The problem is a clear one for anyone who has thought about it. If Egypt is going to become a meaningful democracy, how can we ensure that activists who are doing most of the pushing (in Tahrir Square and through out Egypt) will not be eliminated by the massive state "security" apparatus of the current regime before it gets there? Those thugs are still out there and they're still making alot of money fulfilling orders to beat up, and even kill, activists.
A few days ago, when things seemed rather dire, the Egyptian blogger Sandmonkey wrote: “I have no illusions about this regime or its leader, and how he will pluck us and hunt us down one by one till we are over and done with and eight months from now will pay people to stage fake protests urging him not to leave power and he will stay ‘because he has to acquiesce to the voice of the people.’ This is a losing battle and they have all the weapons, but we will continue fighting until we can’t. …”Things don't quite seem so dire just this moment, which means it is an excellent time to ensure that they never seem so threatening again. My dear friend Windy Cooler has an idea: Hook activists in Egypt who might be under threat with people in the U.S. who will be in touch with them, make sure they are safe and blow the whistle loud if/when they go missing. This in no way should displace connections that exist between people in Egypt ofcourse, merely to add to them. Notes Windy, this would be particularly appropriate to launch now as Valentine's Day approaches since "St Valentine was a pacifist who married soldiers in defiance of Roman law ... to give them something to live for, to want to nurture." [source?]What's the best way to do this? Should a web page be set up? Should something be set up in Facebook -- perhaps a new relationship status -- "Guardian Angel" -- just like you have "partner" and such. Can Facebook take this on and promote it to help things along?
A few days ago, when things seemed rather dire, the Egyptian blogger Sandmonkey wrote: “I have no illusions about this regime or its leader, and how he will pluck us and hunt us down one by one till we are over and done with and eight months from now will pay people to stage fake protests urging him not to leave power and he will stay ‘because he has to acquiesce to the voice of the people.’ This is a losing battle and they have all the weapons, but we will continue fighting until we can’t. …”Things don't quite seem so dire just this moment, which means it is an excellent time to ensure that they never seem so threatening again. My dear friend Windy Cooler has an idea: Hook activists in Egypt who might be under threat with people in the U.S. who will be in touch with them, make sure they are safe and blow the whistle loud if/when they go missing. This in no way should displace connections that exist between people in Egypt ofcourse, merely to add to them. Notes Windy, this would be particularly appropriate to launch now as Valentine's Day approaches since "St Valentine was a pacifist who married soldiers in defiance of Roman law ... to give them something to live for, to want to nurture." [source?]What's the best way to do this? Should a web page be set up? Should something be set up in Facebook -- perhaps a new relationship status -- "Guardian Angel" -- just like you have "partner" and such. Can Facebook take this on and promote it to help things along?