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Iran's Democratic Process -- the American edition

I had posted about the upcoming Iranian 'elections' and the fact that members of the sitting government were running illegal polling places in the USA -- trying to add the sheen of legitimacy to a corrupt theocratic government and maintain its power. Many of the Persians in the US have Iranian relatives so there is a considerable leverage exerted on them. The elections happened on the 17th. I read Will Franklin's WILLisms pretty much every day and found that he went to the 'polling place' in Houston with a camcorder and laptop. Today he has a transcript and screenshots at his website.

I woke up early Friday morning and read the news at Publius Pundit that there would be an Iranian polling station set up relatively near my house in Houston, Texas.

I weighed whether or not to go.

On the one hand, it could be interesting, I could meet some pro-freedom Iranians protesting the poll, I could interview the pro-Mullah Iranians conducting the poll, I could hopefully get some pictures and/or video of the actual polling stations, and I could see for myself, unfiltered, just how the election was organized.

On the other hand, it could be dangerous-- or worse, a non-event, a monumental waste of time, an underwhelming experience. I could waste an entire day just sitting around a hotel lobby hoping for some fireworks to go off, while missing out on a chance to research and write actual blog posts (and wasting my time, otherwise).

One of my favorites is this exchange:

Me: Is this a free and fair election? [The look on the Iranian agent's face was amazing.] Me: Free and fair... like anybody can vote for anybody they want to? Iranian agent: You want to introduce yourself first, maybe. Me: My name is Will Franklin. Iranian agent: Okay, and... you're a... journalist. Me: Journalist.

Heh... Will managed to be kicked out by the manager of the Ramada Hotel in less than 20 minutes after arriving. The story would be a fun one if people were not living in oppression over there. Posted by DaveH at June 20, 2005 11:51 PM