Revolution: But They Make It Look So Easy... *whine*

Green Brief for August 17, 2009 - please stop by and give a thank you to NiteOwl for his dedication and hard work!

And now for the main topic of this entry: truth of the matter is it's not. At all. When taking on an entire government and their armed forces, it gets a liiiiiittle complicated. I recently ran into a thread in Anonymous Iran with a fellow displaying typical right-wing American ignorance and arrogance. After hearing many right-wing Americans like him, I decided this was the last straw. It seems many people believe that a revolution is easy where all you do is kill off the leader and victory is won, or send in troops to intervene. See, these people believe America is still under the Bush regime and in denial of the current president. If that king of the village idiots were still in power, no doubt would there be troops at Iran's doorstep by now. However, America is now under the Obama regime - a much more rational, patient, and smart president than his predecessor.

Many right-wingers accuse Obama of being "weak" on his stand on Iran. But I think he's being smart in not getting himself involved. However, what I'm sure they want is to see is an invasion, hidden under a label of "peace keeping mission" as if that's going to get Ahmadinejad to stop his abuse of the people.

However, no matter how you look at it, it will still end in unnecessary violence and even more political conflict. Okay, say Obama did give in and send in troops, what would happen then? Ahmadinejad would grasp this as a chance to point the finger and claim foreign forces are at work to overthrow him and Khamenei. Chances are he would launch some sort of attack on them for interfering with internal affairs, and I don't think Ahmadinejad is afraid of a confrontation. He would also exploit their presence to try to validate his claims that the West is trying to take over the country and destroy Islam, and will use Iraq as an example; thus shifting the people's anger from him to the troops. And what then? The troops will get caught up in a struggle between civilians, thus leading to even more bloodshed when they fight each other.

The fights can between governments, and they can declare war on each other all they want. However, guess who does the fighting? Who is hit the hardest? Whose mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, friends will be the ones lying on the streets dying? Civilians and the troops. The troops have no choice but to follow orders, and civilians can do nothing but defend themselves however they can, or run for their very lives. How many people's lives do you think will be shattered if the US, or any other nation decides to intervene? If you've seen any documentary or news report on the war in Iraq, you will see how many people have gone from living normal lives, to barely surviving without even a roof over their head. Is that the scenario you want to see unfold?

Plus don't you think that the current war the US has been involved in has gone on long enough? The troops are exhausted, they want to come home to their loved ones - they should be at home instead. How many people have died so far on both sides since this war began? Don't you think enough's enough? Besides, if the US were to get involved, then how little meaning will victory hold for the Iranians? That someone else came along and fought your battles. It's a very bitter feeling. Just how many Americans actually understand Iranian politics? I know some do, but certainly not everyone. The only one that should ever bring change to a country are the people that live in it.

It is the Iranians that have been beaten, arrested, tortured and killed by its government. They're the ones that must stand up for themselves and fight. Their country, their laws, their politics, their fight. Period. All the rest of us can do is support them and encourage diplomatic pressure.

I have seen people say "why don't the Iranians just take up arms and kill their forces?" Violence is not the answer. If Ahmadinejad is ordering violence, and civilians respond with violence, it will erupt into civil war. That's the last thing anyone wants to see. Enough people have died already, nobody wants to see anymore Nedas all over again. Death squads would be formed and sent to kill off civilians for speaking out. Ask anyone who was there during the conflict of El Salvador in the 1980's, they will tell you the horrors and tragedies of civil war. Those memories and emotional wounds are still very fresh. Now imagine if the Iranians would respond with violence. It would give Ahmadinejad the perfect excuse to kill off even more people.

To respond to your enemy in the same manner which they begin to assault you, will make you into the very thing you hate and are fighting against. Many of you in the younger generations have never experienced a conflict of this kind, and likely never will. So do not encourage violence, when you can walk down the streets without worrying about a making a mistake and having a Basij beat you for it. Most of you will never be arrested or tortured for speaking out against your government. You will never be killed for participating in protests. You already have your freedoms, don't take them for granted, and let others fight for theirs. If a struggle for change in your country were as easy as pulling the trigger, then Martin Luther King, Jr. himself would have taken up arms and shot down those who opposed the Civil Rights Movement.

Non-violence has a much greater impact than violence. A perfect example would be within a video I posted in a previous entry. For those that don't remember, it would be this one:



Now, as you can see the policeman's motorcycle was set on fire, but he was allowed to walk away with the help of a few kind protesters. They even cleaned off whatever wounds he might had on his hand, and gave him water. You see he doesn't even fight back, he sat there as the protesters tend to him. If that had an emotional impact on me, then imagine the impact that it had on that police officer who actually went through it. The video is kind of old, so I'm sure he continues to think about it today.

That is the impact of non-violence, and that is why one should never encourage violence in a protest. Anyone who does should be educated on the consequences. I am glad to hear the Iranian people are smart enough to avoid becoming like the Basij, and use what resources they have to fight against their oppressors. I hope those of you who think they are supporting Iran by encouraging their governments to intervene with military forces instead of diplomacy, and violence will think twice before encouraging those ideas again.

To those of you in Iran, please continue to practice peaceful protesting. And please be careful; according to the Green Brief, the Basij now have cameramen to take pictures of protesters. Keep your identities safe.