# Will Tunisian revolution inspire actions in other nations? (Now following Egypt.) \[ed. title\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 15, 2011, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-tunisian-revolution-inspire-actions-in-other-nations-now-following-egypt-ed-title/567703 "2011-01-15T09:24:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-tunisian-revolution-inspire-actions-in-other-nations-now-following-egypt-ed-title/567703/321 "2011-02-01T21:34:49Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > That’s totally an offensive cultural stereotype. > Modern Egyptian tyrants become zombies. Heh, Zahi Hawass is a one-man offensive stereotype, all on his own. 😃 Anyway, I think Egypt would be better off with pharohs as tyrants. Think of the tourism possibilities. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-tunisian-revolution-inspire-actions-in-other-nations-now-following-egypt-ed-title/567703/322 "2011-02-01T21:49:08Z")
> [@Dick\_Dastardly](#): > > Jordan isn’t a democracy and it’s an unpleasant secret police state that’s very similar indeed to Egypt in terms of repression of its people. So saying Abdullah isn’t a dictator compared to somebody like Mubarak is a distinction without a difference. I never said Jordan was a democracy. I said he wasn’t a dictator. Dictators can’t be overruled by their countries parliaments. King Abdullah can and has. For example a few years ago he tried to modify the laws which made it difficult to punish “honor killings” and the Parliament overruled him. > [@](#): > > I’m not supposed to say anything more about Israel being apartheid. I’ll leave that to the people who actually lived under apartheid in the stuff i linked. I’ll simply say that just because people fought against Apartheid does not mean they are qualified to comment on the freedom levels of other countries. Numerous ANC officials and anti-Apartheid activists argued that Libya under Qaddafi and Cuba under Castro were free societies. Others, most notably Chris Hani enthusiastically supported the crushing of the Solidarity movement in Poland and some even wired congratulations to the hard-line communists who instituted a coup against Gorbachev. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-tunisian-revolution-inspire-actions-in-other-nations-now-following-egypt-ed-title/567703/323 "2011-02-01T21:56:03Z")
So. Elections in September. That’s seven months. \*If \*Mubarak makes sure that neither his son nor any of his inner circle runs, \*if \*he guarantees freedom of the press and freedom of assembly, \*if \*he allows free, internationally-observed elections… it could work. Seven months may be enough time the foundations of democracy to set, for political parties to organize, hold primaries, organize platforms. It’s better than holding elections tomorrow, and it’ll avoid the period of chaos that could result from his immediate resignation - _if_, in fact, he actually allows these elections to work. ---
**Author:** ![Xan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ac8455/32.png) [@Xan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xan)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-tunisian-revolution-inspire-actions-in-other-nations-now-following-egypt-ed-title/567703/324 "2011-02-01T21:58:45Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > So. Elections in September. That’s seven months. > > \*If \*Mubarak makes sure that neither his son nor any of his inner circle runs, \*if \*he guarantees freedom of the press and freedom of assembly, \*if \*he allows free, internationally-observed elections… it could work. Seven months may be enough time the foundations of democracy to set, for political parties to organize, hold primaries, organize platforms. > > It’s better than holding elections tomorrow, and it’ll avoid the period of chaos that could result from his immediate resignation - _if_, in fact, he actually allows these elections to work. My guess? He just appoints someone else to his position. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-tunisian-revolution-inspire-actions-in-other-nations-now-following-egypt-ed-title/567703/325 "2011-02-01T22:00:44Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Fuck **that** shit! What Egypt needs – I hereby invoke the [Rule of Cool,](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RuleOfCool) which, as a matter of first principles, prevails over all other considerations of national law, international law or political or religious doctrine – is a dictator who will go Napoleon one better: Reinstate the ancient gods and declare himself Pharoah! Come to think of it: **Is** there such thing as Egyptian neopaganism? You’ll find a neopaganism today for practically every pre-Christian religion of Europe . . . but in an Islamic country, where apostasy can mean death, I have to wonder if it could happen. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-tunisian-revolution-inspire-actions-in-other-nations-now-following-egypt-ed-title/567703/326 "2011-02-01T22:05:40Z")
> [@Xan](#): > > My guess? He just appoints someone else to his position. Egypt is now Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-tunisian-revolution-inspire-actions-in-other-nations-now-following-egypt-ed-title/567703/327 "2011-02-01T22:37:44Z")
