American University in Cairo students, Derrik Sweeney, Luke Gates and Gregory Porter, were arrested on the roof of a university building near Tahrir Square on Sunday. Police accused them of throwing firebombs, often called Molotov cocktails, at security forces during a protest.
“I am a world citizen. Can I renounce my US citizenship on Twitter? haha” Gates tweeted in support of world democracy during the protest. He also tweeted that he was injured by rubber bullets and a retreat earlier in the night.
There is also a video of protest that showed at least two of the students protesting with the Egyptians, although half of their faces were covered by bandanas. The only footage of this video that I could find was from the Egyptian news.
It was announced early on Thursday that the court ordered that the boys be released from jail, but no one knew how long the out-processing stage would take. Thankfully, the three students were released from custody that same afternoon ET.
While her son was in jail, Joy Sweeney refused to plan any kind of Thanksgiving celebration, because it seemed “absolutely irrelevant.” Instead, she waited with baited breath for the Egyptian courts to finish the administration side of the boys’ release.
Attorney Theodore Simon talked to Porter on the phone that day and said that Porter was “extremely thankful and appreciative for our efforts and unconditional support of his mother and father.”
After their release, Roberto Powers, the U.S. consul general in Egypt, recommended that they leave Egypt as soon as possible to avoid any further issues. [via Daily Mail and Huffington Post]
The parents of the boys must be happy to have their sons returning home safe and sound, saying that it made them have something to be thankful about during the holiday. They hope that they have learned some important life lessons during this experience.
What do you think of these boys getting involved in the Egyptian protests?
guest
Spoiled rich kids trying to give meaning to their meaningless lives.
guest
they should be locked up for much longer. throwing molotov cocktails, those idiots
guest
@homealivein45@xanga - I don’t think only “spoiled rich kids” have been taking part in the protests in Egypt.
@Amazon_Bunny@xanga - While I don’t believe molotov cocktails are the way to get your voice heard, they’re definitely not the only people using them.
guest
@fortheloveofquotesxx@xanga - I was referring to the 3 US students. The dead giveaway was, “I am a citizen of the world.” Only stupid rich Americans say that.
guest
@homealivein45@xanga - Actually, Socrates coined that phrase…
guest
@fortheloveofquotesxx@xanga - So? Even Einstein made stupid statements about physics.
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@homealivein45@xanga - What stupid statements did Einstein make? Socrates was a philosopher, there is no “right” or “wrong” way to think about it. To call a philosophical statement such as that stupid doesn’t really lead anywhere. These 3 americans obviousy believed in something larger than their own country if they were taking part in these protests to begin with, and personally, I find that commendable, even if they didn’t always go about it the right way.
guest
I admire them for protesting with the Egyptians, but they should’ve done it with peace. Not with firebombs.
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@fortheloveofquotesxx@xanga - American citizenship is the best thing going. America is the only thing standing between global political and economic stability and world war. We saw that scenario play out in the 1930s and 1940s.
There is no such thing as “citizen of the world”. That’s why saying so isn’t rational. At the UN only the United States is expected to renounce its national self interest. No other nation does.
So an American renouncing his citizenship is a person renouncing his duty to world peace, global stability and economic prosperity since all of those things are critical to America’s national interest. And it is no coincidence that those things are in everyone’s national interest.
The closest thing to being a citizen of the world is being an American citizen.
guest
@homealivein45@xanga - Did you read why he wanted to renounce his U.S. citizenship? It obviously isn’t to renounce any duties, since he seems to be playing his part in the world.
Things have changed since the 30s and 40s. Any country, and any person, can play a role in advocating for democracy in a country like Egypt. Having a choice is something that people too often take for granted, and these men are choosing to stand for something. Personally, I don’t think nitpicking at their choice of words or at the fact that they’re “spoiled rich kids” is okay.
guest
@fortheloveofquotesxx@xanga - The same forces of fascism that plagued the world in the 30s and 40s are at work in the Middle East today. In fact they were trained by German Nazi’s beginning the 30s and 40s. The “democracy” movement is being used by the Muslim Brotherhood exactly like the German Nazi movement used it in the 1930s to take total control over Middle Eastern societies.
Americans who renounce their citizenship to riot in countries like Egypt are actually working for the forces of destruction, not liberty and freedom.
magnolia / 1369 posts
make love, not war . that being said, throwing a firebombs was NOT the way to go .
guest
if the police force in Egypt reacting to the protests is anything like what we’ve got here in the states, then i understand their decision with a little more tolerance.
guest
They were dumb. I understand getting swept up in it. I studied at the same university they did last year. You meet so many people, and Egypt becomes part of your heart. You want to fight for it, for the freedom of the people. But you really shouldn’t, at least not violently. I was almost certain because they are American AUC students they would be freed, but still they very lucky they were in that position.
@theQuickFixInYourArms@xanga - Oh, much much worse than here.
guest
What a bunch of idiots. They deserve to be arrested. And that dumb ass saying he wants to renounce his citizenship. Ughhhh ugh ugh. Morons.