CarrieB Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 While watching the celebrations yesterday, I also thought of the lyric: "We have to unify and watch our flag ascend" That had never quite worked for me before, I suppose because in this country the Union Jack has more one meaning, it has been used by racists and is also a symbol of the establishment and monarchy which is the opposite of revolution, but yeah, the Egyptians were holding up the flag to symbolise the Egyptian people truimphing over their ruler. There's nothing wrong with that kind of patriotism and I was pleased for them. Also the lyric: "We should never be afraid to die" This has a lot of significance in this revolution, sadly for the families involved, though I thought it was going too far in relation to Liberal Democracies were you would hope that governments could be overturned without the need for violence or ordinary people being subjected to violence, though some of the police practices leave a lot to be desired! As for overturning capitalism, which the song, Uprising, appears to be alluding to, blimey, that would be bloody hard, and could have pretty dire results as well. I think peaceful demonstration for greater equality and opportunity globally and more balance of profit/economic motives with peoples' needs is the way to go, but I still think that this song raises the issue of "false consciousness" which is very welcome. People need to be aware that they are being fobbed off and used in the first instance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lupus Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Two things possibly happened. One, Matt has unknowingly predicted Egypt's theme song... never would he have imagined that so soon would something happen as he's penned to that precision. Debate all you want on how much the song suits it or not, but it's a more modern protest song. Two, this uprising in Egypt (similarity number two, the word uprising has been used by journalists around the world to describe the event) has inspired Matt once again, but a little more in the way that yes, this stuff he's been writing about for years has come true. Not necessarily the first time, but one of the more publicly known events. Get ready for Uprising 2.0 just kidding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notsomuch Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 It's easy to overlook, in the flush of the historical moment, how 300+ protestors were killed in Egypt over the past couple of weeks. Their sacrifice must be respected. this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lupus Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 It wouldn't surprise me if some young Egyptian eventually puts his own compilation of protest footage on YT with "Uprising" or something similarly-themed for unlicensed background music, but I'm not comfy with the idea of Muse (or any other band) having anything to do with the co-optation of this real news event for their own commercial purposes -- and not just because the outcome of this uprising remains to be resolved. It's easy to overlook, in the flush of the historical moment, how 300+ protestors were killed in Egypt over the past couple of weeks. Their sacrifice must be respected. Really? I had no idea... I'm ashamed. Funny how that's not reported... such a shame that those important sacrifices were overlooked around the world. Ignorance is bliss until they take your bliss away... thank you for informing me, and yes, I have a great amount of respect to those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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