The Youth Of A Nation

Standing Toe-to-Toe With Fascism
(Uprising series)

~Hell To Pay

A fascist state is defined by how it treats its law abiding citizens. It is characterized by how it responds to dissenters and the voice of opposition. When a state resorts to brute force when met with peaceful resistance it crosses the line into fascism. When a state lines the streets with military like police battalions it defies the nature of a free society. Turkey is a fascist state.

For the past few days the world has been given a front row seat to a dog fight. The youth of Turkey have come out of the wood work to oppose the savage behavior of a cannibalistic regime. Pushed too far, the citizens of Istanbul have united under pressure that was meant to break them. Together they act as one. These are the youth of a nation that has grown tired of surrendering freedoms for promised security. These are Turkey's future that was are watching being beat down by a power drunk madman.

~The Spark

What began as a sit-in style demonstration to save a landmark park (Gezi Park) is now a firestorm that has spread across Turkey. Yet despite it's beginning and the reason for the fight is far from a park now. This battle is about the decade long dictorial rule of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who has eroded individual liberties and the overall human rights of Turkish citizens. The continued march of Erdogan's regime toward an authoritarian state has left Turkish society unstable for years now. Gezi Park was just the spark that lit Turkey's youth ablaze.

The first rule of dictatorships is that you reward the indolent nature of the oppressed. You give them things like parks and the facade of liberty. If you wish to stay in power for decades on end you placate the underclass till they can't think for themselves. Erdogan simply wanted to steamroll the country as he forced his agenda upon the masses. For a decade the pompous tyrant has manipulated the media in Turkey and bullied his way through politics. Thus Erdogan was the one who lit the spark in the first place.

~The Fight

Only a few days old, Turkish police have turned peaceful protest into rolling battles that leave city streets reminiscent of the war zones just over the border in Syria. Unarmed civilians wrap cloth around their faces so as to keep the gas out of their lungs as they run for cover. Cops wielding riot gear form a phalanx before charging their prey as the rear guard lights up the street with water cannons and tear gas. The term "police brutality" seems mild when one looks at how Erdogan's dogs take the fight.

Holding signs and covering their eyes, the protesters wait to be gassed as they attempt to stand toe-to-toe with fascists. Is this what democracy looks like? Does one expect their government to sick the dogs on them when they oppose the regime's dictates? Should we bow our heads these gods on earth that rule our countries? Why should Turkish citizens be expected to remain calms as their master unleashes the hounds that lick their lips in anticipation?

~The Brave Ones

"Millions of Turkish citizens have been outraged by the violent reaction of their government to a peaceful protest aimed at saving Istanbul's Gezi Park.

Outraged, yet not surprised.

Over the course of Prime Minister Erdogan's 10-year term, we have witnessed a steady erosion of our rights and freedoms. Arrests of numerous journalists, artists, and even elected officials; restrictions on freedom of speech, women's rights, and even alcohol sales have all demonstrated that the ruling party is not serious about democracy. Time and again, the prime minister has mocked and trivialized his nation's concerns while Turkey's own media has remained shamefully silent.

The people protesting bravely throughout Turkey are the proud inheritors of Atatürk's legacy. We are not looters or extremists. We are students, teachers, workers, mothers, fathers. We represent various ethnicities and creeds, religions and ideologies. We stand united now because of our concern for Turkey's future.

We demand an end to police brutality.

We demand a free and unbiased media.

We demand an open dialogue, not the dictate of an autocrat.

We hope that you will join the conversation and stand with us in solidarity."

~ as reported on The Guardian

The people who have come out to fight back against the rule of an arrogant authoritarian aren't revolutionaries in the traditional sense. In their words, they demand to be heard without being met with police batons and tear gas canisters. The desire for freedom isn't revolutionary. The desire to be free to voice an opinion without the fear of violence isn't revolutionary. It is the natural state of man. For we are all born with the deep seeded desire for freedom. And once we have tasted even a little of it, we cannot settle for only a portion of it.

So why should the citizens of Turkey be expected to shut up and go home? Are they supposed to accept limitations to the freedoms they seek? Should they be willing to swallow the dictates of autocrats?

~Undemocratic Democracy

"Mr Erdogan says the protesters are undemocratic and have been provoked by the opposition Republican People's Party." ~ as reported by BBC News

The protest will only end when Erdogan decides he wants to start abiding by the nature of a true democracy. He must back away from the role of a dictator and reclaim his position as the prime minister of Turkey. If the people who have come out to oppose his overreaches are to continue to face violent repression then the fight will continue. Turkey cannot survive as it was if leaders like this one seek to alienate opposing political views and stifle the basic right to free speech. It is in this manner that Erdogan has created an undemocratic democracy for his own self serving purposes. 

As long as freedom is repressed the hunger for it will only continue to grow. With the advent of social media and an ever increasingly connected world, Turkey can no longer isolate it's citizens. Small samples of liberty will leak into even the most isolated societies. Like bread crumbs, these peaks at what true freedom has to offer only increase the desire for it. 

