Selfie as a tool for nonviolent civil resistance

Selfies are popular. The most recent selfie that got many talking/tweeting/blogging about it was from this year's Oscar's with Ellen DeGeneres and the rest of the stars of the Hollywood movie scene. 

If only Bradley's arm was longer. Best photo ever. #oscars pic.twitter.com/C9U5NOtGap
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) March 3, 2014

But there is a new selfie that would totally beat that. The one that was shared just recently, this past week in fact, during the clashes with police and the peaceful protesters all the way across the ocean, miles and miles away from the Hollywood's Dolby theater in a police van, in Turkey.

Ali Emre Mazlumoglu shared this seflie when detained. 

Selfie dediğin polis otosunda gözaltındayken çekilir (7 Mart) pic.twitter.com/oc5Lit3Z1z
— Ali Emre Mazlumoğlu (@AEMazlumoglu) March 10, 2014

I never thought that selfies could one day become a tool for civil disobedience in a way. Ever since the protests erupted and shook Turkey last summer, humor was one of the most commonly used tools when it came to showcasing the anger and frustration of the Turkish people against the ruling government of the Justice and Development Party. Many songs were written or lyrics re-adjusted, funny slogans and chants voiced, even graffiti had elements of humor especially in Istanbul.

And today as protests in Turkey continue, humor again is one of the most important tools used to keep the spirits high.

Pledging legions in Azerbaijaniwood?

Her brain might be shrinking and her heart might be crushing, but she continues to pledge her loyalty to the government. Sounds like some Hollywood movie?! Well then, welcome to Azerbaijaniwood an all inclusive heaven on earth. 

During most recent meetings with Guler Ahmadova (Gulergate scandal might ring a bell) her lawyer who also turns out to be a doctor on call said Ms. Ahmadova suffers from "increased heart ache and brain shrinkage (???)". Her lawyer complained that despite her health issues, she still hasn't seen a doctor to which instead of complaining, the ex- parliament member only said full of dignity- her loyalty to the government is eternal, even if that means living on with a failing heart and a shrinking brain. 

Speaking of shrinking brains, I looked it up, and unless Guler Ahmadova is suffering from cerebral atrophy (related to "shrinking brain" disorder), which given no earlier reports on that, she (and so are we) good to go. Especially now that her appeal was rejected.

Azerbaijani police officer trying out for Hollywood

No, you didn't read the caption of this post wrong! This officer puts on a priceless look when dispersing the crowd of young protestors. And he is doing it so well that perhaps its time for his big career move? Try acting maybe? Judging by the number of times this photo was shared, people like his talent.

Some of the Facebook status updates using this photo had captions ranging from "This is Sparta", "Sparta", "For Sparta" to "This is Sparta in the streets of Baku! Light your fire!", "Superman! X-Men! Azerbaijani police" (accompanied by three photographs)".