Espen
UYDO Committee
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| | Will Michael help Iran? (28th Jun 09 at 8:19am UTC) | | Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, tragically passed away recently. He was a rare talent who made songs that will be remembered like Elvis or the Beatles are today. Michael Jackson is synonym to music, and everyone knows who he is.
My friend (another Michael) mentioned it first a few days ago, which then got me thinking. The death of Michael came on a tragic timing for everyone, but especially for the people in Iran. The incidents in Iran have had immense attention these past few days with people sharing information on the internet like nothing before. Facebook and twitter became important tools to spread information form person to person, spreading like wildfire, and the news caught up – giving us updates and expert commentators discussing the situation.
However, after the death of Michael Jackson, and my friend suggesting that it might not be as good for Iran, I started paying attention to it. My newsfeeds, which were filled with appeals for the people of Iran, are now filled with tributes to Michael Jackson. Likewise, my Facebook profile was filled with messages on Iran a few days ago, and now, not a single update on Iran – it’s was all about Michael.
So what does this have to do with Iran? Well, the Iranian people received substantial amount of attention before, resulting in strong external pressure on the Iranian Government. This was, in a sense, a tool to create accountability to an autocratic government, and when the pressure and attention is gone, the accountability is gone.
As Michael Rubin said in an interview with The Daily Beast:
“Unfortunately in Iran people are going to prison, but when a tree falls in the forest and there's no one to hear it, the pressure goes away.”
According to a blog by Benjamin Sarlin:
“News of Jackson's death comes just as Iran's crackdown appears to be ramping up. Today, the Guardian Council decisively ruled that the election results were legitimate (the “healthiest” vote since the 1979 revolution), paving the way for a more harsh response to protests, which have already largely been suppressed by violence.”
It will be interesting to see what happens. | |
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