When a society reaches the breaking point... when it can no longer bear the weight of an outdated political system... even a park can become the first shot of a long and violent struggle. 

Source Documents
(Note: not all sources listed)

BBC News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22749750

The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/05/whats-happening-in-turkey-occupy-gezi

Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/01/occupy-gezi-protest-erdogan_n_3371428.html

Ifex.org
http://www.ifex.org/turkey/2013/06/01/protests_spread/

Racist on the Right, Idiots on the Left.

-
Failure of American Politics in the Middle East.
-



-
Everyday we here in the United States wake to another day of freedom and liberty. We have never tasted the bitterness of true tyranny or the oppression under which the rest of the world lives. Even in our comrade nations across the pond there is a certain level of repression carried out by the so called Democracies. Yet when the Middle East erupts with the blood of its youth we stand on the sidelines waiting to see where this fight ends.
-
In Libya the nation's youth are fighting for their lives to topple the tyrant they grew up with. This man they are fighting, Moammar Gadhafi, has ruled them with an iron fist since the very day they took their first breath. They have had their freedoms stripped from the moment they opened their eyes for the first time. And now they are fighting tooth and nail to defeat the barbarian government that has oppressed them for decades.
-
The world we have called for far to long the "Islamic World" is awash in blood. For the first time this blood is being spilt in the name of liberty. It is a fight that gave birth to the very nation in which you live. It is a fight that we once took up against the tyranny of Great Britain. A fight we cherish in our own history. But when it comes to the freedoms of the Muslim we suddenly change our views.
-
Amongst the right wing in our society you will easily find the racist undertone that fuels their scepticism of the protesters in Libya, Morocco, Bahrain, Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia, and Iran. The right seems to fear the rise of a free and self governing Muslim nation. And this fear always arises from their fear of Islam itself.
-
Yes, it is true that a sect of Islam has fed the flames of hatred for the West. But it is also true that we ourselves helped to stoke those same flames. We exploited the Middle East once we found something we coveted more than freedom itself. We have propped up governments that were inherently corrupt so as to retain access to the oil upon which they sat. This is a fact the leftist like to fall upon. And it is historically correct.
-
However, the left fails to act when liberty is being so diligently pursued. They too seem to fail to realize that these are people who do not want an American backed government. These are people who are sick and tired of outside hands working their own self determination and national fate. These are also people who are dieing to get free of governments who are trying to oppress them with their own religion. These are people who want to be free. They want their countries back.
-
Today I listened to a radio host claim that we should be against these uprisings because they will "lead to the Muslim Brotherhood" taking power of all North Africa. He claimed that these are the same people who we "fought crusades against to kick out of Europe". And that is when he went on to claim that "radical Islam" was alive and well during the Moorish "occupation" of Spain and is still alive and well in Libya today.
-
This is the sort of racist banter that should not be tolerated. It is the same sort of racist banter that contributes to our failure to uphold the pursuit of liberty where ever and whenever it arises around the world. The view that these coming elections in the Middle East will be a "one time thing" are fueled by this narrow view of the people doing the voting.
-
In Iran the Green Movement took to the streets in protest of a rigged election. They fought for the toppling of a tyrant and even bleed in the streets while their oppressors took to bunkers. The United States did nothing during the 2009 uprising. Now the Green Movement is beginning to show up once more. They are ready to bleed for their cause once again. And once again they are ready to push for the fall of a tyrant.
-
These brave Iran youth show just why these coming elections will not be a "one time thing". If the militant tyrants take power again through rigged elections... the youth of the Middle East are ready to fight. They are true patriots ready to die if need be for the cause of liberty.
-
So why the American resistance to their fight for freedom?
-
Democrats in this country have a long history of not supporting anything they can not control. If their hands can't be in the mix then they suddenly loose interest. And these "radicals" can not be controlled. They can not be made to follow talking points or an approved template handed down to them from Washington. That is why Obama will not support them without first pointing out how he wants them to behave.
-
Republicans on the other hand have found themselves completely incapable of backing any Muslim uprising. If the word "Muslim" shows up than the Republicans instantly loose interest. Their racist views of the Middle East show up every time the Republicans talk about Islam or Muslims. They just can't seem to distinguish between the hijackers and the common man when it comes to Muslims.
-
This was all too clear when Egypt took to the streets to end the rule of a dictator. The youth of Egypt turned the Capitol's square into a stage for their protest. And when the tyrant pushed back... they turned that square into a battle field. They did not want an election in which the hardliners would be present. They did not want a rise of radical Islam. They simply wanted to take their country back.
-
When peace failed... I know, hard for a Democrat to believe... they took up any form of weapon they could find. Rocks, stones, concrete... anything that could be thrown was hurled at their armed assailants. That square was for a moment turned into Hell on Earth as David and Goliath went to battle once more. Yet the American media and American politicians failed to see this as an opportunity to defend freedom. We missed the bus so to speak.
-
In Libya we are seeing that same fight. However this time Goliath has hired mercenaries to wipe little David of the map. Gun ship helicopters have begun firing upon helpless protesters. And yet the spirit of freedom fights on. The very soul of liberty itself is still taking to the streets to strike at the heels of the tyrant whenever and where ever they can. Yet America remains paralyzed with indifference.
-
In the words of Rage Against the Machine, these are people who are trying to "take the power back". So why do we straddle the fence?
-
Many of the politicians who have been in power long enough in this country recall what happened when we got involved in Iran a couple decades ago. We backed the wrong side and we lost big. The people in power there today got there because we tried to serve our own self interest. We tried to manipulate the government of another country so as to prevent a government we did not like from coming to power. And what happened was just the opposite. That is why we don't help those seeking freedom in the Middle East today.
-
For Republicans the people seeking to free themselves from oppression are simply "ingrates" who are "prone to violence" and simply "can't grasp true democracy". For the Democrats these are the backwater children of the world who are just throwing another tantrum. For both parties it is just another episode that shows why we can't help Arabs.
-
For 24 yearold Gigi Ibrahim, an Egyptian woman, this fight shows just why the Arab World is ready for freedom. It is a fight that her twitter account has documented. It is a struggle that she has been helping gain ground since day one. For her and her comrades... they are down for the struggle no matter how long it takes. If another dictator comes to power than she and her fellow revolutionaries will take to the streets once again. They will fight... they will bleed... and if need be, they will die for the freedom we here in America live with every day.
-
So to finish this up, I believe that the politicians here in America are doing nothing on behalf of the oppressed Arab world because they fear that they are next. They fear that this spirit of an angry populus will spread. They want to retain power in much the same way as the Middle Eastern dictators. The only differance... next year we vote. The oppressed in the Middle East are fighting for the that right.
-








