Wisconsin, Libya, Bahrain

I have no good excuse for not having followed events in Libya, Bahrain, and Wisconsin as closely as I ought. Both events, popular uprisings against a repressive executive bent on crushing the rights of citizens, highlight the ability of regular people to stand together in solidarity.

I've watched in awe as Libyans braved aerial strafing and artillery barrages, as pilots and warship captains defected to foreign nations rather than fire in protesters, and as a people oppressed for 40 years take back their country against unspeakable odds and against astonishing brutality. It's stunning to see Bahrainis holding their ground after state security forces massacre their comrades in the night.
i-57fe9304ced13ce171b9d89e1e32449f-egypt4wisconsin.jpgAnd in Wisconsin, the protesters may face less brutal tactics, but the brilliant phone call from a journalist imitating teabagger-in-chief David Koch to Wisconsin governor Scott Walker shows that things could have degenerated easily. The governor considered sending violent agents provocateurs into the peaceful crowds that occupied the capitol during the state's legislative crisis. And an Indiana deputy attorney general actually suggested sending police in with "live ammunition", though he was later fired for the offense. That the idea even came up informally with these Republican leaders suggests that American politics are not as far as we'd like from Gadhafi's violence against his own people.

Nor did Scott Walker's unhinged "fireside chat" diffuse that impression. He trotted out the same lines Gadhafi and Mubarak tested before being forced from power: the protests are driven by outside protesters, their demands are unreasonable and unpatriotic, the good people of Egypt/Libya/Wisconsin know that Mubarak/Gadhafi/Walker knows what's best for them, etc. And he managed to look crazier and less competent than Michelle Bachman while doing it.

And through all this, protesters in the streets have stood firm. They know what's right, and they will not go home until their government treats them as they deserve. I couldn't be prouder of my people, whether they wear cheeseheads or eat bazeen. We're witness to something amazing, a justification for the humanism I usually must justify as faith: "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." But now I see, and I hope you do, too.

Image via.

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I have a niece who's been at many of the Madison protests. Her updates on events have been fascinating. The message she sends is that the students (she's in nursing school) with whom she associates are not there on a lark: they are firm in their belief that they are protesting a major injustice and want to do whatever they can to be involved in its resolution.
With all that's coming out about the lies WI's governor told leading up to this, it will be interesting to see the fallout.

The sad part is that humanity needs to be pushed to the brink before doing something. I wish we were a more proactive species...

I love the Walker/Qadafi/Mubarak connection. I wish someone who has
millions of viewers/readers would point this out. Walker is no different than
all the AntiAmerican/AntiUnion thugs who are Posers for the big company
greedy fat kat(s). Walker got elected because of the Citizens United that
made it possible for Koch brothers and other cold blooded elitist pigs
to hire him to do their dirty work. I am looking for an untreated transcipt of the
Walker and fake Koch. So much media has filtered it.
in solidarity, minda
"united we bargain. divided we beg"

Yay! Two gangs of vicious thugs with a taste for rape supporting each other! Izzn't dat sweet?

By Achemaenid (not verified) on 01 Mar 2011 #permalink