Comment by Braxton1980
6 hours ago
If you want things to change we need to start going after the source of the governments power, the people that vote for them. T
6 hours ago
If you want things to change we need to start going after the source of the governments power, the people that vote for them. T
It would be easier if the people who built the tools that will be used for oppression simply disable those tools or turn them on the oppressors.
Even if 90% of the country marks the box against the regime, they’ll still announce a 90% 'landslide' victory. Voting doesn't matter, when you print your own outcome
You have zero understanding of Iranian people. Their elections are far less shady than the ones in US.
When there's an uprising it's a pretty god indicator that the elections aren't working.
https://www.norwich.edu/topic/all-blog-posts/facade-democrac...
Though President Ebrahim Raisi’s sudden death in May 2024 prompted a new electoral cycle with six vetted candidates, all were affiliated with the regime and loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, ensuring little real policy divergence. The Guardian Council filtered out all but hardline male clerics and a nominal reformist, creating the illusion of choice while reinforcing conservative dominance. Moreover, the presidency in Iran holds limited authority — ultimate power resides with Khamenei, who, since 1989, has steadily centralized control in his hands, rendering both elected institutions and their leaders largely symbolic. In short, the article contends that no matter who wins, Iran’s domestic and foreign agendas — especially its nuclear program and regional interventions — will remain unchanged, as they are guided by the Supreme Leader's ideology.
I was born and raised in Iran with my entire family being there fighting the fight. I'd like to think I'd debated both sides enough to be able to make the argument for both sides. However, the inhumanity and corruption of the Iranian regime will be looked back upon in history with some of the most corrupt/inhumane governments of all time
That isn't even remotely true.
Trickling dose of brainrot propaganda and general level of incompetence of the people has made everyone numb. Youths for all care finding love and reels, boomers are content with whatever situation they are in as they consider it an ideal. Almost everyone is not made aware of anything that brings about 2 sides of any story. Empowering and thought provoking debates are frowned upon. The government will try to self-destructive itself, in order to disapprove critics. It is this mentality and situation the present government and bureaucracy amplifies and exploits to the maximum extent. I'm not critical of the present machinery but any successive legislature and judiciary will do the same.
Agreed. If we want democracy to prosper, we clearly need to start punishing people who vote incorrectly.
I don't think OP was implying punishing voters.
That's exactly what the US and Israel were doing in Iran.
This is why they tried to foment a movement to install a king currently living a playboy lifestyle in America with Israeli money.
Ultimately it failed because it stopped being able to coordinate and the carefully built agitator networks who exposed themselves are now getting rolled up.
America doesnt have a monopoly on messing with the electorate in this way as we discovered during jan 6th, the manufacture of antivax movement and (most humiliatingly) the arrest of the the presidential front runner in Romania because of a couple of tiktok adverts.
If, in the liberal democratic west, we dont want our own internet to get locked down china/russia style and our elections to get canceled, as people living in internet glass houses maaaaaybe we shouldnt be throwing quite so many stones.
As someone not from the west, I can relate to your viewpoints. While Iran and Venezuela, for example, may be flawed democracies, the west forgets that those who came to power there did so after a popular uprising and revolution. And just because the west doesn't like the current leaders there (for asserting their sovereignty on economic affairs), I am often bemused by the lack of political understanding of many westerners here who think just because Iranians are disgruntled at their current rulers, they are waiting to welcome the son of a despot ruler who they overthrew once, who has lived most of his life abroad, and urges foreign countries to invade his country so he can be the ruler of Iran again! The same with Venezuela too - however pissed of the Venezuelans are the current government, no Venezuelan is going to welcome the current Nobel peace prize winner, a right-wing politician who plans to privatize the energy resources of her country so her family can get back the "rights" that she believes was "stolen" from her, especially when she too urges foreign countries to invade her country.
I do subscribe to the view that politicians like these, who seek the help of foreign powers to come to power, are definitely traitors to their country. Inviting foreign powers to meddle in your affairs is how civil war erupt and lead to the eventual breakup of a country.
>...I am often bemused by the lack of political understanding of many westerners here...
It's not a lack of understanding, my friend, it's hubris.
I am from the US. There's a mindset that permeates through the west that somehow we are "better", because of our values, or our governmental systems, or our economic power, or our military power, or whatever. It is flawed.
We also have a rather naive and simplistic viewpoint that because we are "better", that our viewpoint is the correct one, and that people from non-western nations should just accept whatever we do because it's in their best interest. Oftentimes, though, that "best interest" is in the short-term capitalistic/economic interest of the actors from the West who in turn stand to profit handsomely from the setup they wish to impose on nations like Iran or Venezuela. There is no concern for human life, no concern for the economic or societal health longterm of the impacted countries, nor for the country's internal affairs.
This has cost us dearly over the years. Sadly, the irony here is that a lot of these countries have a very "westernized" populace who just want to control their own resources. If we weren't such assholes to them, they'd be on "our side" as opposed to the overractionary path they have taken.