Subversive Behaviour (Sam)

Many have heard about the unrest that occurred in Egypt during January and February of this year. The public of Egypt began protesting the 30 year reign of Hosni Mubarak on January 25, 2011, after being inspired by Tunisia's successful revolution. The protests began with thousands of people, mostly from the younger generations crowding the streets of Cairo, crying out "Down with Mubarak". The riots were mostly peaceful, with minor exceptions. The police attempted to end the riot by tear gassing the crowds; however the protests still remained strong.

(Tear Gas being used on the public in Cairo)

As the tear gas failed to end the protests, the police force, known to the public as nothing more than corrupt thugs, began to turn violent. The police beat many people, used water cannons to scare people off, tried using more tear gas, and arrested many. Protests broke out later in Alexandria and other cities against Mubarak. Twitter was the place where many of the protests were organized and was used to outmaneuver the police. Over 90,000 people on Twitter said they would join in the fight against Mubarak, but later that afternoon Twitter was down in an attempt by the Egyptian government to end the protests.

Men, women, and children alike joined in the protests to end Mubarak's reign, they joined together as true Egyptians. Due to this, the protesters won the battle against Mubarak when he resigned on February 11, 2011, and left Cairo. Subversive behaviour can lead to a positive change in countries, like how Egypt is now not autocratic or a police state.

(Men and women protested against Mubarak)

Little Brother also displays subversive behaviour while trying to rid San Fransisco of the Department or Homeland Security (DHS). They go through similar trials like the Egyptians. At Dolores Park, during a concert about gaining their freedom back, the DHS appeared and told them to disperse. The crowd of people refused to disperse, calling out "Take it Back" to the DHS. Eventually, tear gas was used on the people in the park, and more than 800 people were arrested. Throughout the book, the DHS beats, tortures, and arrests people for no real reason other than thinking they could possibly be terrorists or terrorist sympathizers.

Internet was a key role in the Egyptian revolution as well as in Little Brother. The Egyptians used Twitter to plan protests and outmaneuver the police, while in Little Brother, Xnet is used to plan the downfall of the DHS. Like the Egyptians, who had mostly the younger generations protest, Little Brother mostly has people under 25 protesting, like one slogan used, "Don't Trust Anyone Over 25".

All in all, Little Brother somewhat mirrors what happened to the Egyptians this year when it comes to subversive behaviour. The Revolution of Egypt ended up being successful; they were able to have Hosni Mubarak overthrown. The next question in regards to Little Brother is will Marcus and the Xnetters be able to rid San Fransisco of the DHS? We'll have to finish the book to see.

More information about Egypt:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/eg.html
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/egypt/index.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/30/egypt-revolution-2011_n_816026.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/25/mubarak-faces-egypt-prote_n_813572.html#s229544 (Pictures come from here)
http://www.newsweek.com/2011/01/28/egypt-revolution-the-purity-protests.html