An interesting snapshot of the turmoil that Iran is going through right now. The video opens on a street packed with protesters chanting and walking slowly. Enter the police on motorcycles, who zoom into the middle of the crowd while striking at people with their batons.
The protesters are sidelined but soon regroup and retaliate. They throw things and swarm back to the middle of the street. It’s chaotic but it looks like the crowd turns the tables and chases after the police, catching a couple then attacking them. You hear a lot of screaming and yelling and then the video cuts to a motorcycle up in flames.
The last part shows a young policeman who’s been beaten by the crowd being escorted to safety by some protesters. Someone’s given him a green cloth to hold for protection. He’s in a daze and stumbles while being lead down the sidewalk. A group of people follow close behind with hands raised, documenting what’s happening on their cell phone cameras.
The people protecting the policeman tell the rest of the crowd to go the fuck away. They find him a place to sit and tend to him by washing his face with some bottled water. He looks around like he wishes he’d called in sick that day.
The exhausted-frustrated-overwhelmed look of the young policeman has gotten pretty familiar over the past few days of watching the Iran ‘election’ play out. When I saw this video I immediately thought of a picture posted by the Boston Globe:
Same look same shitty situation of having to be a pawn of those who want to suppress free speech.
More:
A Breakdown Of What’s Going On In Iran -The best all around (and updated) resource I’ve seen so far on what’s happening in Iran right now.
Boston Globe’s ‘The Big Picture’ -Excellent photojournalism of current events in Iran. And in general.
Twitter #IranElection -You should already know about this.
PicFog -See real time images related to the Iran election.
Iranonfire -Images from Tehran. Good coverage of the damage done to university dorms by police and plainclothes milita.
Iran Election Video Playlist -These are basically all the good (mostly homemade) videos I’ve come across that document what’s happening in Iran, updated as I go along.