Iranian reactions from across social media outlets

Following Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's 'landslide' victory in Saturday's national elections in Iran, reports of violent protests - with video and photo evidence - have circulated at breakneck speed on Twitter, Facebook and other social media outlets as well as on non-mainstream media websites.

News that Ahmadinejad was re-elected for a second presidency term when his main rival Mir Hossein Mousavi was expected to win, largely due to the 'young' vote, drew thousands into the streets of Teheran and across other cities in Iran to demonstrate on Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Anti-riot police have reportedly wounded dozens of male and female protesters. 

The disappointment has been rampant among Iran's young, educated population. As one 'facebooker' put it: "This is not the will of the Iranian people; they are mostly in shock or despair, and the braver ones are being mercilessly beaten on the streets."

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A familiar scene in Teheran

Some time ago, as Teheran's violent heat finally subsided signaling summer's demise, I found myself wandering in a certain bustling city square in search of an elusive hole-in-the wall that is world-renown for its pomegranate juice. As I made my way through the labyrinth that is Teheran's mid-day traffic to reach the other side of the square, I suddenly noticed that there were two large police buses accompanied with a few police vehicles surrounded by male officers overlooking the activities of their female cohorts as they questioned pedestrians.

To Teheranis, this familiar scene is usually displayed when "cultural vagrants" were being purged (i.e. women whose shade of lipstick, painted toe nails, or snug mantoes (Persian for long baggy dress, taken from the French word "manteau") happen not to coincide with Islamic virtues. On occasion, though rarely, even men were known for being impeded; questioned on why they were wearing a Metallica T-shirt or why their hairstyle made them look like some cartoon character from a Japanese animation series.

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