The thing with facebook
So what, should we launch a campaign to convince “them” that “we” think Facebook is “good” and should not be blocked? That’s insane. Why should I be concerned of what “they” think of Facebook. In fact, I don’t give a shit about what they think. We should either launch a true campaign to stop blocking anything is Syria (Which I deeply doubt that it could happen, given the way this country is governed). Or we just shut the fuck up and take it as it is.
And when I say a “true campaign”, I should stress the fact that expressing our opinions on Blogs, Forums, Facebook or any other god damn web site is not a campaign. And by doing so, we’re merely a group of people that convince themselves that they’re active.
Sorry fellas, I’m out of this.
Wassim said,
November 20, 2007 at 11:28 am
I second that emotion
Yazan said,
November 20, 2007 at 2:50 pm
I second it, again and again.
Golaniyaّ said,
November 20, 2007 at 4:22 pm
So you’re telling me that that’s it “given the way this country is governed”, we shouldn’t even consider expressing our views cause it’s pointless.
Why are we blogging again?
I wonder why blogger and facebook are blocked, perhaps they were pointless.
When will we stop thinking that achieving the ultimate “result” is the “goal”? when will we consider the “process” of an act is instead the goal? Cause within the process we truly lie. No wonder we’re invisible.
Do you think that by merely “writing” we are not processing the construction of Syria? That within the process of writing emerges arguments, horizons, thoughts and approaches that are much needed to be discussed, reorganized and reconsidered than an ultimate immediate result?
How many posts have been written on Facebook? How many readings to the blockage have given insights to what was the case? How did the authors perceive facebook AND the blocking of it?
Don’t you know that by writing a case we investigate it? we unfold it, we study it and then, we try to rightly fix it?
annie said,
November 20, 2007 at 4:39 pm
I second ASH, Wassim and Yazan
sarah said,
November 20, 2007 at 5:34 pm
okay but what do you suggest we do instead? what exactly, i mean. not just vague talk about ‘run a campaign.’
damgeorge said,
November 20, 2007 at 9:59 pm
@Razan:
I’m not “انهزامي”, I’m frustrated. I know how important is our discussion, I know blogging isn’t bullshit, I’m blogging after all. What I meant is that blogging in our case is only beneficial to us. By discussing the issue on our blogs, we are all exploring its dimension, deepening our understanding of it, that’s great! but that’s not a campaign. If only “us” are reading ‘us”, that’s not a campaign. A campaign should target the rest of the people who are not conscious about the importance of the problem. And those people are neither reading our blogs nor joining our Facebook teams.
When I said “Given the way this country is governed”, I meant that I think there’s a deeper problem. It’s the security agencies that are controlling our resources, society and minds. Maybe they’re not the root cause of all the country’s problems, but they are for sure the main obstacle in the way to solutions. I think addressing smaller problems, such as the Facebook issue, is nothing but frustrating to all of us. As we engage in discussions about every single one of em, then new ones emerge and we find ourselves discussing the new ones. Our lives are getting more sad, our energy is getting more scattered, and the people in control are laughing their ass out.
damgeorge said,
November 20, 2007 at 10:01 pm
@sarah:
If I had a suggestion I’d post it right a way.
sarah said,
November 21, 2007 at 3:56 am
even without better options, yours is a valid critique.
Golaniya said,
November 21, 2007 at 6:35 am
I really cant see what you’re saying, you believe in a campaign as “the” affective reaction, and you think it should target larger portion of people, or it is not a campaign, then you say we cannot target larger portion of people for we are governed by militarily regime. So you’re giving us the choice and the option we cannot do. How is that constructive? Furthermore, how is that different from the cliché saying in the Syrian society that “we cannot do anything so let’s go on with our lives”? it’s a pattern you know.
My comment was precisely about not thinking and acting as if we are “any” other society, we cannot launch campaigns, we cannot organize larger portion of people, we “are” a minority not because we cannot make people join us, but that’s the structure of Syrian society after the 70s; numb. By thinking we can only act by doing what activists around the world do then we are misreading our society and we are being ahistorical.
Hence I was stressing the “process” not the “outcome”. We can only “attempt” to launch campaigns, trying to get there someday. This very attempt is what makes me Syrian for I am engaging in the process. You’d be surprised how affective 10 organized smart activists can do in Damascus. I’d hope you can only believe in that, and perhaps join us.
I don’t spend a lot of time writing a comment, I rarely do, but because of that post you write about Al- Bouty I am giving it a shot.
We are trying to organize a silent play scene in font of the Syrian Parliament, if you’re interested let me know.
Damascene George said,
November 21, 2007 at 5:05 pm
ok Razan, maybe I’m not expressing myself right. Let me put it in the most simple way:
Web activism is not effective in Syria, I’m out of this until u guys are ready to go to the streets.
Kern said,
June 19, 2008 at 11:11 am
Somehow i missed the point. Probably lost in translation :) Anyway … nice blog to visit.
cheers, Kern.