[lbo-talk] Tunisia & Egypt vs 2008 food price riots

[dredmond at efn.org]

On Thu, February 17, 2011 11:05 am, Wojtek S wrote:


> It is quite interesting to compare western media coverage of  rebellions
> and riots.  Tunisia & Egypt got all the attention whereas the 2008 food
> riots were barely mentioned.  Does it have anything to do with the fact
> that the direct target of Tunisia & Egypt uprising was government, whereas
> the the direct target of the 2008 protests was normal operation of the
> market?

I haven't been following the neolib media coverage, just Al-Jazeera and
RT, but I suspect one of the underlying issues is this: one month of the
2011 revolutions wiped out ten years of lurid imperial Arab-bashing,
Orientalist hate-mongering, and neocon Islamophobia. Instead of
stereotypes, millions of peaceful, educated, literate and politically
conscious human beings filled the screen.

-- DRR