We all know it's wrong

So why is it still happening?

The government-mandated useless, ignorant, backward, religiously-motivated pig slaughter is continuing in Cairo (make sure you watch the video and the slideshow with this article). I've blogged about this so many times, and had so many conversations about this absurdity, that it's hard to believe I can still get angry about this.

Stupidity makes me angry. Ignorance makes me angry. Waste makes me angry.

And of course, I'm infuriated by the incursion of medieval mentalities into daily life.

If there were no public health consequence - if the government weren't lying through its teeth - if an already-oppressed minority weren't scrambling for their very existence - I'd say, fine, kill the pigs. Knock yourselves out. You don't want to eat pork? That means more bacon for the rest of us.

But I just cannot stand the hypocrisy of this whole thing. I doubt there's a single person in Egypt who truly believes this government gives a damn about its citizens - especially its Christian citizens. Why doesn't the government just dispense with the "we want life to be better for the zabaleen" bullshit and say the truth, just this once?

"Sorry, guys," the propaganda machine would bleat, "But, well, with the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Egypt - which of course we support so we can show America we have an enemy and deserve their funding - there just isn't a place for you Christians any more. So you can either piss off now, or you can slowly starve to death. Your choice, really. I wouldn't count on help from any neighboring countries, though. Or those NGOs. We really enjoy screwing those foreigners over."

I feel like a child who's suddenly realized that you can get punished for something you didn't do. What do you mean, life isn't fair? That governments are stupid and corrupt? That no matter how good a person you may be, you can still get shafted by someone who doesn't even know you exist?

I fervently believe that governments of the people, by the people, and for the people can exist. Even after this past administration, I still want to believe that the American government can be a good, just government, a model government.

And I desperately want to believe that Egypt isn't locked into its current path. I want to believe that the faces I've looked at in my classrooms will rise above their heritage and decide what's important. Would I like those things to be the same things I value? Of course! But at this point, I'd settle for a "things right now are wrong and we're not going to stand for it anymore!"

I want to look in people's faces and see a belief that what they do matters. That voting, and education, and struggle mean something - not necessarily in the short run, but in the Grand Scheme of Things. And even if, like me, they're not quite sure what that means, at least there's an intimation of pride and hope and honor.

Every once in a while I've gotten a glimmer from my students that something I've said has gotten through. Something about bias, or logic, or critical thinking. That glimmer is frequently extinguished when I read too many homeworks - do they even read what they write? - but I have to believe that things will change for these people.

I have to. Otherwise, what's been the point of the last two years?

And I'm not really the one who should be angry here. I'm leaving. Soon.

So many Egyptians are already angry. If we all know it's wrong, why are we still doing it?