18th
Showing what to whom, again?
How does it support democracy in Iran, exactly, to add a green overlay to your Twitter avatar? Are we thinking the embattled protestors, while playing with Favrd on their lunch breaks, are going to see our greenified avatars and take heart that a group of well-meaning first world quipsters are down for the cause? I guess, at worst, it’s harmless. But it’s seemingly harmless, at best, too.
There are ways we can actually be effective, if that’s really what we want. Anyone want to set up some proxy servers?
texburgher isn’t smug at all, is he? sorry, dude, we’ll just save our green for st. patrick’s day, like you. but thanks for the proxy server link.
You’re right, Essdogg. It’s sheer hyprocrisy for me to come off as critical of people for dressing up their avatars to show their support for an important cause, having done the same thing myself for the trivial-by-comparison St. Patrick’s day. And I have to say, I humbly appreciate you calling me to task for having done so, and I apologize for going off half-cocked.
I know the truth is a lot of us are struggling with feeling ineffective, on the periphery (and safely and perhaps thankfully so) of a situation in which we feel invested, and about which we feel passionate, for a huge variety of reasons - myself included.
What I didn’t intend, and am sorry for having done, was to disparage people for doing the nice things they’re already doing. Essdogg asks me in private conversation, “How do we know that people in Iran aren’t lifted a little when they see all the green?” And in a humbler moment of reflection, it seems to me he’s absolutely right.
So, if I can clarify: Good on us all for wanting to for whatever we can to lift the spirits of folks who are taking a stand against the brutality and injustice they’re suffering. We’re a smart & creative bunch of people, and my hope for us is that we’ll push ourselves so that our supportive gestures and actions reflect - proportionately - the strength of our underlying convictions.
So, on that note, who wants to set up some proxy servers?
