Seems like this protest is different with respect to inclusion. Men and women poor and middle class. ........ The fact that many men are joining the protests shows that the society has shifted to more progressive demands," says Mehrdad Darvishpour, an Iranian sociologist based in Sweden. The main slogan of protesters is "Woman, Life, Freedom", a call for equality and a stance against religious fundamentalism... ....... The so-called Green Movement of 2009 saw the middle class protest against alleged election fraud. Although it was large in size, it centred on major cities. Other major protests in 2017 and 2019 were confined to poorer areas. But the current protests are now being reported in both middle class and working class areas. They seem to have moved from local or ethnic issues, to more inclusive ones. "We are witnessing the birth of a mega-movement," says Mr Darvishpour.
Looks like the RG is now bringing in muscle from outside of Iran to help put down the protests. I have to wonder how an Iranian man would feel about a Syrian man beating his wife or son. I would think the use of these outside merc's would only enflame the issue Iran recruits extremist foreign militias to help ‘wipe out rioters’ from Tehran (msn.com) Demonstrators continued to take to the streets in Iran on Sunday to protest the death of Mahsa Amini who died in police custody after being arrested for incorrectly wearing a hijab. Militias from Syria, Lebanon and Iraq calling themselves “the volunteers from Islamic lands” announced they were joining the clampdown on public dissent in a social media post. The group says it is “spontaneously formed” and its members are “willing to give their lives to ayatollah Khamenei”. Its members are followers of Qassem Suleimani, the commander of Quds Force who was killed by a US drone in January last year. However, Iranian opposition groups have identified them as radical Shia militias that take their orders directly from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, arguing that they have attended several previous mass protests in Iran.
It’s all relative. I didn’t see any problem while living there. Did you experience something different?
Bad is relative, of course. I’ve met quite a few Iranian exiles in my day. All of them (who were old enough), to different degrees, told me something along the following lines: “I thought the Shaw sucked, but I would give anything to live under his rule again.” I think it’s along the same sense of how most people who lived under Stalin longed for the days of the Czar.
Human rights in the Imperial State of Iran - Wikipedia I am not comparing the Shah to the Ayatollahs who are pure evil, but the Shah was ruthless; plus, he replaced a democracy. I did not spend any time in Iran, although I knew one or 2 people who bailed out of there and came to the U.S.
Highly recommend a podcast called Throughline from NPR. I think it was the very first episode called "four days in August" and how the west intervened in Iran's democracy. The host can be a bit dramatic bit it was a good listen if you have time.
The reason these protests won't go anywhere is the authoritarian regime is not adverse to putting the smack down violently on the protestors. And the protestors know it and will only push so far.
Ike,(Eisenhower) and Western (British and many American) oil capatalists really blew it when they set up their puppet in Iran. (The Shaw). While me being far from a scholar or student of this sorry episode, visions of "The Ugly American", Capatalistic Greed, Western Imperialistic Arrogance and blatant Racism, abound...........and yet, despite all of that, Millions of Iranians welcomed the west and were receptive to a secular form of Gov't and cultural lifestyle. The Shaw had many supporters and had he played his cards right and been a bit more altruistic toward the people and clever in his approach toward fundamentalists, Iran may have been, to this day, an American ally. Sadly he withdrew and became increasingly brutual and cynical toward his own people while pompously luxuriating in gawkish imperial splendor. What could have been.................
wonder if this will help the organizers rally more people to be able to reach critical mass to overwhelm authorities Elon Musk offers Iranians uncensored internet access | Financial Times (ft.com) Elon Musk’s Starlink has activated its satellite broadband service in Iran after the US allowed private companies to offer uncensored internet access to the country amid protests that have caused more than 40 deaths. The open internet access follows Starlink’s activation in Ukraine earlier this year as that country’s communication networks were disrupted by Russia’s invasion. Starlink is the first in a new generation of satellite networks operating in low-Earth orbit that are designed to provide high-bandwidth internet connections from space directly to individual users. Starlink users are able to bypass a country’s terrestrial communications networks, freeing them from internet censorship. However, a special terminal is needed to receive a signal from Starlink’s constellation of satellites 500km above the Earth. The terminals include a 20-inch satellite dish, which is shipped in a package about the size of two pizza boxes stacked on top of each other.