In the “bizarre shit I couldn’t make up but makes sense now that I read it” corner: [The Soccer Fan Revolution](http://mideastsoccer.blogspot.com/2011/01/soccer-fans-emerge-as-driver-in.html) > [@](#): > > Egyptian soccer fans are emerging as one of the most significant forces in four days of protests that have already forced Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to dismiss his government and are gunning for his ouster. > > Prominent Egyptian blogger Alaa Abd El Fattah, speaking on Al Jazeera, said the uprising’s most effective organizational strength comes, in the words of Paul Woodward of the War in Context blog, from a quarter that has been ignored by most of the media: soccer fans known as ultras. > > “The ultras — the football fan associations — have played a more significant role than any political group on the ground at this moment,” Alaa said on Al Jazeera. “Maybe we should get the ultras to rule the country,” he joked. > The ultras are fans of Cairo’s storied Al Ahly (The National) Sports Club. They are a key part of the alliance of youth activists, Islamists, and workers rebelling against the Egyptian government because of its failure to alleviate poverty, eradicate corruption and provide jobs as well as its employment of repression and torture to stymie opposition. Makes sense because, hey, other than the mosques, what other area of society allows people to gather in large number, form connections, and generally develop an organization? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-tunisian-revolution-inspire-actions-in-other-nations-now-following-egypt-ed-title/567703/328 "2011-02-01T23:56:03Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > In the “bizarre shit I couldn’t make up but makes sense now that I read it” corner: > > [The Soccer Fan Revolution](http://mideastsoccer.blogspot.com/2011/01/soccer-fans-emerge-as-driver-in.html) > > Makes sense because, hey, other than the mosques, what other area of society allows people to gather in large number, form connections, and generally develop an organization? [The chariot races.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nika_riots) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-tunisian-revolution-inspire-actions-in-other-nations-now-following-egypt-ed-title/567703/329 "2011-02-02T00:02:26Z")
Just saw Mubarak on TV – he doesn’t **look** 82! Does he bathe in the blood of virgins or what?! ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-tunisian-revolution-inspire-actions-in-other-nations-now-following-egypt-ed-title/567703/330 "2011-02-02T00:13:05Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Heh, the dude is over 80 now. How much longer could he be president for, in any case? He wanted his son to suceed him. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-tunisian-revolution-inspire-actions-in-other-nations-now-following-egypt-ed-title/567703/331 "2011-02-02T01:17:08Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Come to think of it: **Is** there such thing as Egyptian neopaganism? You’ll find a neopaganism today for practically every pre-Christian religion of Europe . . . but in an Islamic country, where apostasy can mean death, I have to wonder if it could happen. There are people in Egypt with neopagan ideas derived from ancient Egyptian religion, but they’re basically all Western tourists/backpacker-types. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-tunisian-revolution-inspire-actions-in-other-nations-now-following-egypt-ed-title/567703/332 "2011-02-02T01:29:09Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > There are people in Egypt with neopagan ideas derived from ancient Egyptian religion, but they’re basically all Western tourists/backpacker-types. In the (old) mummy movies there’s always some fez-wearer who still worships the ancient gods. It would be interesting if that were true. I doubt it, the Muslims always tolerated Christians and Jews in their midst but pagans **had** to convert or. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-tunisian-revolution-inspire-actions-in-other-nations-now-following-egypt-ed-title/567703/333 "2011-02-02T05:01:42Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > In the (old) mummy movies there’s always some fez-wearer who still worships the ancient gods. It would be interesting if that were true. I doubt it, the Muslims always tolerated Christians and Jews in their midst but pagans **had** to convert or. This is simply not true. Muslims and pagans live together relatively peacefully in many parts of the world. My Cameroonian village was 40% Christian, 40% Muslim and 20% pagan. People went back and forth between the religions pretty often as suited their social circumstances, and it wasn’t a bit deal at all- the general attitude was that it was the same god, and how you chose to worship god was mostly a matter of family tradition. In any case, Islam can be pretty syncretic in practice, and in much of the world Islam is mixed with older local beliefs. I know my local mosque did a brisk business in love potions and amulets, and my Muslim friends rarely had a problem with participating in local pagan-originated rituals. I’d venture that in much of Africa, Islam and paganism are not entirely at odds, and certainly not usually violently in conflict. For another huge example, look at India. While it’s hardly a poster-boy for sectarian harmony, the religious conflicts there are very political and not really about “We gotta kill all the pagans.” ---
