People are lambasting the Syrian government for the violence actions they’ve been taking against protesters. Don’t get me wrong what they’re doing is despicable but when you look at the situation you can understand why they’re responding as they are. The end of these peaceful demonstrations have almost all ended up in the death of those in power or the threat of future death after arrest. In the case of Egypt the message they’re trying to send is if you step down we’re going to kill you anyways:
Prosecutors in the trial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak have demanded he be given the death penalty.
Mr Mubarak is on trial in Cairo, accused of ordering the killing of protesters during unrest which led to his overthrow in February.
On one hand I understand the desire for revenge if Mubarak did order the death of protesters but on the other hand every other despot in the Middle East is going to see this and Libya and say, “Well fuck stepping down, they’re just going to kill me anyways.” Putting Mubarak to death certainly isn’t going to help convince the Syrian government to find more peaceful ways to resolve the country’s turmoil nor will it send a positive message to countries where the government is more open to positive changes.