But it should mean so much more.
First the background:
On June 12th, Iranians went to the polls to vote at their 10th presidential election since 1979.
The opponents were Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (the incumbent) and Mir Hossein Mousavi, a former Prime Minister of Iran.
After the election, Mir Hossein Mousavi was not declared the winner.
Protests began.
In a nutshell — that is what I knew……..
Then Twitter started coming alive with “TURN YOUR AVATAR GREEN” in support.
Hmmm, in support of what???
Hmmm, I click this link you provide for me to turn my avatar green………but what do I really know??
SO…………I ask a question to my PLN, to my network, to my peers — why did you go green? What information do you have that persuaded you to take a stand?
I am not being rude or cocky — I just really want to know. What facts did you have before making a decision to change your avatar color and take a stand for something?
And I also ask another question — what information have you provided to people to help them become more aware of the situation other than just a link to turn green?
And again, not being rude here………just really wanting to know how as educators we can (it seems) ask for people to make a choice just based on a click of a link that will change your avatar to green.
Going green……..without knowledge of why you did………….is……………….WAIT……
NO BACK UP………..
Doing anything……..without the understanding of why you did………is so unwise.
And providing a link to click on (in this case avatar color change) without providing more information of the situation and of the whats and whys is educationally irresponsible.
I would like to persuade everyone who has provided the link to “going green” to back up and also offer a link to exactly what going green is saying. Provide links to articles of the unrest. Provide information provided truthfully by the news of what is going on. Be a resource of more than just “click here to change the color of your avatar.”
Show your support by sharing information!
Jen
I just “went green” today after resisting for a week. I made this decision after listening to The Clever Sheep’s latest podcast (#iranelection) and after listening to extensive coverage on NPR (as extensive as it can be without access). I also became very interested in Iranian politics after watching the movie Persepolis, which is a really good primer for the revolution there.
I do not take siding with “a movement” lightly. I happen to believe in the people’s right to voice their opinions more than any single leader being president there. That is what I believe “going green” in this sense is all about.
thanks jen.
i felt the same.
thank you for voicing it in your oh so wise voice.
i want to be a part of the revolution. but i want to make informed choices.
Jen,
If you lose followers over this one, then so be it. . I had some similar thoughts when I turned mine green, tweeted it, and then got a tweet form @jtan who asked me, “Just how will turning your avatar green help Iran?”
I realized I didn’t know. I realized I had just done it because people I respect had also done it.
My brother (the guy in my previous avatar picture) is over in Iraq, so I am sensitive to what’s going on in that part of the world. I worry when unrest develops anywhere near him. So I turned my pic green when I knew democracy and freedom were at risk.
However, after the question, I realized I needed to do some research and find out the issues–and beyond that, UNDERSTAND the issues before blindly following the crowd.
Notice I am not green now. I haven’t had time to do the research, to learn the situation, to understand what turning my avatar green really means.
AND, I really want to answert @JTan’s question before I go back green.
And, the thing I really goofed up on is that I don’t know where the copy of my pic with my Marine brother and I in it is. I lost looking at him each day on Twitter by being impulsive!
Thanks for your, as always, thought-provoking–and thoughtful–post.
Why did I go green?
I went green to support the opposition in Iran in their quest for open discussion and their right to have their voices heard.
I lived in Iran for 2 years during the reign of the Shah. When able, I still communicate with a colleague there as well as with several other educators through the EVO (Electronic Vilage Online). I am green to support them.
Why do I feel they need support? A few reasons:
1 – The normal ballot counts in Iran trickle in hours after polls closed. This time, huge chunks of results — millions at a time — poured in almost immediately from a huge turnout of about 85 percent of Iran’s 46.2 million voters. Very unusual
2 – The near immediate expulsion of foreign press.
3 – The attempt to shut down internet communications.
4 – The raids through the dorms at Tehran university.
5 – The involvement of the Basij militia.
I do not have direct links supporting these points, they have been gleaned from news articles across the internet and images posted by those able to get information out.
Some thoughts on my greenery. Looking forward to reading others.
Jen, I changed my avatar green early in the week as soon as I started reading the #IranElection tweets and understanding what was happening over there. I support free and fair elections and the right of these people to choose the leader that they want. Their choice may not be much different from what they have had before, but it would still be their choice.
I also have a personal connection with a family friend who lives with his family in Iran. In the 1980s he lived and worked here in the U.S. but had to return to Iran when his Visa expired. Over the years he kept in touch with our family and I know that he (and others in Iran) have always wanted more freedom and less oppression. The last I heard from him was that he was trying desperately to get permission to move himself, his wife, and his children to the U.S. but having great difficulty in doing so.
I don’t believe our democracy is always perfect, but for the most part we are still able to make choices for our leadership and for our personal lives. We can usually protest peacefully and voice our disagreement with public policy. We have free, unfiltered access to new media that allows us to voice our opinions freely. I believe others should have those same freedoms.
I did not turn my avatar green to just follow the crowd blindly. I only did it after I understood the situation based on the research that I conducted myself.
Thank you for asking critical questions about this “greening” of the Twitter avatars.
I am so glad I live in a country where we are free to express our opinions, support causes with which we agree, and change our avatars to green. I pray that one day the people of Iran will enjoy the same freedom. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
As the more and more twitter avatars started turning green, I posted the following on Twitter: ” is wondering if those turning their Twitter avatars green really understand the issues in Iran or are just ‘following the Pied Piper’?” So thanks for taking the time to reflect and comment upon the situation more fully in a post.
However, in all honesty, the turn green movement was just more apparent than the other movements where everyone jumps on board (websites, petitions, etc.) without thoroughly thinking through the process and worth.
My 2 cents…..
I support Iranians right to have the basic freedoms of information. I think that it’s important that Iranians know that we support their ability to share in a global conversation. They want to be heard, and if Twitter is going to help, then let’s all get together and show them that this tool, this technology can really be used to offer freedoms from any place on Earth.
The freedom of information should be looked upon, at this point in time, as a basic inalienable right. To not be heard in this global environment- to not have a voice- is almost like persecution.
Daniel