"Iranian blogger Parthisan left a comment below urging us to read his translation of a post by Mohammed Ali Abtahi, the former VP of Iran -- renowned for blogging himself -- reporting on the imprisonment and torture of bloggers in Iran," writes an impassioned Jeff Jarvis, imploring the blogosphere to rally to the cause of Iranian bloggers being stomped under the unholy jackboot of the theocratic fear society [former Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky's term] that is Iran. A few excerpts on the mullahs' treatment of native bloggers:
Physical torture, punches and kicks
The classical questions about sexual relationships [to create moral scandals]
The interrogations were managed by a formerly arrested blogger. A few other bloggers who had [given up and] repented before were under less pressure, and were in a way helping the interrogators who had lack of technical knowledge on the subject [of internet and blogs].
"I first discovered the amazing Iranian blogosphere when the government arrested fellow blogger Sina Motallebi," notes Jeff. "I blogged that. Others blogged that. Major media picked up the story. Motallebi got out of jail and then out of Iran, and he has credited the attention his plight got from bloggers":
If what we read here is true, then it is incumbent on us to bring attention to this abuse of those who are doing nothing more than we are doing: excercising our right to free speech. This is citizens' media, and these are our fellow citizens.
There's nothing like the real thing -- the clear and present dangers, physical and psychological, of blogging in a bona fide fear society -- to put one's own petty concerns in perspective. Only yesterday we were emailing/whining to Professor Reynolds re our "fear" of damaging our "blogging reputation" by speaking our mind:
I have felt in the last period of time bullied by certain Christian bloggers looking to intimidate/marginalize those of us who may share many of their moral values but not necessarily their beliefs in a supreme being.
Get over it, girl. Blogging is all about telling it as you see it, and in this blessed country, no one is standing in your way.
Update: Speaking of the real thing, there's nothing like an InstaLanche, baby.
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