In the last year or so, disputed elections and the violence that has followed them have been a frequent visitor to our news pages and television shows. With Kenya’s election disputes and riots in what had been one of the few (relatively) stable African countries, and now with the protests in the post-Iran election controversy, it has become a standard story arc that we’ve seen play out before.
While violence is almost always deplorable, the obvious reason we have an interest in the outcome of Iran’s election is that Iran is kinda the Fonz of the Muslim world: other countries and/or para-military groups are going to look to the leadership of Iran’s position on the United States as a starting point for their own policies and actions. This is why President Obama has condemned the violent overreaction as a tragic loss of unnecessary life and a sad state of human affairs, but he hasn’t taken stronger language. Whoever comes out of this political swamp, and it looks like it almost undoubtedly will be Ahmadinejad, Obama is going to have to work towards a US-Iran relationship where neither party is going to stab the other in the back. He can’t do that if he berates the guy in charge, but he can condemn the tragedies that are unfolding on the news at the hands of the Republican Guard.
It’s funny to think that a short 9 years ago, the US had it’s own disputed election. And while the heart of our election wasn’t whether we were going to be a sham democracy or not, it was nonetheless a crucial turning point in our nation’s history. And there were loud, passionate protest, both in word and in deed. For those that are calling for more extreme measures in response to Iran’s situation management, what would those people have called for in response to the protests at home back in 2000 if they had become violent? US protests aren’t frequently violent because too many of the people involved have too much to lose. But if they had been, if the nation’s capital had been overrun by soccermoms wielding broken strollers or liberal law students attacking in droves, how would the National Guard have reacted?
