I posted this video (English subtitled version) on facebook (with a snarky comment about banning the use of requiem for a dream soundtrack music), and I think twitter. But as we close in on #Jan25, I feel the need to say a little more about it.
When I was in Cairo over Christmas break, I felt this pervasive sense of a dream gone dark . Compared to the summer, when, despite all the reasons for concern, there was still a vitality and a sense of hope, there seemed to be a pervasive exhaustion, or burn out. Sure, that was a big part of it. The resisters-of-change were the same as they were on Jan24, Jan29, Feb3, Feb11 and ever since. They’re the common factor, and so they dont really enter my calculations. But I guess I felt that the 11-month conscious and intentional campaign by the powers that be (#SCAF, #felool) to co-opt the revolution; to undermine revolutionaries; to re-foster identity politics; to create a culture of fear and hate; to divert our attentions; to stall and obfuscate; to hold us economically hostage; to sow confusion had taken its toll on everyone else, revolutionaries and the silent majority included. The effects seemed visible everywhere with everyone I talked to. While I think we have lost the moment, and will have to buckle down for the long-haul (5-7 year) effort, perhaps the upcoming anniversary and the @3askarKazeboon, @NoMilTrials and other initiatives can come together to create a second chance. We shall see; history is impossible to predict.
In any case, I think this video illustrates the revolutionaries’ nightmare perfectly. It captures the confusion, the indignation, the sense of betrayal, the bewilderment at the cynicism that seems to make absolutely no sense to them, that dreamy, through-the-looking-glass sense that everything is not what it should be, that logic has been suspended. Perhaps it is indeed one of the most appropriate uses of the requiem for a dream soundtrack.
Cairene's Nilometer 
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