they aren't. But there is one thing I know - the frustration and anger you see in the photos, videos, tweets, and posts is real for some percentage of the Iranian populace. My Facebook page is awash in green and filled with links to videos, news stories in English and Farsi, and and other related things. I can show you pictures of protests here in the US where I could name every person in the picture and tell you about how friendly, welcoming, and willing to engage in dialogue they were. What they are feeling is real.
We should have done this when Bush was elected / I feel your pain it's just like when Bush was elected -
This type of comment makes me want to reach through the interwebs and strangle someone. The reason this makes me so mad is because as far as I'm concerned the situations are not alike at all.
First, whether or not you liked/agreed with/supported the outcome of the 2000 election the majority of the peoples' votes were properly counted and alotted. Unfortunately the US Presidential Election is not decided by the popular vote.
Second, the race was incredibly close and complaints were filed and handled in a legal and publicly open manner. Would it have mattered if there had been a hand recount or a revote in FL? I'm not sure anyone knows.
Third, the US system is built on checks and balances with the majority of the power positions being filled by elections. Plus there's this thing called term limits. Have we as a nation become complacent because of these things? Possibly, voter turnout generally hovers around 50% in Presidential election years and 40% in off years.
From what I can tell none of these three things is applicable in the current situation in Iran. While there is no clear proof of voter fraud reports that none of the "losing" candidates won their home districts while the "winner" claimed 60+% of the vote across the board are very suspicious. While the process of "recounting" has yet to even begin in Iran the current use of violence and "office arrest" on non-State media leaves me with little hope of honesty and transparency. And finally, while there appears to be many checks in the Iranian system balance seems to be missing. All candidates must be approved by the council which is appointed by the elected and religious leaders.
And finally I will say this - I believe that the election results announced Friday night in Iran do not reflect the votes cast by the people of Iran. I have a hard time believing that the forth coming recount will result in an actual change of the outcome of the election. I think Obama has made the right choice by commenting on the treatment of the people instead of the elction results directly. I hope and I pray that a resolution can be reached without larger quantities of bloodshed or complete suppression and that people remember that their actions will be juged not by their fellows but by God.
And finally I want the people of Iran to know that the World is watching, and waiting, and will remember.