Friday, January 28, 2011

What's Going On in Egypt, Tunisia and the Middle East?

Egyptian Unrest
Lots of people are rioting, demonstrating, yelling, screaming, throwing and breaking things in Egypt.  Photos show lots of people in the streets, amidst clouds of tear gas and smoke.  I have searched the internet for information, but I still don't have a clue:  what are the demonstrations all about?  What do the Egyptian protesters want?  Do they even know themselves?

I glean from the jumble of half facts available, that the Egyptians (and Tunisians) became fed up with the dictators for life who rule their countries with the proverbial iron hand.  They want fair and free elections and a government that is accountable.  That sounds great, which is why I don't trust it as accurate analysis.

Maybe the Egyptians, like the Iranians in 1979, simply want a stronger Islamic government, more Sharia law, more intolerance to Christians, Jews and others, more scimitars, turbans, burqas and beards, more screaming fanatics, more chopped-off limbs and heads, more public stonings and hangings, more hate and rage, until the country is awash in adrenaline, B.O., bodies and blood.

I really hope that Egyptians and Tunisians are simply sick of the suffocation of the human spirit by tyrants, whether of the religious or the secular variety.  I'd like to see their societies become more open, more tolerant, less violent and less batshit crazy.  But will they?  I'm not holding my breath.

3 comments:

pjm said...

On one hand I hear that the revolts are regarding lack of jobs and inflation in food prices.

But now the Iranian establishment has come out and stated that Khomeini's Islam is the engine of these events. A revolt against western puppets, inspired by Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979.

And to confuse the issue further, anti Khomeini Iranians are comparing this to the failed 2009 protests in Iran, and claiming the Tunisia protests are a revolt against the tyranny of the current leadership.

Having spent a little time in Tunisia I tend to think it's a fight for freedom. Though the Khomeini movement somehow established leadership in what was a once forward thinking Iran.

The Tunisia Gov't was corrupt to the core; and the masses are growing angry as they flounder in the current economic climate. A WikiLeaks cable exposed the corruption of Tunisia' President's family; it's control of the business in the country, and how it's been above the law. Some are pointing to the WikiLeak's report as the spark that set off the revolt.

It will be interesting to see where this leads.

Stogie said...

PJM, what you say makes a lot of sense. A lousy economy, the cost of living, the inability to make ends meet and the lack of any avenue for redress, all are undoubtedly factors in these revolts.

1389 said...

I believe that the Obama Administration and its supporters was behind the unrest from the get-go.

Obama supports Islamist takeover of Egypt

Egypt: Populist revolt or Muslim Brotherhood?