Protests in Turkey

There are renewed protests in Turkey.

The backstory is long and complicated, but if you are interested here are a few articles that can help you get started:

It's About the Park: a Struggle for Turkey's Cities

Delinquent Kids, Revolutionary Mothers, Uncle Governor, and Erdoğan the Patriarch

Brand Turkey and the Gezi Protests: Authoritarianism, Law, and Neoliberalism

Erdoğan's Masculinity and the Language of the Gezi

SALT Talk Puts Taksim Conflict in Perspective

Gezi Park Protests 2013: Penn Libraries

This article, #Yaşarkenyazılantarih, is in Turkish, but it lays out the June protests day by day with photos (p.22-41), which make the meaning more clear (I hope). The issue of the magazine only exists online because the print issue was censored by the publisher.

Here's a song about the protests in June that I especially appreciate for its steadfast, peaceful resistance.

(By the way, the penguins in the video aren't random. In June, the major TV networks in Turkey didn't cover the protests, and CNN Turk replayed a documentary about penguins for hours. Twitter and Facebook were the main ways of spreading information about the protests at the time.)

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On September 10th, a sixth protester in Antakya was killed by the police when they shot tear gas canisters like bullets into the crowd. His death has renewed protests in Istanbul and elsewhere in Turkey. One quick way to get images and information about the current protests is to follow the Nar Photos page on Facebook. They also have a website which includes their other projects. 

To answer the elephant's questions: Yes, we are safe. No, we are not joining the protests. I will support my Turkish friends by distributing information and analysis to you. 

May there be peace and justice.