Doing what I can...

June 20, 2009 2:06 PM

Iran, right now: There have been calls for Twitter users worldwide to change their settings to Tehran time..

to make it difficult for authorities to track actual tweets out of Iran.

Does this sound like it could be effective cover for Iranians?

posted by hellboundforcheddar to law & government (18 comments total)

Things have gone way beyond that now. And even if there was a point where it might have helped, it's too late now. The Iranian secret police have had plenty of time to use the Twitter search tools and to capture the data they need.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 2:15 PM on June 20

But it can't hurt, right? Or wrong?
posted by hellboundforcheddar at 2:20 PM on June 20

I'm of the opinion that empty gestures do hurt, because they convince people that empty gestures are all they need to do. Things like changing the backdrop color of your blog, or putting up a picture of a ribbon -- they make people feel good, feel like they're participating, but they don't accomplish anything.

And it does hurt because it satisfies the need to get involved, without actually accomplishing anything. It drains the pool of people who might otherwise get involved in other ways that could make a difference.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 2:27 PM on June 20 [30 favorites]

I agree with your point if it is, in fact, an empty gesture.
posted by hellboundforcheddar at 2:37 PM on June 20

Wouldn't it make more sense for the Iranian twitterers to change their time?
posted by smackfu at 2:41 PM on June 20 [2 favorites]

smackfu- that's supposedly what they are doing as well...
posted by hellboundforcheddar at 2:43 PM on June 20

Chocolate Pickle, what would you suggest? I've done 'empty gesture' myself and suspected it to be just that. But what options are realistically open to me, an American non-Muslim without money or influence? What could/should I be doing? Serious question.
posted by HumuloneRanger at 3:14 PM on June 20 [2 favorites]

D'oh! Read as, "the empty gesture."
posted by HumuloneRanger at 3:16 PM on June 20

I agree with Chocolate Pickle.

However, I can't help but think it's some small comfort to Iranians to know that many, many people in the rest of the world support them. Also, retweeting vital information might help reach more people - for example "Sodium metabisulfite Na2S2O5 mixed with water (5% solution) cures CS tear gas. Wash eyes with solution" was one tweet I saw.
posted by desjardins at 3:18 PM on June 20 [1 favorite]

This is beginning to straddle the chatfilter line, so I hesitate to go into it more. But what the heck.

Sometimes a mature adult has to accept that there isn't anything he can do to make a difference. That makes him feel helpless, but that's because he is.

That's the situation we're in here. You and I can't affect the situation now. All we can do is watch the tragedy unfold, and to watch for things to change enough so that, later, the opportunity will arise that we can do something.

But because we make no empty gestures now, and don't rationalize that we've done something, it means we'll be more ready later to jump in when we can really make a difference. I don't know when or how that will come, but I'm watching for it.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 3:19 PM on June 20

Purely anecdotal, but in the early 90s, I met some black South Africans who were in the U.S. on a book tour. They'd all been imprisoned at various points for their anti-apartheid activities. In college, I had been active in the divestment and anti-apartheid movements, and some of what we did on my campus got a fair amount of press.

I got to chatting with two of the women, and one of them asked me where I'd gone to school. I told her, and she and her friend burst into these enormous smiles. "Oh!" she said. "We read about you, you and your friends who worked against apartheid! You don't know what it meant to us there to know that other people across the world were concerned for us and wanted somehow to help us."

So. While changing the time on your twitter account might not be the pinnacle of "helping," I believe that it helps to encourage people - you may never meet them or know about them - and it helps to spread the notion that many, many people want to help somehow. And doing so does not prevent you from doing other things (donating money or goods or time or services, writing to your congresscritter, etc.).
posted by rtha at 3:53 PM on June 20 [18 favorites]

I agree with Chocolate Pickle. I think this post from John Cole sums up similar thoughts as well.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 3:56 PM on June 20 [1 favorite]

I don't believe we are completely impotent. Sure, we can't be on the ground in Iran, nor would monetary support of any kind be meaningful at this time. However, we can let our own country's politicians know that we are engaged and watching, as well as study and learn about the Iranian people, their culture, and their aspirations.

NIAC (The National Iranian American Council) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the interests of the Iranian-American community. They are supplying the resources, knowledge and tools to enable greater civic participation by Iranian Americans and informed decision making by lawmakers. If you are American, contact NIAC and ask their opinion of what to do. Their blog.

Write to your legislative representative and your country's leadership and suggest they "speak out strongly and in concert with allies around the world against violent repression of peaceful protest, the denial of free speech and of media access and the arbitrary detention of government critics, reformist politicians, student activists and human rights defenders."

Your administration should also "remind Iran's leaders that the way they deal with this crisis of political legitimacy, and especially the way they treat their people will have an impact on the way the world interacts with the Iranian regime in the future." If you live in a democracy now, use your ability to participate to share your opinion. The Iranians are entitled to a future that matches the freedoms we enjoy every day.
posted by netbros at 3:56 PM on June 20

But because we make no empty gestures now, and don't rationalize that we've done something, it means we'll be more ready later to jump in when we can really make a difference. I don't know when or how that will come, but I'm watching for it.

This makes no sense. How does doing something-- however small-- now prevent you from taking larger action later? In fact, a lot of research shows that doing small things (the "foot in the door" phenomenon) for a cause makes you more committed later to doing large things.

These studies found that people who were asked to, say, post a lawn sign for a cause, when later asked for money, were more likely to give than those who hadn't been asked to do the smaller thing first.
posted by Maias at 4:50 PM on June 20 [7 favorites]

And it does hurt because it satisfies the need to get involved, without actually accomplishing anything. It drains the pool of people who might otherwise get involved in other ways that could make a difference.

An in this case what would you suggest would make a difference? A strongly worded letter to the supreme leader?

A gesture of this type IS important because it shows the Iranian people that the world cares about their plight. There is really nothing any of us can do, so gestures are important. It's not like breast cancer research where we can donate and wear a ribbon.

Perhaps Americans have taken the most important step by electing a president who can see the world in shades rather than black and white. If bush were still president, Amadinajad's victory would be seen as a reaction to American aggression rather than fraud.
posted by mattoxic at 5:13 PM on June 20 [1 favorite]

Andrew Sullivan at The Atlantic is live blogging and collecting live tweets from Iran. Included are some suggestions including one for Canadians to call their government officials and ask that the embassy in Iran be opened to the wounded.
posted by caroljean63 at 6:20 PM on June 20

The twitterer (tweeter?) @Prosterhelp has been collecting various requests for action, like the changing your location to Tehran. I changed my location because it seemed the request was coming from the protesters themselves. I suggest keeping an eye on Protesterhelp and Andrew Sullivan, and taking actions requested by Iranian protesters. They know best what they need and what will be effective/helpful.

As a side note, this exact moment is sort of a weird time - after the bloodiness of today/yesterday, it's really hard to know what direction things are headed. I think in a few days, it may be a little clearer what is needed.
posted by lunasol at 9:27 PM on June 20

There's a percentage chance it could help and the cost to you is nothing? This equation solves itself. By all means, do this.
posted by Ironmouth at 9:32 PM on June 20