Facebook: At Your Own Risk
"People have the right to express their views which is what they did yesterday. I don't agree with the slogans or the declaration that rang out at the meetings. Nevertheless, instructions have been given by me to check all information from polling stations regarding compliance with the legislation on elections." President Dmitri Medvedev(As my granddaughter is wont to say: "Are you kidding me!?!"
Obviously, the power of social media backlash has not been sufficiently understood. People, particularly the young, use their social media contacts as a kind of second skin. It represents reality to them, being able to send out instant messages, texts, sharing thoughts and concerns, and the older generation is doing its best to appear as though they too are comfortable with the technology.
Unwisely so, as it happens. The simple reason is that if one has a Facebook account one is vulnerable to being contacted and hearing things posted that it might be better for one's personal vanity and ego not to have shoved in one's face. There was a time when politicians were sufficiently removed from the riffraff that they lorded it over to have little reason for concern if they ran afoul of the public.
Now, cellphones and instant messaging means that the disaffected can gather support almost instantly through the medium of messages sharing certain common attitudes gathering people together in a show of psychological brute strength, raining down condemnation on legislators, as well as tyrants. People who take care to ensure that they are not included in the Facebook phenomena needn't worry about having a collective of dissent raining down on them.
Now, it is as though the common man on the street has a special entree to the thoughts and considerations of those whom they contact, and President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia is discovering just that. To his considerable chagrin and loss of face, no doubt. Sharing that state of mind with his mentor, Prime Minister-soon-to-become-President Vladimir Putin.
Whose obviously disconcerting plans to regain the presidency of Russia for another two four-year stints, and possibly within that time alter the constitution to remove that nuisance stricture that only permits two consecutive four-year awards to any presidential candidate garnering sufficient votes. It's the kind of tactic that Robert Mugabe and Hugh Chavez also have attempted.
Who scarcely would have imagined two weeks earlier that a disputed election, mired in accusations of vote-rigging would result in an outrage of Russians - mostly youth - converging on public squares to express their anger and disgust, clamouring for United Russia to come clean and for Putin to depart the public arena.
Five thousand disaffected youth at the first of the rallies was bad enough; how much more significant were crowds of fifty thousand enraged (presumed) voters who wanted their franchise to be meaningful, to express the way they felt, and their aspirations for their country to match their personal needs to live in an actual democracy.
Labels: Communication, Corruption, Human Rights, Russia
posted by Pieface @ Monday, December 12, 2011
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