Time for another episode of “Charlie is Cranky About Current Affairs”.

I’m sick of seeing heartfelt gestures of support for the Moussavi-ites in Iran. I’m especially sick of violence to them being used as implicit evidence of their righteousness.

To do right by a pro-democracy protest, instead of telling your fellow foreigners how romantic it is, learn from it. It’s teaching us about how modern popular revolts work. This knowledge is a more valuable defense against oppression than guns or slogans.

Someday you might live in North Korea, Myanmar, Syria, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe, or a future analog. You’re not going to wish you retweeted one more picture of a crowd getting teargassed. You’re going to wish you paid more attention to what actually happened.

Also, two points about the media: (1) Yes, the internet and especially Twitter are being used as real tools. Let’s stop being surprised and self-congratulatory. (2) We can use this to learn more about all our media: remember what you see now, and think back to it in a few months when there’s more detailed and informed coverage. This will tell you a lot about what to look for in future news about fast-moving crises.