An Alternative to Where's My Vote

Since the last presidential elections in Iran the slogan of the protest movement has been: "Where's My Vote".

While I have to confess I didn't vote in the elections, I supported both the protesters as well as their slogan. For me the slogan wasn't just about the votes cast and thrown out in the 2009 elections, they were for all votes that we cannot cast for candidates of our own choice.

However, since two years have passed, I believe if we want to start another round of protest, we need another set of slogans. Slogans that obviously refer to the events of 2009, but take the reality of today into account. The sad issue we face is the great number of people who've been killed and the greater number of people locked up.

I suggest the following slogans:

Where's My Teacher?

Where's My Classmate?

Where's My Friend?

Where's My Son?

Where's My Daughter?

Where's My Journalist?

Where's My Lawyer?

Where's My Mother?

Where's My Father?

Where's My Filmdirector?

Where's My Busdriver?

Where's My Musician?

etc. etc.

Every Iranian has a friend who's been killed, locked up, or has left the country. The majority of students I spoke to outside of the country have said they left the country without the intention to stay, but really don't want to go back to their country.

Also, every Iranian knows someone who's a supporter of this regime. We know millions of people who live in a separate reality with no access to the articles we read, people we speak to, Youtube clips we watch. Consequently they refuse to believe the injustice that goes on in their own country (though the ones I've spoken to do have a strong sense of justice, they curse the regime of the Shah for locking up, torturing and killing innocent people). Ask them the questions I just wrote. Where are these people? Why do you trust a government that needs to survive by killing and locking up students, teachers, lawyers, journalists, etc?

Just kick those shins a little bit. If we all do it, it might be more effective than the next protest that gets a few thousand people into the street, exposing them to the batons of the Baseej militia.

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Here's something heartwarming. A dissident action in which speakers are distributed in Tripoli, blasting the forbidden anthem of the country.