the uprising

Taken in Tahrir Square, earlier this week.

I have not really weighed in much here from a sociological perspective (and am not about to) but this Zizek article helped me make some more sense of what is happening (in terms of the sociological imagination) on the ground in Egypt. And, harking back to my own work on social movements, this statement from Zizek rings very true: Either the entire Mubarak power edifice falls down, or the uprising is co-opted and betrayed.

Now is clearly the moment when the individuals and the movement either determine a changed direction for their country (at least in the short term) or head back to the status quo. Right now it very much looks as though they are choosing the former of the two options, and peacefully.