Desiring Machine

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won’t come again
And don’t speak too soon
For the wheel’s still in spin
And there’s no tellin’ who
That it’s namin’.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin’.

~Bob Dylan Circa 1964

I am not sure what to make of the Iranian revolt because I am not much of a student of the history of the region. The situation is certainly fluid, but like all movements that is how it is and should be. Democracy is a fluid and risky business. Some people will be quick to call this a revolution. I reserve judgment and prognostication but the situation certainly comes across as historical and incredibly dynamic. There is palpable urgency on the faces of the Iranians and in their voices from the few news reports I have seen. I will leave the grand historical narratives to others and only respond viscerally to a few pictures I have seen. Courtesy of the Boston Globe:

Backers of defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi are beaten by government security men during riots in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 14, 2009. (AP Photo)

A backer of Mir Hossein Mousavi helps evacuate an injured riot-police officer during riots in Tehran on June 13, 2009. (OLIVIER LABAN-MATTEI/AFP/Getty Images)

What is remarkable to me at least in these photos is the spirit of the protesters. This is not pointless violence. Far from it. There is sensitivity and awareness. When the cops grab one of the protesters the crowd protects the protester. When a cop gets overwhelmed the crowd is quick to move in and protect. There is no bloodthirst but rather a meaningful assertion of existence. We are here, this is our will. It is an open question whether massive violence and death will result. But the signs are encouraging.

The first picture above however is striking. All I see is a fatso, government man beating and running down a skinny man on a motorcycle. With a terrified woman trying to hold the motorcycle back. It looks like fatso is about to slap the poor woman. This is injustice personified on so many levels. The belligerence breathtaking.

When you see pictures of thugs running down young men and woman and then the protesters turning around and protecting those very same cops from an angry mob the very least that can be said is that it is a fluid situation but with clear moral imperatives. The protesters are not there to incite meaningless violence. The agenda is to assert freedom and the will of the people.

This must be an exuberant time in Iranian. I hope for a brighter future over there and better relations between the USA and Iran. This is a moment full of promise and the world is watching.