12/11/2003: Iraqis rally

[Undertoad]

Yesterday ten thousand Iraqis took to the streets in a demonstration against terrorism and for Democracy. With Iraqi police protecting the event, the people found voices that they have never had before.

The blog Healing Iraq has a massive gallery of photos of the demonstration, and much commentary on what the demonstration meant to the author, Alaa, an ordinary Iraqi.

At one point it struck me that our many differences as an Iraqi people meant nothing. Here we were all together shouting in different languages the same slogans "NO NO to terrorism, YES YES for peace".

I spent most of the time taking pictures. heh, I really enjoyed playing the role of a journalist. Everyone was tugging at my sleeves asking me to take their photos mistaking me for a foreign reporter. Some people recognized a reporter from Al-Arabiyah station and they started taunting him. One old man shouted to him "For once, speak the truth".

What was interesting, a group of Al-Sadr supporters showed up and started shouting "NO NO to occupiers" obviously in an attempt to hijack the demonstration. They drowned in the rest of the crowd.

Unfortunately, the march did not fit the narrative of most of the foreign media and so they pretty much saw fit to ignore it. Here are some of the shots from Healing Iraq. These shots were taken by a digicam sent to Alaa by a blogger in the US. Together two "regular people", with websites and a little cash, told the story better than the New York Times. So there are two revolutions in these pictures. I include Alaa's captions.



A tribal leader



"Terrorism is humanity's shame"



Iraqi reds



"Our people are for the reconstruction"



"To bribed Arab stations:Killing Iraqis and destroying their civil facilities is NOT resistance"

And then Chris Muir of Day By Day put his two cents in:

[Tobiasly]

Amazing, UT.. both the protests, as well as the lack of coverage from the conventional media. Thanks for the find.

[Insane Frog]

Thank you for finding these pics. I mean, there was like, a second of media coverage and then okay no more of that.

I didn't even hear about this...but that could just be because I don't pay a lot of attention to the news.

Bad, bad, person! *slaps self*

[xoxoxoBruce]

I had seen the "DaybyDay" and wondered what it was about since I was out of the loop yesterday. Thanks UT.
Welcome to the Cellar frog.

[julius]

In case people don't get the cartoon, perhaps this will jog your memory:

<img src="http://www.a1agifts.com/images/29586monkeys2.jpg">

[Undertoad]

Apparently the demonstrations were not just limited to Baghdad but were all over.

Here is a remarkable account of another demonstration in another town, from an Army officer. In his location, a little counter-demonstration developed that might have endangered a civil affairs team, and he describes how he decides to deal with it. The account is more about how he decides not to take a warning shot... fascinating stuff.

[Undertoad]

This morning Instapundit points out that the Washington Post decided to cover a much smaller protest which was against an American decision.

Why? It fits their narrative. The media writes the story first, and then covers that story it as if it WAS the story... reality be damned.

[goethean]

Here we have the amusing spectacle of little green trolls fantasizing about their martyrdom at the hands of mythical Liberal Media Bias.

Not only is every newspaper, television, and radio station in America in on the conspiracy---including the well-known bastions of liberalism the WSJ, Washington Times, Fox News, etc.---but also every world newspaper, television, and radio station.

As Calpundit puts it:

In other words, as near as I can tell, this just isn't big news. CNN and Fox covered it briefly because demonstrations make for good TV images, but aside from that neither liberal nor conservative news outlets cared much. This isn't any kind of anti-war bias, it's just news judgment: there was lots of other news yesterday, some of it Iraq related, that was more important.

Hawks have been working themselves into a lather trying desperately to find good news out of Iraq, but I've got news for them: it's just not going to work. Sure there's some good news, but the fact is that the bad news is overwhelming it these days. Things just aren't going well, and burying your head in the sand and chanting "liberal media bias" isn't going to change that.

Wake up, folks.

[Undertoad]

When thousands of Iraqis take to the streets for this sentiment, even though they can be identified for later attack by the minority fascists, it's huge news. Now that there is evidence of assassination lists by the fascists, that danger is extremely real.

The previous protest was smaller; the next one will be larger; they are all extremely meaningful, as evidence of the continuing approach of rule of law and an understanding of how freedom of speech actually operates. All of which are excellent signs of Democratization.

The only question is why being against this sort of thing is suddenly a leftist take. Last I looked, the left was against fascism. And assassination, and torture, and minority rule. Those are supposed to be bad things. Remember?

And I haven't read LGF in weeks.

[Undertoad]

(shuddup, syc)

[goethean]

Together two "regular people", with websites and a little cash, told the story better than the New York Times.

Where "better" equals more pro-Bush, and more pro-war.

[dar512]

I think this news is extremely important. If the locals are going out of their way to say "yea democracy" then it's not something we are forcing on them - which I wasn't sure of.

If the major news media aren't covering it, then it's just one more reason I'm glad I read the cellar.

[goethean]

The only question is why being against this sort of thing is suddenly a leftist take. Last I looked, the left was against fascism. And assassination, and torture, and minority rule. Those are supposed to be bad things. Remember?

Disingenuousness doesn't suit you.

Obviously, the left isn't against Iraqi citizens demontrating. The left is against painting Bush's pathetic adventure as successful when Bremer can't even step out of Saddam's palaces without getting his ass blown up.

But please, don't let me get in the way of your spin.

[Undertoad]

You're spinning me, man. OK, let me back up.

I just say what I think. It's not really partisan at all; I regard partisanship as the modern equivalence of superstition. I want reality.

I really have no side in the battle; I'm trying to see the facts we have for what they really are and what they really mean. If my collection of facts is weak and my analysis wrong, hit me back on those things rather than painting me politically.

I say the left because I'm mad that the left has gotten it so wrong in this case in my opinion. I have many other positions where the right annoys me even worse.

I didn't vote for Bush in 2000 and I don't know yet who I'll vote for in 2004.

[xoxoxoBruce]

The demonstrations are fact. Everyone can draw their own implications as to what they signify. So why not report facts? Isn't that what news media is supposed to do?