Iran is angry. Iran has been angry for a long time but it really lit a spark last year during their elections. You see, a reform candidate was actually allowed to run in the 2009 elections. And all polls said he was going to win by a landslide. Election day came and Iranians turned out in unheard of numbers! And again, exit polls said the election was going to the reform candidate and that Ahmadinejad was going to lose.

And then Ahmadinejad claimed victory. Three hours after the polls closed. With a landslide victory. Now let’s put this in context. Iran typically takes days to release election results because they hand count ballots. This year, with nearly double to votes to count they were able to release a conclusive result in about 1/10th of the time. It is almost like they didn’t count the votes at all.

And then, look at the reformist’s hometown. No one loses in their hometown. That would be like Obama losing in Chicago. Or Bush losing in Texas. Iran’s reformist candidate lost by nearly half in his hometown according to the vote records.

The Iranian people were angry. They wanted a recount. Their government denied them and told them to stop being angry. So the people went to the streets and peacefully (at first) protested. In what seems like a perfectly logical and sane response, the government began attacking and killing them. Now the people were really angry. They got a bit violent. All they wanted was to be heard.

Now, fast forward to the past few weeks. Shit has not been stable in Iran since June but it’s gotten a bit worse as of late. On the 19th, moderate cleric (and leader of the 1979 Revolution) Hussein-Ali Montazeri died. State news referred to this man – who was well loved by the public – as the “clerical figure of the rioters.” Which is akin to kicking your mother in the face. When his funeral came on the 21st, it turned into a protest against Ahmadinejad’s reigme and resulted in attacks against protesters and attacks on the reformist candidate of the 2009 election, Mousavi.

On the 22nd, for no other apparant reason (besides being a crazy mofo) Ahadmenijad removed Mousavi from hisposition as Head of the Arts and Cultural Academy. On the 23rd, mourners of Hussein-Ali Montazeri were arrested for mourning in the streets. Protests began springing up in some of the more conservative areas of Iran.

And then came Ashura. Ashura is a Muslim holiday of mourning. It commemerates the death of the prophet Muhammad’s grandson who was the forefather of Shia Islam. It was during Ashura protests that the Shah was helped to be brought down years ago.

The Basij, along with the Revolutionary Guard, began clashing with protesters almost immediately. This time, however, the protesters were fighting back. They lit buildings and police cars on fire, threw rocks and beat the police and military who attempted to attack the crowd. Clearly, a corner had turned in these demonstrations. The people were fed up of their government not listening to them.

There were reports of some police refusing to attack the crowds. One video even shows what appears to be a few officers wearing the opposition green.

During Ashura, killing is forbidden – for any reason. There are ten dead protesters and Mousavi’s nephew was run down and shot in the street. The government has taken his body to prevent a funeral. That was probably Kahemenei’s (the Ayatollah and Supreme Leader in Iran who ensured Ahmadinejad’s “success”) biggest mistake. Ashura is taken very seriously, and he broke the rules. He is responsible for the likely deaths of dozens of protesters and Ali Mousavi. He may have just sealed his own fate.

Now, many people are confused about what the Iranian protesters want. Here is what they are not. They are not pro-America. They are not anti-Islam. They are not even for our type of democracy. But none of that matters. What matters is they are a huge portion of Iran that is being disregarded and killed for wanting to be heard. And, as such, we have an obligation to support them in their efforts to be heard – even if they don’t want our support.

You can start by watching these videos of the recent protests. They are a bit gruesome at parts and they are definitely NSFW. Watch them. Understand what is happening. And, if you feel so inclined, repost them somewhere so the world can see.