I found this photo while I was following #IranElection and writing this Break Out The Oreos piece. It’s pretty straightforward: a riot policeman who was injured during the demonstrations is being protected by the protesters, whose movement has adopted the color green as both a symbol and an identifier. It’s inspiring—despite a reportedly brutal response by Iranian security forces, the protesters seem to, for the most part, be participating in a massive, determined, yet peaceful display of social unrest, one in which the lives of countrymen are held to a very high premium.
Even more striking is the fact that the so-called “Green Revolution” has been so self-restrained despite not having a visible, vocal leader calling for nonviolence. That hundreds of thousands if not millions of angry, disgruntled protesters have shied away from a violent, bloody uprising without a centralized leadership to direct them is a powerful reflection upon the character of the movement.
