thinking of iran

Just got an email from a friend in Iran, who is hoping to ‘participate in some things hopefully without being beaten or killed’. How hideous is it to go outside for a peaceful demonstration and have to worry about being beaten or killed? I am thinking a lot about Neda, the girl who was murdered on video who has become, in her death, an icon. What is the ethical meaning of dying on camera in an attempt to win freedom? A friend of mine posted on Twitter that there is no compassion in filming someone’s death; if I were a murdered protestor would i want my last moments captured on camera or not? It is such a violation of the most lonely moment everyone faces, and yet it has helped to bring this struggle into focus for thousands – perhaps millions – of people all over the world.

Is it shameful of me to thank my lucky stars that I do not have to take my life into my hands to defend my rights? I know some people who see getting arrested or beaten or harassed in the name of social justice as a form of glory, a badge to wear next to your Food Not Bombs sticker. Maybe I’m just getting old, but I don’t see the glory in it, I only see the tragedy of it. It makes me so sick at heart to think of the people out there in the streets, knowing full well it could go horribly wrong in an instant, yelling defiantly to tamp down the bubbling fear. And it makes me angry. If I had to choose, I’d rather be angry than sad. It’s more productive.