Comments | oldmangrumpus: Egypt

oldmangrumpus

Egypt

Jan 28, 2011 19:42

Someone asked me to comment about the events in Egypt.

I was rather glued to the Internets today, given how chaotic things in Cairo were. Big big props to Al Jazeera English as a great source ( Read more... )

Comments 2

scarlettina January 29 2011, 04:19:18 UTC

Thanks, Nick! I didn't know about the protests in Jordan; interesting. Mostly what I remember about the time I was in Egypt with regard to politics were the large posters of Mubarak smiling benevolently that you'd see here and there. It was peculiar to me because I knew he'd been in power a long time, but I didn't know much else. I assumed that the people liked him.

I find myself wondering who the protesters are. NPR keeps talking about "young people," but I heard a reporter on MSNBC today talking about a 40-year-old man he'd interviewed. My impression is that, if Mubarak has been in power for 30 years, then many of the protesters are people at least young enough not to remember anyone else ever being in charge, which makes the protests even more remarkable to me.

And it was odd to see Mubarak on the news this evening. He doesn't look like he's aged a day in decades. Maybe he made a deal with the ancient Egyptian gods....

oldmangrumpus January 29 2011, 04:40:04 UTC

Fun Fact: Mubarak's nickname was The Laughing Cow, because of a supposed resemblance to the mascot of Laughing Cow Cheese.

And given that he's 80+, I'm certain a lot of his "ageless" quality comes out of a bottle.

The "youth bulge" is a demographic fact throughout most of the Muslim world, and this also points out the precarious nature of not-quite-tyrannies. Ok, sure, you can have your Twitter and your Facebook and your MTV, but if you want a political system that gives you a real vote - like all your other online friends have - well, we'll just have to smack you around until you stop whining.

The flip side of this "age" issue is that Egypt has been waiting for political liberalization since the 1990s. Or the 1950s. Or the 1920s. Depends on who you're asking. The sight of a near-neighbor actually packing their guy off with protests is just too good a chance to pass up.