12/11/2003: Iraqis rally

Yesterday ten thousand Iraqis took to the streets in a demonstration against terrorism and for Democracy. With Iraqi police protecting the event, the people found voices that they have never had before.

The blog Healing Iraq has a massive gallery of photos of the demonstration, and much commentary on what the demonstration meant to the author, Alaa, an ordinary Iraqi.

At one point it struck me that our many differences as an Iraqi people meant nothing. Here we were all together shouting in different languages the same slogans "NO NO to terrorism, YES YES for peace".

I spent most of the time taking pictures. heh, I really enjoyed playing the role of a journalist. Everyone was tugging at my sleeves asking me to take their photos mistaking me for a foreign reporter. Some people recognized a reporter from Al-Arabiyah station and they started taunting him. One old man shouted to him "For once, speak the truth".

What was interesting, a group of Al-Sadr supporters showed up and started shouting "NO NO to occupiers" obviously in an attempt to hijack the demonstration. They drowned in the rest of the crowd.

Unfortunately, the march did not fit the narrative of most of the foreign media and so they pretty much saw fit to ignore it. Here are some of the shots from Healing Iraq. These shots were taken by a digicam sent to Alaa by a blogger in the US. Together two "regular people", with websites and a little cash, told the story better than the New York Times. So there are two revolutions in these pictures. I include Alaa's captions.



A tribal leader



"Terrorism is humanity's shame"



Iraqi reds



"Our people are for the reconstruction"



"To bribed Arab stations:Killing Iraqis and destroying their civil facilities is NOT resistance"

And then Chris Muir of Day By Day put his two cents in:

Amazing, UT.. both the protests, as well as the lack of coverage from the conventional media. Thanks for the find.

Thank you for finding these pics. I mean, there was like, a second of media coverage and then okay no more of that.

I didn't even hear about this...but that could just be because I don't pay a lot of attention to the news.

Bad, bad, person! *slaps self*

I had seen the "DaybyDay" and wondered what it was about since I was out of the loop yesterday. Thanks UT.
Welcome to the Cellar frog.

In case people don't get the cartoon, perhaps this will jog your memory:

<img src="http://www.a1agifts.com/images/29586monkeys2.jpg">

Apparently the demonstrations were not just limited to Baghdad but were all over.

Here is a remarkable account of another demonstration in another town, from an Army officer. In his location, a little counter-demonstration developed that might have endangered a civil affairs team, and he describes how he decides to deal with it. The account is more about how he decides not to take a warning shot... fascinating stuff.

This morning Instapundit points out that the Washington Post decided to cover a much smaller protest which was against an American decision.

Why? It fits their narrative. The media writes the story first, and then covers that story it as if it WAS the story... reality be damned.

Here we have the amusing spectacle of little green trolls fantasizing about their martyrdom at the hands of mythical Liberal Media Bias.

Not only is every newspaper, television, and radio station in America in on the conspiracy---including the well-known bastions of liberalism the WSJ, Washington Times, Fox News, etc.---but also every world newspaper, television, and radio station.

As Calpundit puts it:

When thousands of Iraqis take to the streets for this sentiment, even though they can be identified for later attack by the minority fascists, it's huge news. Now that there is evidence of assassination lists by the fascists, that danger is extremely real.

The previous protest was smaller; the next one will be larger; they are all extremely meaningful, as evidence of the continuing approach of rule of law and an understanding of how freedom of speech actually operates. All of which are excellent signs of Democratization.

The only question is why being against this sort of thing is suddenly a leftist take. Last I looked, the left was against fascism. And assassination, and torture, and minority rule. Those are supposed to be bad things. Remember?

And I haven't read LGF in weeks.

(shuddup, syc)

I think this news is extremely important. If the locals are going out of their way to say "yea democracy" then it's not something we are forcing on them - which I wasn't sure of.

If the major news media aren't covering it, then it's just one more reason I'm glad I read the cellar.

You're spinning me, man. OK, let me back up.

I just say what I think. It's not really partisan at all; I regard partisanship as the modern equivalence of superstition. I want reality.

I really have no side in the battle; I'm trying to see the facts we have for what they really are and what they really mean. If my collection of facts is weak and my analysis wrong, hit me back on those things rather than painting me politically.

I say the left because I'm mad that the left has gotten it so wrong in this case in my opinion. I have many other positions where the right annoys me even worse.

I didn't vote for Bush in 2000 and I don't know yet who I'll vote for in 2004.

The demonstrations are fact. Everyone can draw their own implications as to what they signify. So why not report facts? Isn't that what news media is supposed to do?

Speaking of which, I got the name of the blog author wrong... it's Zeyad. Alaa is a different Iraqi blogger. There are several of them.

Not afraid of corrections

The Mercury-News covered it.

I welcome a little good news and I want some more.

Quote:

Originally posted by xoxoxoBruce The demonstrations are fact. Everyone can draw their own implications as to what they signify. So why not report facts? Isn't that what news media is supposed to do?

I believe I read about the rally on MSNBC...and in Metro (yes, the free daily handed out by SEPTA here in Philadelphia). I've been mostly out of the loop this week due to work.

Ummm...Goethean, Fox News is by no means even suspected of being leftist. Quite the opposite, actually.

I'm not trying to make any excuses for the major news media, but let's be real here: good stuff on a small scale doesn't get viewers or sell papers in a time of relative calm. Now, 10,000-25,000 people is nothing to sneeze at, mind you...but that's peanuts. Get 500,000 to a million or so...THAT'S a story. Having said this, I am surprised that this didn't get more attention b/c the media seemed so hellbent on showing "good stuff" coming out of Iraq in the days leading up to the fall of Baghdad.

Craniorectal. Hmm.. I'm stealing that word. Thanks GlassJaw. BTW, I agree with you 100%.

Syc, I think you underestimate the concern of Joe and the rest of the Bumfuckians about what's going on in Iraq. Joe may not be cognizant of all the nuances, but he knows everything going on there is important to us(U.S.) right now.

I disagree, Bruce. I think Joe cares more about what happens to our troops, not necessarily the Iraqi people.

That's what I mean about the nuances. Joe doesn't know what's important and what's fluff, so he listens to everything about Iraq with equal interest. I guess he depends heavily on the media spin also.