Touché

John Cole, who unlike most people talking about Iran, actually knows his shit, decides to remind everyone of a few unpleasant facts.

The kind of unlicensed, city-wide demonstrations being held in Tehran last week would not be allowed to be held in the United States...At the Republican National Committee convention in St. Paul, 250 protesters were arrested shortly before John McCain took the podium. Most were innocent activists and even journalists. Amy Goodman and her staff were assaulted. In New York in 2004, 'protest zones' were assigned, and 1800 protesters were arrested, who have now been awarded civil damages by the courts. Spontaneous, city-wide demonstrations outside designated 'protest zones' would be illegal in New York City, apparently.
...
The number of demonstrators arrested in Tehran on Saturday is estimated at 550 or so, which is less than those arrested by the NYPD for protesting Bush policies in 2004.

Oooh, it always stings a little when our hypocrisy is thrown right back in our faces, doesn't it? Though let me at least defend the Bush/Cheney protest policy that is now the de facto American protest policy: while there were some beatings, rights violations, and mass arrests on fraudulent charges, there were not mass beatings, police licensed to do whatever they wanted, and that whole shooting/killing/kidnapping/torture dynamic. Also when we stifle free speech and protests it's different because...uhhh freedom, liberty, bald eagles, apple pie, baby Jesus, Reagan, freedom, ponies, freedom.

I guess that's one of the benefits to having Obama in office during this. We don't have to lower our heads in shame like we would if Bush was decrying torture, indefinite detainment, and undemocratic protester policies. Now, it's only a mild sense of shame. America can deal with mild shame.