ACCUMULATING PERIPHERALS

Do you think the opposition fully understands that there’s no turning back now, that they’ve passed the point of no return? What’s keeping them from harm now is precisely their large numbers. That’s the only thing that’s been keeping the regime from cracking down on them in full force.

Should the opposition movement begin to dwindle, the regime will seize the opportunity to reassert its authority and strength by coming down violently on any remaining stragglers, as they have before in 1999 and 2003. And as for the opposition leaders like Mousavi and Karoubi, it will be off to Evin prison (and maybe worse).

Does the opposition realize that the only path to safety now is to increase? I think Mousavi seems to get this—he’s copying what the original revolution did, using every martyrdom as a pretext for more protests, attempting to establish a vicious cycle from which the regime cannot escape. But I am terrified of what could happen to the protesters should the opposition movement’s numbers start to dwindle.

One popular non-conventional practice was to ask nonsense questions, offering bounties in the $2-5 range. ,