I was going to vomit a lengthy Thwat about having a recent memory of people claiming that Iran was not close to revolt, and that it’s not lead by a brutal theocracy, but as ever, pictures tell a better story than any inarticulate words I can conjure:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/06/irans_disputed_election.html
It’s often easy to forget how lucky we are to be living in an open and democratic society, and these photos mark a stark and telling contrast with our own recent mass gatherings. We were rightly disgusted at the treatment of the G20 crowd, so the events in Tehran should hit home with even more force.
Seeing student dorms with their doors pummelled in, their computer screens smashed and strewn with bullet holes, protestors dead on the streets and the capital on fire, shows how intensely some people crave and need democracy. The liberties we enjoy to share our disgust at our leaders are taken for granted, given that Iranian authorities quickly moved to shut down these means to their citizens.
I have no idea if the rioting will lead to a full scale overthrow of the Supreme Leader, but these events are a pointed reminder of our own often mocked freedoms.
