This is Iran's Moment

Saturday, June 20th will, without a measure of doubt, go down as one of the greatest and most prideful days of my summer.  On this day myself and 150+ other activists gathered in Salt Lake City for a rally in support of the solidarity of Iranian citizens.  

The day started off with little but a hint of modest success.  Upon the arrival of Jo Anne and I there were maybe only 15-20 supporters present.  There were plenty of signs lying around, but with no one to carry them their message would mean very little.  We grabbed our signs- one with an Iranian flag and another with a juxtaposed image of Iran and a twitter bird- and joined in the congregation.  As we joined in, others started coming in as well- one by one, two by two.  Slowly but surely this rally was building.  Within an hour or so the tiny group of 15 or so people had grown 10 times in its size- still not an extremely significant number, but ever symbolic of grassroots decisions and their building influence over time.  

As the group reached its zenith in population we began our march toward the capitol.  About this time it began to rain as well, only a trickle at first, but soon the combined dampness of cloth and chilly gusts of wind made us all at least a little cold and uncomfortable.  As if preaching to the choir one of the main rally leaders announced: "Please stay even though it's raining- this cause is too important!"  But I doubt anyone would leave.  All of us there already knew the stories of the rain of injustice falling upon the Iranians- rain of boiling water dropped from helicopters, rain and fog of tear-gas canisters, and the rain of innocent blood from the mostly-peaceful protesters.  Our predicament of cold was nothing when compared to their unhindered bravery.

The night after the rally I went to KSL's website to observe the half of my face that was on television and also to read the comments posted there.  Many of them were from people who were both disrespectful and uninformed who believed that the rally was used to "bash" the United States and that everyone at the rally should "go back to Iran."  If I could speak to these people directly I would advise that they take advantage of their opportunity to get a decent education in the United States, because judging by their spelling errors (littered throughout their paragraphs like a field after Woodstock) and their blatant racism, arrogance, and ignorance.  Luckily, this movement isn't about them.  This is about Iran's moment.  This is about Iranian solidarity and the long-awaited human rights that they must be rewarded.  Let's not give up on Iran- even if our support here seems insignificant I'm confident these grassroots will grow- just like they did in our rally.