Something profound happened this week. It was all over the radio, television and the internet. It was on the front page of every major newspaper. An unforeseen death occurred of an individual who, in the words of Al Sharpton, brought together the children from around the globe. Mourners line the corners of busy LA intersections with bouquets of roses and paper mache crosses. Celebrities are pouring their hearts out on Twitter, Facebook and national news media outlets to express their heartfelt grief and utter devastation over the death of Neda Agha Soltan.
Wait…who? Exactly.
Neda Agha Soltan was a 26-year old Iranian woman who went to the streets of Tehran this past week to protest the corrupt results of their presidential election which poses a threat, if not complete denial, of basic human liberties. She did not get to protest long- she was shot by a member of Iran’s pro-government Basijl militia and died along the curb while protesters pushed ahead, taking the same risk to make their voices heard.
It was not her death discussed at office water coolers around the country, but instead the passing of Michael Jackson. The voices of the Iranian protesters, such as Soltan’s, may not be as theatrical or artistic as the grunts, hoots or hollers that made Jackson an international superstar, but their significance is sadly forgotten in the wake of MJ’s death.
Every major news source this week carried wall-to-wall coverage of the “king of pop” whose legacy is disputable (which won’t be disputed here). What is undisputable, however, is the ridiculous need to focus on a life that brought the world together because of one white glove, as Al Sharpton poignantly explained to MSNBC. “Michael had children all over the world- Africans, Asians, Europeans- imitating his dress style, his dance style.” That’s a lovely picture: a dozen Chinese school children practicing the moonwalk outside of their dilapidated one-room schoolhouse.
If anyone cares, the clothes Neda Agha Soltan was wearing the day she died were covered in blood that poured from her mouth and her chest. I don’t think we will find pictures in USA Today of African school children intimidating her wardrobe choices.
When someone noteworthy dies, the media ingeniously digs up every interesting factoid, quote or reference to create an organic and wholesome representation of the icon. This was certainly the case for Jackson. MSNBC resourcefully provided a two-minute audio clip of the 911 call made from Jackson’s home. Although I tried and tried, I was not able to find the audio clip from the mini-camcorders that provided raw footage of the Iranian protesters who witnessed the death of Soltan. MSNBC must’ve put that on their homepage the day before Jackson died.
The Miami Herald interviewed one of the men who tried to assist Soltan as she lay bleeding to death in the street. “We heard a gunshot. Neda was standing one meter away from me. I turned back and I saw blood gushing out of Neda’s chest. We ran to her and lay her on the ground. I saw the bullet wound just below her neck.” Dr. Arash Hejazi emotionally recounts the last moments of this young woman’s life, risking his own life to publicly speak out about the brutality still taking place throughout the cities of Iran.
I don’t think Diana Ross worried about her safety when she spoke to the media Friday morning, recalling the moments she heard about her friend’s death. “I am in a state of utter despair. I can’t stop crying…I am unable to imagine this.” Yes, Diana, it is difficult to imagine a world where there will be no streets of Neverland Ranch to protest upon.
As celebrities twitter about the heartfelt grief suddenly thrust upon them by the loss of Michael Jackson, Iranian college students ask for prayers and support as they head out for another day of protesting, praying for the opportunity to twitter again upon their safe journey home at day’s end. As our mainstream media passionately covers the up-to-the-minute details from the coroner’s office about the possible painkillers in Jackson’s system at the time of his heart attack, they refuse to question our President as to why he did no more than send a Vermont Teddy Bear to the ruthless dictator Ahmadinejad. And as Hollywood searches for even richer prose to describe their state of utter desolation at losing the king of pop, I have yet to hear the outraged voices of our pretentious elites who plaster “Free Tibet” bumper stickers on the back of their hybrids in support of the men, women and children still fighting for the very freedoms we enjoy every day.
I think it may be time to take a step back from the man in the mirror and see the men and women across the ocean who are willing to fight to the death for what we (still) have here in America. Soltan understood this, as did the man who held her lifeless body. “She was fighting for basic rights…she died on the streets to say something.” Even though it wasn’t through a microphone, she did say something. If only more could hear it.
by Concord
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