-
Source Documents for this Post.
-
Voice Of America
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Gadhafi-Loses-Support-of-Libyan-Officials-Denies-Fleeing-116643889.html
-
Altmuslimah
http://www.altmuslimah.com/a/b/b/4171/
-
PBS, Frontline
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/world/jan-june11/frontline_02-21.html

Waiting For the Hammer to Drop

-
Iran Ready For Revolution Once Again...
-


-
Obama ready to let the enemy slaughter its youth once again.
-
Not to long ago the world sat back and watched as the "great leader" stood by and allowed a golden opportunity to fade into history. We watched as the beautiful face of Iran's youth was gunned down without provocation. Her bloody face still haunts us as the Islamic Hell of Iran begins its march into revolution once again.
-
The jackbooted leaders of Iran are gearing up for the slaughter to come. They have already begun attacks on "public enemies". If the Green Revolution does come out in force once again we will surely see the snipers come back to Tehran. And like in Egypt, this time around we will most definitely stop seeing what is going on inside Iran... the fascist will most definitely shut down the Internet and all connections to the outside world.
-
In the rest of the Middle East we have seen what a handful of tyrants are willing to do to retain power. Letting loose their thugs, targeting the "ring leaders", and forcing out protesters with extreme force... these are the hallmarks of the Middle East dictators. The demands of the protesters will surely only make these hallmarks increase in measure and become more intense in how they are applied.
-
So how will the West respond?
-
It was obvious during the peak of the Egyptian uprising that Obama's White House had no clue what to do. The obvious decision would have been to jump on the bandwagon and support the protesters... people who were seeking actual democracy. Instead Obama straddled the fence just long enough to see how the uprising would end. This is why the Middle East views us as weak.
-
Egypt has now made it rather clear how Obama will respond to Iran... he wont. Like the last uprising in 2009 Obama will fail to even say anything till the dead are piling up. He will once again fail to see that these are people who want their countries back. He will once again fail to see that these are people who are sick and tired of oppression through religion and politics mingling to no end.
-
Iran's pro-government puppets have already begun to demand the executions of opposition leaders such as Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi. They chanted during their last rally for the deaths of these two leaders by name. And yet Obama's White House remains silent despite these clear attacks on common liberties and inalienable human rights.
-
During Obama's meeting with the press this week he said, "What has been different is the Iranian government’s response which has been to shoot people, beat people and arrest people."
-
He should have also added that his White House doesn't plan to do anything about all those shootings, beatings, rapes, and unlawful arrest. But that would have gone against his messianic image.
-
So to end this I just have one message for Obama.
-
We don't need the friends we currently have in the Middle East. We need the friends that will come from backing these protest. We need a democratic Middle East in which the freedoms of the individuals are put above the so called right of government to rule. We need to honor the deaths of brave people like Neda Soltani by backing the movement she died for... the right of the peoples of these countries to determine their own nations fate and not be oppressed by the religious views of a select few.
-





-
Source Documents for this Post.
-
Voice of America
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Irans-Opposition-Stays-Afloat-Despite-Heavy-Crackdowns-116440504.html
-
Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ct-oped-0218-iran-20110218,0,278099.story
-
ISN
http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Current-Affairs/ISN-Insights/Detail?lng=en&id=126945&contextid734=126945&contextid735=126944&tabid=126944
-
Payvand
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/feb/1173.html
-