Iran all night and day, by Arthur Tebbel & Chris Toia – Pop Art… and Chris #28
June 16, 2009 Arthur Tebbel & Chris Toia 7 Comments
Dear Art and Chris,
Iran is a country often in turmoil. As a young college student, this past Friday was my first chance to vote in our Presidential election. I followed the election as closely as I could, and begrudgingly became a supporter of the Reform party’s candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, the dramatically less of two evils compared to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As a young woman in Iran, President Ahmadinejad represents repression, censorship, and backwards-economic policies. Mousavi didn’t seem like he’d back off some of Ahmadinejad’s ridiculous international posturing, but he at least offered the possibility of modernization, more liberal social laws, and a chance at building an economy based on more than just the ebb and flow of oil prices. Unfortunately, according to the official story Mousavi lost to Ahmadinejad by over 8 million votes. This seems unlikely, and many people have said that the results seem fraudulent. Now I’m filled with sorrow and rage. Art and Chris, I’m not famous but I am in need of advice, how do I cope with such a devastating loss among such questionable circumstances?
-Massoumeh Umidvar, College Student, Azad University
Massoumeh,
We sympathize with your anger and disappointment. While we can tell you that time and patience will soothe your rage, we feel like that would be a dishonest answer. Honestly, we believe the only right course only appropriate course of action is open rebellion with a goal nothing short of revolution. We’re hard pressed to think of a time when revolution is more justified then when the democratic process is openly halted in favor of maintaining an intolerant, hateful leadership. Though we’re not encouraging violence, it’s our understanding that the bulk of Mousavi’s supporters are members of the middle class, and have the power to completely halt the structural and financial institutions on which Iran is dependent. Clearly organizing a revolution will be difficult when your leaders have the power to stop text messages and access to the Internet, but this is all the more reason that revolution is necessary.
Don’t think we realize that there is some inherent hypocrisy in our cries for revolution in Iran. We are keenly aware that we live in a nation where less than a decade ago the liberal choice for president was defeated by the conservative choice through what certainly seemed like voter fraud. We should have been more outraged then, but we had just enjoyed eight years of near-peace and none of us honestly believed that the new president would suspend our civil liberties, engage America in truly unjust wars, and secretly support cruel torture tactics that we revile in our worst enemies. In hindsight we believe that many Americans would have taken to the streets and brought this country to a standstill the day Bush V. Gore was decided by the Supreme Court if only we knew what the future had in store. Now many of realize that ‘voting irregularities’ were truly a portent of the terrible things to come in our nation, and we can only wish that we had been stronger in those days.
This is probably cold comfort but this situation has really made the mainstream press look bad. While there have been numerous reports about the suppression of news reporters in Iran the tone of coverage coming out of outlets like the BBC and the New York Times as recently as this Sunday afternoon suggested that Ahmadinejad had won the election fairly. The most coverage of the potential fraud and the resulting protests has come from twitter. Twitter’s trending topic list has been sporting Iran-centric tags all weekend with #iranelection being the most popular. If one wants to know that military forces have surrounded the university in Tehran and have attacked the students congregating there, looking for the story on CNN would be fruitless but it’s all over Twitter. For those who wring their hands at the fall of traditional media in this country it would be well served to note that in one of the biggest stories of our lifetime they’re completely powerless to cover it.
We’re truly sorry that it has to be your peers and allies that will have to endure this. If this process goes forward doubtless many of you will be killed or injured as an entrenched military structure grasps for remnants of power. If you choose not to fight you’ll have to continue to live in not only an oppressive society but also one that will no longer even hold the pretense of fair elections or political dissent. This is a rock and a hard place that no one would envy your place between. We hope that your people have the courage to overthrow your government and the fortune to have it be bloodless. We hope that out of this terrible conflict that a new, free, secular, Iran can emerge and be a beacon of hope to the oppressed not only in the Middle East but around the world.
