On Sep 28, 2011, at 10:56 AM, Eric Beck wrote:
> When this convo first happened, I agreed with you. But this helps me
> see it differently, and my response to your question here would be,
> Who cares? Of course the state is going to replace its titular head
> with one of its own. Do you really expect a few months of protest to
> overturn 50 or 200 years (or 10,000 years, depending on how you look
> at it) of (heavily armed) history? In the meantime, however, Egyptians
> did lots of great stuff, including form an independent trade union,
> create organizational forms outside the government, and inspire people
> around the world. In the face of that, pointing out the obvious seems
> a little silly.
What's not obvious is all the other work behind and before the Tahrir Sq occupation - a decade of union work, for example, including numerous strikes. That's precisely what's not gone on here. I'm tickled to see this occupation, and hope it leads to more, but I don't see much appreciation of what "more" means. This is not a revolution, even if Cornel West says it is.
Doug