By: Arthur Cooper
Submitted: 2011-02-07 19:04:17 | Word Count: 664
The internet is our connector. It is our way to communicate, to share, to relate, to understand, to empathize and ultimately inform. What happens when our connector is gone? What happens when there is no way to reach out beyond arms length and express ourselves? What happens when are voices, that could once be heard by the ears of the world, are now silenced? We are shut off. The world as we know it goes dark and we feel alone, estranged even. Our rooms grow dim and there is a stench of fear; nothing more frightening then feeling you’re in it by yourself. The air is cold, abrasive. The world, as we’ve grown to understand and relate to it, has changed and this change couldn’t be more unwelcomed.
Imagine this is your reality. You shutter at the thought. Well, since you do have the privilege of logging into the internet and visiting the world from where you stand try taking a look at what is happening to your brothers and sisters in Egypt. You’re stunned, speechless. The pictures are horrifying enough so don’t even try to imagine the actuality. These people are suffering in darkness at the hands of a government with God-like authority and a blatant disregard. Why, you wonder? Simply stated: Control.
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Egyptian protestors are flooding the streets of Cairo in an attempt to strike back at a government, under the 30-year rule of controversial President Hosni Mubarak, that has boldly cut off the nation’s Internet connection, along with access to social media services like Facebook, Twitter and Blackberry. This internet cut-off appears to be reaction to the government’s dismay over a gruesome video posted on the Associated Press of an Egyptian protestor being shot. Egyptian protesters have been using social media outlets, like Facebook and Twitter to organize protest using hashtags such as #Jan25 to communicate in efforts of uniting and potentially revolting. Tens of thousands of protestors have been fired at by police with rubber bullets, teargas and water cannons as the crisis continues to escalate. “I suspect the Internet cutoff is just a fraction of what the government has in store for Friday,” says CNN’s Ben Wederman via Twitter.
This internet blackout comes as great surprise to those of us operating in a democratic society. The mere consideration of the possibility of a governmental power that could wreak such havoc renders us completely speechless. In response to this extremity of censorship, many Egyptian protestor supporters and taken to the internet to express their take on the mockery “Everything ██is█████ ████ ████fine ███ █ ████ love. ████ █████ the ███ Egypt ███ ████ government ██ #jan25 #Egypt #censorship” says @RobinwoodChurch.
The Egyptian government may’ve thought they would win by cutting off the world’s major connector amongst their citizens. They may even think the longer they hold out, the weaker the protestors will become. They might’ve even imagined the ultimate silencing. What they haven’t considered is the possibility that this heinous act of overly indulgent control and this blatant disregard for voice and unity may only ignite a flame that could set Egypt on an ever-burning fire.
