SHOW & TELL

seamorgh

I'm from a rural background and I can assure you that the regime has no, I mean zero, support among the rural population. We hate this regime just like the Shah's and we want it gone, we want our rights. We are religious [I'm gay and my family is religious which sucks looooool] but do you think they can trick us with religion when we have to go to Bojnord an hour away for bread because our own crops have been destroyed?? Rural people account for 40% of the population, and I can assure you rural people are like this.

Turkmens, Kurds, Baluch, and Arabs are against this regime 100% too. This accounts for 15% of Iran's population. So altogether we can say for sure that 55% of Iran hates the regime.

The only support for the regime is among poor religious urban Shiites and that's it, otherwise even poor urbanites that aren't hugely religious are against the regime. This is what I believe and may be inaccurate but the first two paragraphs are fact I know this. 

But could it be

But could it be that this phenomenon is an Urban rich phenomenon. Let’s face it, the poor and the uneducated tend to be more religious and traditional in their worldviews. And let’s face it again, most people in Iran are from that category. Last time I checked the census, only 17% of Iranians over the age of 18 have had at least one semester of post secondary schooling, which means that over 80% of Iran's population lack tertiery education. It is known that the IRI’s support base is primarily among the poor and the uneducated and, like it or not, they tend to be in majority in Iran and thanks to sanctions and international pressure, it seems that it will stay that way for the foreseeable future.

seamorgh

I agree but the thing is the people with problems [ethnic minorities, poor, and rural people] don't see their problems being fixed by introducing one Islamic leader by another Islamic leader. For them it is certain that the entire regime must go, not replace Mousavi with Ahmadinejad. Until it becomes 100% clear [and not this "oh we're only pretending to support Mousavi but we hate the IRI too"] that we want the regime gone in it's entirety, no we're not going to waste our time, finances and lives on something that won't bring change [bringing in Mousavi]. Yes many protests are revolutionary but let's be honest, not all of them and our goal isn't 100% clear, yet.

They have done it in the past, why not now?

Well, onlyiran, you seem to be suggesting that if the costs are high, people would rather stay oppressed. So you are supporting the notion that Iranians are cowards. And Tabar, you know, Iranians have a history of sacrificing their lives for what they believe in. IN FACT, those in the lower Socio-economic status and those with "problems" to fix, have always been in the forefronts. A quick review of all movements that have occurred in Iran during the past 120 years shows that it has always been the people in the lower Socio-economic status who have sacrificed their lives for Iran. You know, the rich didn't mind shah's tyranny and didn't care when Saddam's army was raping our women and occupying our country. So I cannot buy the argument that they are too poor to protest.

I agree with obama

it's life first and then politics, mostly people who don't have financial or etc. problems go out and protest, those that do have problems try and fix them first. most iranians are against the regime but you can't expect those poor people to spend their time protesting, it just doesn't make sense.

Enjoy it you maggot IRI supporters

with your silly and stupid comments.  Your day will come too.  trust me...

and "seamorgh": Here's one way to settle that question once and for all: ask your beloved mullarchy to allow free demonstrations (that means no rape, motorcycle riding, baton wielding thugs, etc...).  Let's then see how many people come out.  Deal?  

PS/ no insult to maggots.   

Seamorgh, I gather you couldn't read the link that I sent you

may be becasue you don't read persian.  Good luck at school!

This is not a war, its a movement

What do mean they need the element of surprise? It is not like they are trying to capture a strategic hill or something. If the green movement really enjoyed such popular support, they would have called for a general strike. All it takes is for the Metro workers and taxi drivers not to show up to work one day. Or for the people working at the refineries to go on strike or for …

The reason they did not call for such strikes is that they either know that they are in absolute minority OR they know that their majority is primarily composed of bunch of cowards who would not risk their jobs for their “freedom.”

Seamorgh, this isn't an algebraic equation! Life > protest

there is much more to it than your simple freshman analysis. There were much more Green protestors than you saw on TV. The government was clevery able to make a lot of Green protestors look on TV as they were part of the pro-IRI that they had bused in from the villages.

The most important element of any winning strategy of the war is the element of surprise. The Green by announcing when and where their next major protest would be, are making a huge mistake. IRI has plenty of time to prepare for CHAR SHANBEH SOORI as they did on 22!

If you know how to read persian and would like to get a deep understanding to your question, I would recommend you reading the following:

How can you call them cowards when they protest in millions?

Gotta see the hocky now US VS Canada! I hope Canada wins!  

So why

So why is it that the majority of people in Iran are dead silent if they hate the IR so much? It must be that the country is composed of bunch of cowards then, right?? Isn't that the implication of what you are claiming? In other words:

Fact--> Majority of people are not protesting. They did not even protest right after the elections. Claim--> Majority of people support the green movement.  Implication--> The majority of people are cowards.  

Seamorgh, answer is YES, everyone supports Green ($$$$$$$$$)!

In Iran and abroad. Most care about their daily lives, inflation and quality of life. Majority does not support the regime. However, most of their problems are finacial first, political second. However, the two have merged into one. 

They blame the regime for finaical situation and corruption. Freedom and democracy is another topic that concerns mostly well informed class.

At least, that's my understanding.

dead in Iran, dead in California, still alive on Iranian?

A professor of mine asked the other day, "does the green movement has a broad base of support in Iran?" I said "what do you think?" He said, "Well I think that either it lacks general popular support base or it might well be that Iranians are just bunch of cowards." He went on to say that having  seen how Iranians courageously and willingly sacrificed their lives for their country during the Iran- Iraq war and the revolution, he doubt that the green movement has as broad of a support base as it is portrayed in the west.  He then asked for my opinion and I simply said I do not know.

Where is the education?

Equating Ahmadinezhad with Hitler, and accusing him of mass murder as in #9 looks like a desperate attempt to mass brainwashing.

where are the greens?

Three people show up for the event, unless you count in the green grass on the ground? LOL