Small, but Insignificant

-What does it say about your nation and its place on the world stage when protestors cannot even find a "square" to congregate in, but rather are forced to rally at a traffic roundabout. In Cairo as we have all witnessed in recent weeks, Egyptians gathered in Tahrir Square and were ultimately successful in forcing their despot, Mubarak, to flee. Chinese protestors will, forever, be frozen in time (at least one solitary protestor) standing in front of the tanks, though ultimately unsuccessfully, in Tiananmen Square. Famously, in 1917, Russian workers massed in Red Square to overthrow the White Government, having previously joined in the overthrow earlier in the year to overthrow the Tsar.

-Many other squares have featured prominently in the history of revolution. Some post fact in memorial but many others as flashpoints for the movement from unrest to overthrow. The Plaza de la Revolution is Havana celebrates Castro's déposing of Batista's corrupt regime. Place de la Concorde is where the Republique was born and where quite a few lost their heads - literally. Azadi Square holds the infamy in our nation's history as the place where Iranian students began their march to the overthrow of our puppet, the Shah.
-These are a few examples of key real estate marking the beginning of struggles for causes, some right, some wrong. Whatever the case, the ability of masses to rally together and create a nucleus in a large open space is key. Momentum, as defined, is the product of the mass and velocity of an object. A square gives that mass the ability to create velocity, like a runway for a plane. The greater the mass, the greater the velocity, and as we know the lesser the ability to control the outcome.
-So, what happens in a country like Bahrain? The population is 1.2mm but 600,000 odd are non-nationals, in the former of foreign labourers. The country is the roughly 3.5X the size of Washington D.C. (385 square miles). It is, however, a very strategically important country. It has a causeway to Said Arabia and a southern port which is restricted as it holds the U.S. Middle East Operations Force, including the U.S. 5th Fleet. The country houses the headquarters of many global corporate behemoths and has generally been viewed to be stable ally to the west in the hostile see that is the Arab world.
-The dominos, though, have started to fall across the region. First Tunisia, now Egypt, next Yemen, next Bahrain, Syria, Algeria, Saudi Arabia? Once put into motion, the wave of discontent is difficult to halt, like a surging tide over a breakwater. Enough force behind it and the wave creates a flood.
-What happens though, if you are Bahrain? There is no significant square, as such. Protestors have this week massed at a traffic circle: The Pearl Roundabout. While their cause and belief may be earnest (the conflict is, in case you do not know, based on under representation of a Shiite majority in a country ruled by a Sunni King), how can we take a revolution seriously that begins at the junction of the King Faisal Highway, Suwaifiyah Avenue, Road No 5102 and the Sheik Khalifa Bin Salman Highway. 4 roads to nowhere (A Talking Head's song?). How much momentum can gather running around a circle?
-My 3 year old runs around in circles, fomenting all kinds of chaos, but in the end a swift spanking or a bottle of warm milk and he is down, peacefully. Good luck , Bahranians, or at least good night.