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Newest Iranian regime protest sees dwindling local turnout
Iran protestors promise to maintain weekly demonstration
Only a few hundred people are estimated to have attended the most recent Action For Iran rally against Iran's government amid its most recent violent crackdowns on protestors in that country. Once again, demonstrators demanded an end to the violence, freedom for jailed activists, and - in many cases - intervention by the U.S.
I found out about the previous weekly protest rallies at this locale from an Instagram post by Iranians of San Diego. This demonstration was slated for February 7 in Clairemont, along Balboa Avenue, the same location as the previous Iran protests I attended, but this week it was not promoted by Iranians of San Diego.
I have attended the Balboa Avenue protests against the Iran's government for four consecutive weeks, and have seen up to around a thousand attendees. This was the lowest attended Iran protest I've seen so far.
I showed up despite the lack of promotion. I took a chance that there would still be people attending a weekly demonstration. An Iranian-American man expressed his disappointment to me about the lack of turnout. There will be no Balboa Avenue demonstration on Saturday, February 14. Instead, a consolidation of people plan on showing up in Los Angeles on Valentine's day. Someone told me the San Diego demonstrators were being recruited, to be bused up to Los Angeles for the protest.
As the United States military heads toward Iran, it remains to be seen how long people will keep showing up weekly on Balboa Avenue. Like the rest of the world, they're waiting to see if our government will help overthrow Iran's contentious leadership.
Bill Wells, the Republican Mayor of El Cajon, spoke to the crowd. Wells expressed a desire that someday everyone gathered here would open up a newspaper and find that the radical Islamic regime had crumbled.
People chanted "USA" over and over again in response to Wells' critique of the repression being committed by Iran's government. Protestors frequently bring up women having less rights in Iran compared to many other countries, but homosexuals were also mentioned as victims of the Islamic regime. As far as I observed, Wells' pro-LGBTQ+ stance was well-received. At the end of the speech, the Mayor of El Cajon declared "You will see America has acted in the night. And those actions will lead to a repudiation of the regime that has stolen your land."
It's interesting to note that Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (known as the Shah of Iran when he ruled that country up until 1978) is viewed as a hero by many Iranians in the United States. There were mass protests against his government in 1978 that led to Ayatollah Khomein coming to power in 1979. A customer at a comic book store once told me about a woman who demonstrated against the Shah, but fled after Khomein came to power. One can't help but be reminded of that old saying about being careful of what you wish for.
There were chants to motivate the crowd as people marched along Balboa Avenue. The crowd yelled "Down with dictators!" over and over again. Reza Pahlavi's name is enthusiastically yelled out at each demonstration.
I heard people like this protestor with a mic and loudspeaker chanting "End the Deals" and "Don't Back Down," obvious pleas to President Trump for intervention. Trump is known as a deal maker, but it's hard to know if protests such as this will play any role in whether he does or doesn't decide to eliminate Iran's government as the goal, not compromising with a dictatorship.
Supporters of Iran's government have been trying to counter the negative image of the country's rulers by claiming that violence has also been done by rioters. If the opposition can be viewed as violent extremists, charges of genocide can be discredited. When a massacre occurred in China's Tiananmen Square, the government tried to claim that the problem had started when dozens of soldiers had been killed.
Socializing continued for a long period of time after the demonstration. People seemed to enjoy being around others who shared their beliefs - a country free from a dictatorship that does not represent them. 
Here's something you might be interested in.
Newest Iranian regime protest sees dwindling local turnout
Iran protestors promise to maintain weekly demonstration
Newest Iranian regime protest sees dwindling local turnout
Iran protestors promise to maintain weekly demonstration
Only a few hundred people are estimated to have attended the most recent Action For Iran rally against Iran's government amid its most recent violent crackdowns on protestors in that country. Once again, demonstrators demanded an end to the violence, freedom for jailed activists, and - in many cases - intervention by the U.S.
I found out about the previous weekly protest rallies at this locale from an Instagram post by Iranians of San Diego. This demonstration was slated for February 7 in Clairemont, along Balboa Avenue, the same location as the previous Iran protests I attended, but this week it was not promoted by Iranians of San Diego.
I have attended the Balboa Avenue protests against the Iran's government for four consecutive weeks, and have seen up to around a thousand attendees. This was the lowest attended Iran protest I've seen so far.
I showed up despite the lack of promotion. I took a chance that there would still be people attending a weekly demonstration. An Iranian-American man expressed his disappointment to me about the lack of turnout. There will be no Balboa Avenue demonstration on Saturday, February 14. Instead, a consolidation of people plan on showing up in Los Angeles on Valentine's day. Someone told me the San Diego demonstrators were being recruited, to be bused up to Los Angeles for the protest.
As the United States military heads toward Iran, it remains to be seen how long people will keep showing up weekly on Balboa Avenue. Like the rest of the world, they're waiting to see if our government will help overthrow Iran's contentious leadership.
Bill Wells, the Republican Mayor of El Cajon, spoke to the crowd. Wells expressed a desire that someday everyone gathered here would open up a newspaper and find that the radical Islamic regime had crumbled.
People chanted "USA" over and over again in response to Wells' critique of the repression being committed by Iran's government. Protestors frequently bring up women having less rights in Iran compared to many other countries, but homosexuals were also mentioned as victims of the Islamic regime. As far as I observed, Wells' pro-LGBTQ+ stance was well-received. At the end of the speech, the Mayor of El Cajon declared "You will see America has acted in the night. And those actions will lead to a repudiation of the regime that has stolen your land."
It's interesting to note that Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (known as the Shah of Iran when he ruled that country up until 1978) is viewed as a hero by many Iranians in the United States. There were mass protests against his government in 1978 that led to Ayatollah Khomein coming to power in 1979. A customer at a comic book store once told me about a woman who demonstrated against the Shah, but fled after Khomein came to power. One can't help but be reminded of that old saying about being careful of what you wish for.
There were chants to motivate the crowd as people marched along Balboa Avenue. The crowd yelled "Down with dictators!" over and over again. Reza Pahlavi's name is enthusiastically yelled out at each demonstration.
I heard people like this protestor with a mic and loudspeaker chanting "End the Deals" and "Don't Back Down," obvious pleas to President Trump for intervention. Trump is known as a deal maker, but it's hard to know if protests such as this will play any role in whether he does or doesn't decide to eliminate Iran's government as the goal, not compromising with a dictatorship.
Supporters of Iran's government have been trying to counter the negative image of the country's rulers by claiming that violence has also been done by rioters. If the opposition can be viewed as violent extremists, charges of genocide can be discredited. When a massacre occurred in China's Tiananmen Square, the government tried to claim that the problem had started when dozens of soldiers had been killed.
Socializing continued for a long period of time after the demonstration. People seemed to enjoy being around others who shared their beliefs - a country free from a dictatorship that does not represent them.