on *external* views of #IranProtests 1/ Looking at Twitter (not the real world) diaspora #Iranian community appears polarized into 2 exclusive camps, 1 “for” & 1 “against” #Iran’s gov’t. Nothing could be more misleading & further from the truth than this myopic point of view

2/ Talking point that says you’re either w/the #Iranian gov’t or you’re not is repeated by a minority w/in diaspora (albeit a loud & sadly often obscenely rude minority) that try to paint themselves as the guardians of democracy & human rights & paint all others as collaborators

3/ Missing from their one-dimensional analysis of #Iran is how an overthrow will occur or any thought to its unpredictable consequences. Those of us who thoughtfully consider these logistics care equally (if not more) about democracy, human rights & wellbeing of our loved ones

4/ B/c, in fact, it’s #Iranians living in #Iran that will suffer thru those consequences. If there was a wand that could bring democracy to Iran I can’t think of a single person that wouldn’t wave it immediately. But there isn’t, so instead we study history & consider geopolitics

5/Nuance & foresight aren’t your enemy, they’re tools needed to avoid #Iran becoming #Iraq, #Libya or #Syria. Democracies don’t often emerge from the rightful protests of starving people, instead, virtues of democracy grow from a healthy middle class & cohesive political movement

6/Black & white worldview of some, that like to reduce the complexity of #IranProtests & #Iran’s political future into an “us vs them” battle (oddly focused on people not in #Iran), look for boogeymen to point fingers at in order to distract from their own lack of understanding

7/This is reflected in personal attacks against anyone that talks of #Iran w/careful reasoning that they hate. But it’s easy to point out problems & things you don’t like, offering *solutions* is a more complicated task. So instead of standing on merit of their ideas, they attack

8/In the end, #Iran’s future belongs to the people living there. They’re political ideas & aspirations are as complex & diverse as their diaspora (despite false dichotomy some like to maintain). To majority diaspora voices to which I belong, I have this final note in my long rant

9/Keep supporting protestors in #Iran & *everywhere* else, b/c human rights don’t end at borders of Iran or US. Stay strong & protect democracy at home, b/c if we don’t participate in our own democracy or show up for other communities, then we can’t be the guardians of it abroad