**Author:** ![wmfellows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c2a13f/32.png) [@wmfellows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wmfellows)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-tunisian-revolution-inspire-actions-in-other-nations-now-following-egypt-ed-title/567703/334 "2011-02-02T13:03:28Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > In the (old) mummy movies there’s always some fez-wearer who still worships the ancient gods. It would be interesting if that were true. I doubt it, the Muslims always tolerated Christians and Jews in their midst but pagans **had** to convert or. Mate. Read a little bloody Egyptian history. The Egyptian Christians violently suppressed paganism in Egypt before Islam ever popped up, that dated back to the Roman empire. Jaysus, a bit of history eh? There’s also plenty of Coptic Egyptians who could, if they were complete retards, become neo Pagans, although why they would slavishly copy the idiots who go rambling about Stonehenge escapes me. I once heard in London a Copt scoffing at the silly wankers in UK who are neo pagans putting on something, saying something like “the English weren’t every really Christian, we Egyptians have been Christian for much longer.” Or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-tunisian-revolution-inspire-actions-in-other-nations-now-following-egypt-ed-title/567703/335 "2011-02-02T13:56:13Z")
None of this is interesting, what’s more interesting is the fact that the leadership seems to have bused in thousands of pro NDP supporters who have now started to throw rocks at the peaceful protestors. How stupid can Mubarak get. ---
**Author:** ![wmfellows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c2a13f/32.png) [@wmfellows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wmfellows)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-tunisian-revolution-inspire-actions-in-other-nations-now-following-egypt-ed-title/567703/336 "2011-02-02T14:00:46Z")
> [@Ryan\_Liam](#): > > None of this is interesting, what’s more interesting is the fact that the leadership seems to have bused in thousands of pro NDP supporters who have now started to throw rocks at the peaceful protestors. How stupid can Mubarak get. You’re right mate, you’re right. Watching BBC right now, and they said (BBC) that they saw pro Mubarek people with knives, polearms, bars, etc. And horses?? Jaysus. This looks to me like a big fuck you by the Mubarek regime. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-tunisian-revolution-inspire-actions-in-other-nations-now-following-egypt-ed-title/567703/337 "2011-02-02T14:16:46Z")
How can they expect a guy who does this to honour the pledge to remove the apparatus of his regime in September. Aint gonna happen. He seems the type of he’s gonna drag everyone down with him. Let’s not forget women and children were at the demonstration. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-tunisian-revolution-inspire-actions-in-other-nations-now-following-egypt-ed-title/567703/338 "2011-02-02T14:34:45Z")
> [@wmfellows](#): > > You’re right mate, you’re right. Watching BBC right now, and they said (BBC) that they saw pro Mubarek people with knives, polearms, bars, etc. And horses?? Jaysus. > > This looks to me like a big fuck you by the Mubarek regime. He must be counting on the army standing aside. If there is rioting in the streets, it is an invitation for the army to take over and restore order. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-tunisian-revolution-inspire-actions-in-other-nations-now-following-egypt-ed-title/567703/339 "2011-02-02T14:38:16Z")
> [@wmfellows](#): > > You’re right mate, you’re right. Watching BBC right now, and they said (BBC) that they saw pro Mubarek people with knives, polearms, bars, etc. And horses?? Jaysus. [And some with whips.](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110202/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt) ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-tunisian-revolution-inspire-actions-in-other-nations-now-following-egypt-ed-title/567703/340 "2011-02-02T14:46:01Z")
There appears to be a LOT of roughing up of foreign reporters and news crews, as well. Someone tweeted that Anderson Cooper was assaulted, also an Al Arabiyya newsteam. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-tunisian-revolution-inspire-actions-in-other-nations-now-following-egypt-ed-title/567703.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-tunisian-revolution-inspire-actions-in-other-nations-now-following-egypt-ed-title/567703.md?page=18)