From Paris to Cairo, these protests are expanding the power of the individual

[CHIMO]

'We will fight, we will kiss …" says the poster, over a picture of a single rioter leaping over a line of riot shields. "London, Cairo, Rome, Tunis." It may be a bit over-optimistic about Rome, but it sums up the zeitgeist. What's going on is neither a repeat of 1968 or of the "colour revolutions" that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union. Nor is it enough to observe that "they're all using Twitter" – this misses the point of what they are using it for.

At the heart of the movement is a new sociological type – the graduate with no future. They have access to social media that allow them to express themselves in defiance of corporately owned media and censorship. With Facebook, Twitter, and Yfrog truth travels faster than lies, and propaganda becomes flammable.

More important, they seem immune to hermetic ideologies: Bolshevism, Labourism, Islamism, the myths and legends around constitutional Irish nationalism. Sitting in meetings with the discontented from Athens to Dublinduring this crisis, I've noticed how the organised politicos flounder; how they cannot impose their action plans and strategies.

Women are numerous as the backbone of these movements. After 20 years of modernised labour markets and higher education access, the "archetypal" protest leader, organiser, facilitator, spokesperson now is an educated young woman.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/07/paul-mason-protest-twitter-revolution-egypt

[villager]

1. no wonder the elites hate these "ruffian outbreaks..."

n/t