Giving a shit about Human Rights abuses in Iran is hypocritical and foolish.
Not necessarily.
You are right that there are a lot of places in the world where the situation is much worse than in Iran and those places deserve the attention of our governments. Most private citizens do not feel empowered to affect change in foreign countries on their own. The reason why Iran is different right now, is b/c Iranian reformists have a certain amount of momentum, which is lacking elsewhere. Many people feel that Iran is on the brink of change, if only they can overcome a few specific obstacles. I am not saying that this is necessarily the true state of affairs, but it can certainly appear that way to people forming their opinions based on the information coming out of Iran. Be it monetary donation to activist groups or setting up anonymous proxies, this is a rare situation where individuals feel empowered to actually change something through their own actions. This is not the case in the other countries you speak of.
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Giving a shit about Human Rights abuses in Iran is hypocritical and foolish.
Not necessarily.
You are right that there are a lot of places in the world where the situation is much worse than in Iran and those places deserve the attention of our governments. Most private citizens do not feel empowered to affect change in foreign countries on their own. The reason why Iran is different right now, is b/c Iranian reformists have a certain amount of momentum, which is lacking elsewhere. Many people feel that Iran is on the brink of change, if only they can overcome a few specific obstacles. I am not saying that this is necessarily the true state of affairs, but it can certainly appear that way to people forming their opinions based on the information coming out of Iran. Be it monetary donation to activist groups or setting up anonymous proxies, this is a rare situation where individuals feel empowered to actually change something through their own actions. This is not the case in the other countries you speak of.