Vers Tahrir?

Haven't touched this blog in ages.

Interesting to read my second post (below) in light of the uprising in Egypt, after the revolution in Tunisia.  Both of them were essentially leaderless and unplanned.  I don't know if there's a word for Jacquerie in Arabic, but these are lovely examples of the principle.  They also have the added advantage that they have been amazingly peaceful, which should make it harder for the ruling classes to pretend that they have a mandate for crushing them by force.  -Not that I think that will slow the ruling classes down in the end, just that they'll have more trouble looking like "the good guys" if they do.

We've already seen the evolution of the narrative by our fine right-leaning corporate media.  At first, they were "pro-democracy demonstrators".  After a few days of violence, begun and maintained by paid thugs of the regime, we suddenly had the "pro-Mubarak / anti-Mubarak" framing of it.  If they can keep that story line going, then they'll have their framework for acting like the demonstrators are being "unreasonable" and "radical" if Mubarak steps down, and the demonstrators still won't shut up and go home.  No matter if there's still no real democracy, and the interim President is a "moderate" member of Mubarak's old guard.  You can already see our government, and our "friends" in the region, and especially, our media giants, ginning up those charges.

Suddenly the Moslem Brotherhood is a gigantic threat, that will miraculously take over the entire movement that they are now a minority player in.  Suddenly, we need to get behind the same institutions in Egypt that have always served us in The West so well, and so manifestly failed The People of Egypt.  Suddenly, we know who has "credibility" for a future government, and it's not anyone camped out in Tahrir Square.  Suddenly, the price of gas at the pump jumps up in the West, and even though the corporate media, and the energy giants, have spent years telling us that it doesn't follow the price of crude that quickly or closely, NOW it's because of those pesky demonstrators.  You can see them being set-up over the horizon.

The only thing that gives me comfort here is just seeing this drive towards democracy, knowing that Tunisia proved that it's possible, and that the demonstrators may have a chance of succeeding.  So far, they are playing their cards perfectly, while the callous, backstabbing, careless government response has put the stamp of truth on everything the demonstrators are protesting about.

I also enjoy seeing the ruling class showing some genuine consternation at being caught out.  Mr. Obama trying to figure out who was winning first, before taking a "principled" stand; Ms. Clinton giving us a whole lotta' empty pol-speak about "moderation" while Mubarak's thugs were raining Molotovs into the crowds.  Various Israeli officials trying a little too obviously not to sound worried on camera.  The thunderous silence out of Saudi Arabia.  -Ah, our beneficent global rulers.  They hate it when the peasants won't get in line.  They hate it when their carefully crafted management of populations falls on its ass.  They worry that when some plebs misbehave, it may give the other plebs IDEAS.

And rightly so.  Some of us, even here in America, haven't forgotten yet what real democracy looks like, or why it's desirable.  Much luck to the righteous People of Egypt.  Our hopes are with you.