What a great story. So heartening to see ordinary people spontaneously rouse themselves against the kind of routine tyranny they’ve suffered all of their lives. I can only hope that this will scale up into a full-on regime change, though I admit I can only fantasize about how such a thing might work in practice.
Iran is a beautiful place, filled with great people, and there’s a wonderful culture hiding under all that oppression.
I can only shake my head at the people who would show support for the Iranian people’s thirst for freedom by damning their religion. How would you feel if someone offered to help solve your problems by eliminating Christianity? Conflating the religion with the regime is both incorrect and counterproductive; it’s also the tactic used by the oppressors themselves, and that should give you pause.
I’m also disappointed to see some people stooping to partisan point-taking by dropping the responsibility for the 1979 revolution onto Carter’s stooped shoulders. Do you really think that the previous administrations’ support of the Shah had nothing to do with it? He outlawed all but his own party and built torture chambers for dissidents, for crying out loud. Do you find the subsequent administration blameless for selling Iran arms even as they continued to kidnap Americans and attack our embassies and airplanes into the 1980s? Partisan hackery isn’t going to free Iran, nor is bloodlust, nor is insulting the faith or intelligence of average Iranian people.
+1 Iranian shoppers, -1 American blog commenters.
