Last Updated 12/27 4:45 PM EST
Hot on the heels of the Montazeri funeral protests, Iranian police are faced with a massive series of protests centering around the Shi’ite holiday of Ashoura, with clashes reported in virtually every major city in Iran.
Tehran in particular was a violent scene today, as opposition figures reported major clashes. Police attempted to chase off protesters with tear gas, and when that failed some of them reportedly opened fire on the crowd, killing ten protesters including a nephew of opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi.
Iran’s state media reported millions of Muslims taking to the streets for the holiday, but glossed over reports of clashes. The ability to independently verify happens in Iran has been seriously hindered of late, as the state media ignores opposition protests and the government has banned foreign media from covering it.
Still, footage from the clashes has trickled out, showing opposition protesters declaring this “the month of blood” and vowing to topple Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
Iran is less developed — it has not yet learned how to control its people with the facade of a two-party 'Vichy' government (and media) to better hide its authoritarian impulse.
Iran apparently also does not have WWF, NASCAR, TV reality shows, or 24×7 'news' coverage of celebrity gate crashers in the palace to more politely distract their citizens from mass protests.
The ruling-elite Empire here could give some of their more advanced "Brave New World" style 'soft power' PR and control techniques to Ahmadinejad and Iran, so that they would have less need to use the older, Orwellian “1984”, 'hard power' techniques.
After all, it’s been almost four decades since Kent State and Black Panther control techniques have had to be used on the now-complacent and "Quiet American" populace.
However, all real Americans left, who have not been distracted or dumbed-down by our own modern, global, sophisticated, two-party, ‘Vichy’ Empire, empathize with the average working-class Iranians and we hope that your fight against the old-style visible elitist Empire in your own country is as successful as our ancestors’ was against the foreign, highly visible ‘red coat’ old-style British Empire that we overthrew.
Many people in many countries have overcome domestic dictators, and even visible foreign empires, and you will succeed independently, driven by your own frustration, courage, honesty, and solidarity.
The best we American people can do currently is to try to keep this damn disguised Global Empire from mucking you up. Please have similar empathy as we try to overcome the more guileful Global corporate/financial/militarist Empire that currently has our country (and others) by the throat.
Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine
Excellent,please write more, I am reading!
Alan,
Good points. But the odds of them overthrowing their old style elitist empire are better than us removing ours. And our “Vichy Empire” is helping this happen…once again too stipid to recognize the phenomena of unintended consequences.