Egypt: All Causes Are Equal, But Some Are More Equal Than Others
Egyptian blogger Malek Mostafa has been wondering if we just choose to defend all good causes, or if we tend to prefer some causes over others [ar].
It all started during the Labour Day celebrations that took place in Tahrir Square, Cairo, on May 1, 2011; some people became upset with the fancy stage set up in the square to commemorate the occasion. Malek tries to find out why all this happened.
One of the protesters in Tahrir Square during the Labour Day celebrations, carrying one of the most famous quotes taken from The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Workers of The World, Unite! Photo by Maggie Osama used under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).
Malek writes:
انا مبفهمش اوي في اسعار الحاجات دي, بس واضح انها غاليه اوي ومعديه كام عشرتلاف.
وتفهمت تماما, شعور المتظاهرين اللي قرروا يحتلوا الخشبه, ويعترضوا ع وجود احتفاليه بالمنظر دا”نفس الناس كانت قابله تماما في الاعتصام التاني انه يبقى في مطربين بيغنوا, وكانوا بيغنوا معاهم, بس المطربين دول كانوا بيغنوا ع المنصه العاديه, وبمكبرات صوت عاديه, من غير اي حاجه فخمه
I totally understood the feelings of the protesting workers that day, who decided to occupy the stage and show their disagreement with the presence of such a fancy concert. The very same people had no problem seeing singers singing in the square during the sit-ins. They even used to sing with them, but then they stood on normal stages and used basic sound systems, nothing fancy was there then.
Malek continues:
ومين اللي معاه الفلوس دي وبيسمي نفسه منظمة حقوقيه, وبدل ما يصرفها ع “العمال” يصرفها ع الحج علي الحجار ؟
And who has such a huge amount of money to spare and can yet call themselves human rights organizations? And instead of spending such money on the workers in need, they spend it on a concert?
Malek then moves to his main question, as he tries to figure out why some causes grab more attention than others:
He adds more reasons:
طبعا حيبقى لطيف تكون مدير-منسق-مشرف في منظمة شغاله ع قضية رأي عام جباره, ع انك تكون نفس الصفات السابقة وشغال ع عامل او فلاح او صنايعي الخ
.
It's more appealing to be the head of an organization that works on causes that attract public opinion than have a similar position in an organization that defends workers or peasants rights.
And he summarizes how he sees the market driving people's choices for causes to defend:
وطبعا مافيش مانع,انك تشوف المزاج العام رايح لفين عشان تكون وسطه, مره دستور, مره استفتاء, مره انتخابات, وممكن كوميكس ومدونين ونشطاء انترنت كمان
.
And why not follow the market! Constitution, elections, comics, and cyber-activists.
Finally, isn't it interesting how we choose to stand with some causes more than others. I don't know if it is ethical to do so or not?
Do you see it as using double standards or is it just human that each of one has his own preferences and priorities, supporting causes closer to them and their interests?
1 comment
REVOLUTION FOR JUSTICE?
Its unfortunate how pathetic and hypocritical the Islamic revolutions are. They have neither the credible leadership nor the sustainable purpose. The leadership will soon slip into the hands of the new terrorists and the dictators, a business as usual. The fact is, under Islamic governments there is no guarantee of equal treatment for Christians and Jews or any other minorities. The Qoranic instructions blatantly forbid the tolerance and protection of minorities.The prime example is the recent killings of Christians in Egypt which is no surprise to anyone. Its been going on since the formation of Islam. Remember democracy is the firstborn of Christianity not of Islam.