Vinnie Bartilucci
June 16, 2009 - 6:51 am
You know, I just knew people were going to start drawing eerie comparisons to the 2000 election, I just wasn’t sure from where it was gonna come from first.
The 2000 election did add a new play into the book – cry fraud. The faster and louder you can throw an asterisk in the air, the sooner you can throw the opinion of the public into doubt, and the entire term of the elected official into question.
It’s now part of the process. in 2004 the Democrats had lawyers and observers set up in every place thay could grab one, ready to call foul on anything they could find, in the hopes that enough accusations would equal one fact.
The Republicans were talking about ACORN and all the assorted accused indiscretions before Obama was even elected. Once he was, they either thought better of going through with it, or just realized the majority was large enough that no one was going to believe that there could be THAT much cheating.
Al Franken got into one of those “close call” scenarios in his election. While his opponent started playing the whole “That one doesn’t count, ignore it” route, At calmly and against the advice of his own people, said “count every vote, leave no question, even if I lose”. The right and proper response.
I’ll be curious to see if the US or any other foreign body will attempt to stick their nose in the issue by asking to see the tallies or any other such thing. And of course, any attempt by Idontknowhowtospellitijad to say “Um, no, we are an independent country and you have no right to ask us to prove out totals” will only be viewed as a stonewall, or a denial.
I have no doubt that the party in power in Iran would do everything they could to stay in power, and then stand ready to crush any voice that says no. I am equally aware that my readiness to believe this is connected to the fact that we’ve been trained to mistrust Iran, and everything they do. But alas, thanks to the mishegas of 2000, it’s something that every election will have to address and suffer through, no matter where.
Sometimes, votes don’t go the right way. Sometimes the jury finds in favor of the police, sometimes all the conservatives come out of the woodwork and vote against gay marriage, and sometimes the bad guy wins. You can challenge the vote legally, you can attempt to overturn the decision in court, but eventually the proper recourse is you try again. Rioting in the streets only makes your side look like dangerous scary people, and reinforces people’s opinions about them. The riots in Iran only makes people more convinced that it is a savage backward nation, and one to be deathly afraid of.
Monday morning, the top two stories were the results of the Iran election, and the Lakers winning the NBA playoffs. I swear to you, at least once, they swapped the clips of the public’s response…and nobody could tell the difference
Alan Coil
June 16, 2009 - 11:49 am
But the elections of 2000 and 2004 were fraudulent. It’s been proven. Deal with it.
Vinnie Bartilucci
June 16, 2009 - 1:21 pm
“But the elections of 2000 and 2004 were fraudulent. It’s been proven.”
By? May I see this proof?
If it had been “proven”, they would have been overturned, or at very least seriously challenged. I do not recall documented and verifiable evidence presented to the government, along with a request to indict Bush and his team, and strip him of the Presidency.
I recall eight years (plus, and counting) of whining and complaining, but as the events in Iran suggest so far, whining and stamping your feet does not get you your way. Facts and evidence does.
Was it a very close race both times? Certainly; even more so the first time. And indeed, I’ve always been of the opinion that the very fact that the vote was so close spoke much more to the will of the people that year than the resulting dive for the thrown bouquet – people literally went half and half. there WAS no majority that year, and that amazes and frightens me.
Were there attempts on both sides to get massive numbers of votes discounted, in the hopes that those votes likely went to the other candidate? Yes.
Was there vote fraud? Maybe, possibly, likely on both sides (ask Mike Gold about how voting in Chicago works – it’s de rigeur there. I believe he became a registered voter at the age of…was it five, Mike?). But “proven”? By anyone? No.
It was as “proven” as who was behind the Kennedy assassination or the idea that the World Trade center was really brought down by explosives. IOW, not at all. Some tempting sounding scenarios, lots of truthiness, some nice Geoff Johns-worthy stories that tied up all the loose ends in a neat bow, but no proof.
