Ladies and gentlemoose,
You may have noticed that our lovely purple banner is turning green! And unless you’ve been living in a cave (and likely even if you have), you’ve probably guessed that it has something to do with the current protests in Iran. The Moose has gone green to show solidarity and support for the Iranian protesters and for free and open elections. The protesters’ determination to see their votes counted, and their dedication to fair elections, is inspiring. It is indicative of real progress, and The Moose supports Progressives the world over.
In choosing to green the blog, we did not come by this decision in haste.
We felt it a way to visibly show our support for those struggling to bring Change to Iran. Support for the students whose rooms were raided and computers destroyed to prevent access to the outside world.
Support for the women who rallied and voted en masse for Change.
Support for all those demanding a fair accounting of their votes.
While we feel that going green is the right thing for The Moose, there are some valid arguments as to why it might not be the best of ideas. There has been much discussion elsewhere in the blogosphere along these lines.
Comments from a DKos diary titled Kos, Turn This Site Green:
If turning every blog green would somehow hasten a revolution in Iran, then I’d be on board. But this is a dumb idea.It’s just as dumb as the GOP idea of renaming French fries as “Freedom Fries” in 2003 as a symbolic protest against the French. It’s literally the least productive action we could take.
Instead, we just have to keep publicizing news events out of Iran, show solidarity, etc. But this is really up to the people of Iran to decide how far they will take this; I really don’t think they need American political blogs to turn green in order to inspire them to march. Their lack of freedoms and democracy should be enough incentive.
by existenz on Tue Jun 16, 2009 at 12:51:54 AM CDT
how long do you leave the site green? A week, a month? When we turn the site orange again, does that mean we are no longer showing solidarity? The 1979 revolution took many months to build up and succeed.
If Kos wants to do it, fine. But I get the sense that he would think this idea is just as dumb as I do.
Anyway, I meant solidarity in the sense of more than just empty symbolic gestures. Putting a flag decal on your SUV bumper may cause conservatives to think they are patriotic even while they do nothing for soldiers with insufficient body armor. Turning the site green accomplishes nothing, other than maybe causing a Iranian bloggers somewhere to say “oh, another site has turned green”.
Real solidarity is what we have already been doing — sharing videos, twitter feeds, news stories, personal accounts from Iran, etc….
by existenz on Tue Jun 16, 2009 at 01:08:20 AM CDT
Tbogg from FireDogLake remarks,
There was a disputed election in Iran and thousands of political bloggers who have never lived outside of the city in which they were born and who have absolutely no experience in Middle East affairs will now tell you what this all means, how this will impact the region, and what to expect by drawing upon their extensive background in World of Warcraft and a hardly used MCSE certification.
From John Cole’s Balloon Juice,
Also, I’ll Have Kale, Spinach and Peas For Dinner
God love Sullivan, because I know his heart is in the right place:
We switched the color scheme in solidarity. Wear green if you can. They need to know we care.
If someone can give me one legitimate piece of evidence that wearing green boxers is going to help bring democracy to Iran, so help me I’ll wear plaid from head to toe and shoot for world peace.
I know he means well, but this is what I was talking about this morning when I said that the coverage of the events in Iran by American bloggers was giving me a warblogger circa 2003 vibe. I can’t be the only one who is reminded of Abbie Hoffman’s plans to levitate the Pentagon through the power of meditation.
My thoughts are with the folks in Iran risking it all fighting for democracy, but this can not be said enough- this is not about us, it is about them. I love the coverage of events, but please stop with this narcissistic nonsense.
We do believe that the most important thing to do is to keep talking. Keep posting images, articles, reports, videos and youtubes, twitters and tweets, and any other sources of information. Keeping what is happening VISIBLE will be the most valuable support we can provide. Let us know your thoughts and ideas. We want to hear from the Herd.
So, what do YOU think, Mooses? For now we are Green. How long shall we remain as such? Is it a worthy gesture? Do we look good in Green?
121 comments