We do and we think you should as well because we have so much in common with them.
Their demands are basic. They want to have potable water and reliable electricity. An oil-rich nation has no excuse for an inability to provide either to its citizens. They want jobs and that's a universal cry around the world. They don't want to be occupied which is a valid response. They are tired of and want to see an end to government corruption -- and who can argue with that? They want Iraq's jails and prisons to stop being used as a form to silence opponents and want the many innocent detainees to be immediately freed and can't we all get on board with that?
Their demands are not unreasonable and go to what most of us would consider basic human rights, the very least, in fact, that a government owes the people.
But if you ever doubt how much you share with them think about the 8th anniversary of the Iraq War and how you protested in Los Angeles (as Ava, C.I., Jess and Rebecca did), or San Francisco, or Chicago, or Boston, of Phoenix, or Austin, or any number of places. Unless you were at the second largest protest in the country (Los Angeles was the largest), you were rendered invisible by Amy Goodman and Democracy Now! The program gave one sentence to those protests and only noted the one in DC (which Dona, Betty, Ty, Jess, Kat, Ruth, Trina, Mike, Elaine, Marcia, Stan, Isaiah, Cedric, Ann and Jim attended).
Iraqis have been protesting non-stop, including during the week. But they have protested every Friday in Baghdad (and elsewhere) since February 25th. But Amy Goodman can't be bothered with that. Egypt? It's time to go live. But Iraq? Not a care, not a concern. No need to interview the young people organizing these protests, no need to interview any of the participants.
And doesn't that sound a great deal like how she treated the bulk of American protesters who turned out on March 19, 2011?
Friday, Iraqis were out all over the country. Here are some photos of the demonstration in Baghad.
