AIB's view of Iran

As an anarchist, I was thrilled to see the people of iran stand up and tell those that rule, “you are nothing without the people.” To remind them, they may have guns, but the people have the voice. Sometimes it takes time, but with enough perseverance the people will prevail. As I struggle to regain control over my own life (control that I willingly gave up) I take heart in knowing that as humans we are amazing creatures. And as a group of humans we are unstoppable.

As an atheist, I am disappointed that so much of the discussion is not about the actions of the voice of god in iran. The language, actions, and demeanor are equal to that of the catholic church during the last 1000 years. Heretics are to be dealt with swiftly and brutally. All those who disagree must confess and ask for god’s forgiveness. When the person suffers in the process, all the better. I don’t pretend to think that iran will become a secular nation, the desire of the people to have a god is too strong. But it is THEIR desire, not mine that matters.

As a human being, I am gripped by the show of resolve by the iranian people. I am awed by the desire to risk everything for their voice to be heard. I am comforted by the fact that people around the world are concerned about the fellow human. The fellow human who doesn’t look like them, speak like them, live like them, or worship like them. I am enraged by the fact that it is fellow iranians who are being so oppressive. To know that the riot cop eats breakfast, kisses his wife and says, “well, I guess I’m off to beat the protestors today” is mind boggling. I am lifted by the fact that peace can be so devastating to brutality. To see that clasping hands is far more dangerous to the power structure than brandishing guns is a great validation for our pacifist brothers.

As an american, I am relieved to see a president use tact instead of cowboy bravado to deal with an intense situation. I am disappointed when I recall an election where a full recount was never allowed. (Why were we so sedentary?) I also remember the sights of the streets in Denver and Minneapolis this past year. I saw the scenes of thousands of riot police forcing peaceful protestors into blind alleys, rushing them, beating them and arresting them by the hundreds. I recall the stories of journalist being arrested and brutalized. I recall the protestors wondering why their cell phones went dead in certain areas of heavy activity. I followed Twitter for several weeks last summer to witness a brave few souls who believed in their cause enough to stand up for it.

But most of all I have been amazed at how we, the people, can tell the corporate media what to pay attention to. For that 2 weeks (attention seems to waning now) they followed us. It was joked about and made fun of, but it was real. We too have power. We just have to learn to wield it. We now see the value of having a platform to gather millions of voices together. It doesn’t have to end there and it doesn’t have to end now.