August 13, 2009
Tweeting While Tehran BurnsLooking back on it, it's hard to understand how the recent Iranian revolution failed. Sure, the mullahs had guns, tanks, an air force, police, the Revolutionary Guard, the Basij, and imported terrorist thugs on their side. But the Iranian protestors had Twitter. Who could have predicted that an authoritarian regime, in control of its military and willing to spill blood, would triumph over the power of social networking? It is no criticism of the Iranian dissidents to note that in the West there was a wave of absurd, and disquieting, Twitter triumphalism connected with Iran's June post-election protests. And the praise of Twitter was, like Twitter itself, more about narcissism than sympathy with Iran.
Posted by Vanderleun at August 13, 2009 6:34 PM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.
Your Say
The protesters represented a narrow social class in one city. They did not have broad support in other classes, especially the military, and in other cities. It was just a smaller, kinder version of Tianamen Sq.
Even if they had won, the Iranian bomb project (which has very wide support) would have proceeded to completion. Whether it would be used against Israel is another question.
Posted by: Bob Sykes at August 14, 2009 5:10 AM
Lets get out the vote for mayor of Revere. Vote early and vote often!
Posted by: mayor of Revere at May 13, 2011 5:17 AM