Surely there are lots of people who BELIEVE it was a fraud – you, for example. It gives everyone the ability to needle at that doubt, to say “Let’s not let them get away with again”
Also, bear in mind at no point have I said the 2000 elections weren’t fraudulent – I said the Democrats maintained they were, and indeed if there wasn’t any doubt in the minds of Americans, the ability to cry fraud in all elections following would not be a successful play moving forward.
Personally, and for the record, I do not believe there was fraud (or more correctly, not so much more fraud than likely occurs regularly across the board) to sufficiently sway the election in any of the last umpty ump Presidential elections, including this last one. I truly believe that for a country this size, the number of votes that would have to be illegally moved is so great that it could never be done without being caught, or leaving evidence. Allowing for the statistically negligent “improper” votes, the majority truly ruled, and we got the president we deserved each time.
But the implication that there MIGHT have been impropriety (fueled by the hatred of the candidate that won because of same) is what allows the suggestion to be floated time and again.
The AP reports that the votes in Iran will be recounted. Regardless of the result of that recount, the losing side will STILL claim fraud. Depending on whose side is shown the winner, the claim will either be seen by the world as the unfortunate truth, or the childish whining of a sore loser, what Ahmadinejad (I looked it up) just this weekend said was akin to riots after a soccer match.
History is written by the winners, but it’s often footnoted by the whiners.
pennie
June 16, 2009 - 5:26 pm
A & C, your points are well taken. One that hit home for me was, “If one wants to know that military forces have surrounded the university in Tehran and have attacked the students congregating there, looking for the story on CNN would be fruitless but it’s all over Twitter. For those who wring their hands at the fall of traditional media in this country it would be well served to note that in one of the biggest stories of our lifetime they’re completely powerless to cover it.”
To draw a couple of historical parallels; Way back in the day, the American and French Revolutions changed the rules (and the world) of their era. Coverage as well. Among others, I believe Tome Paine and C. Dickens were among some who noticed.
Since then, the world has shrunk but what comes round, etc. People adapt and use the best means at their disposal when they get desperate. When they aren’t, often they get lazy–a la the last two American elections. The popular media never did get the news until after the fact. The operative phrase used to be, “If it’s in Time, it’s over.”
As much as popular media resents it, people make the news, not them.
Great column guys. Props.
Alan Coil
June 16, 2009 - 5:34 pm
“I truly believe that for a country this size, the number of votes that would have to be illegally moved is so great that it could never be done without being caught, or leaving evidence.”
How naive. The electronic machines used in Ohio (a swing state) were tampered with. And the evidence can be partially covered up with programming changes after the fact. It has been proven that those machines could be hacked to give false results.
In several places in Ohio, results were posted that were nearly EXACTLY the opposite of pre-election polling. The race in Ohio was so close that these fraudulent results swung the state to Bush, thus ensuring another stolen election.
Vinnie Bartilucci
June 16, 2009 - 6:18 pm
“How naive.”
How sad that once again you resort to derision instead of discussion or debate.
“The electronic machines used in Ohio (a swing state) were tampered with. And the evidence can be partially covered up with programming changes after the fact. It has been proven that those machines could be hacked to give false results.”
I say again…by? If not evidence, at least documentation please? Some website or newspaper article that discusses these allegations? Something I can read and digest? Something that shows you’re not just waving your virtual hands and saying “everybody knows this”, but they don’t?
Your first statement says the machines “WERE tampered with”, and your next statements say they “CAN” and “COULD be” tampered with. Which is it? Even if the last two were “proven” (again, I await reference) “CAN” and “COULD” do not equal “WERE”.
I was clear that my stand is an opinion; you insist that yours is a proven fact. I would like to see information to support yours – I can offer none as mine is only an opinion. You are in a position to educate me, indeed, all of us. Sieze it.
You are nowhere nearly as fun to argue with as Herald.
Alan Coil
June 17, 2009 - 7:08 pm
Then don’t argue with me, …