Why are some Egyptians pining away for their long-gone king?

[Sally]

I guess some people yearn for what they think were the good old days even though they might not have been so good because they are unhappy with the way things are now.

Why are some Egyptians pining away for their long-gone king?

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• 3 hours ago

King Farouk I of Egypt was overthrown in a 1952 revolution - but now some Egyptians are reminiscing about the days of the monarchy
Amid the turmoil and unrest of Egypt today, some are reminiscing about life under the country's last monarch - prompting an online debate about how good the "good old days" really were.

"I'm begging King Farouk not to leave Egypt to the army," an Egyptian tweeted recently - quite an odd plea, as Egypt hasn't had a monarch for more than 60 years. But that message, and thousands like it, were shared in a sort of mass historical role play that pushed the phrase "Tweet as if you're in the 1950s" to the top of Egypt's Twitter charts.

Online, many Egyptians were reminiscing about the days of the monarchy. Farouk I took the throne in 1936, aged just 16 years old. At first he was popular, but his playboy lifestyle soon grated on Egyptians, particularly during the hardships of World War II. A British high commissioner of the era described Farouk as "uneducated, lazy, untruthful, capricious, irresponsible and vain, though with a quick superficial intelligence and charm of manner." His unpopularity contributed to the 1952 revolution that established a republic and eventually installed Gamal Abdel Nasser as leader.

But despite his unpopularity at the time, the sentiment towards Farouk I seems to have changed somewhat in the last few years. A Facebook fan page in his namethat was set up in August 2011 has been liked more than 2.2 million times.

Continue reading at:

Why are some Egyptians pining away for their long-gone king? - BBC News

 

[frigidweirdo]

This is kind of usual.

Many people look back at Communism in Russia and think it was better. People had jobs and they could live life, even if it wasn't great. In the 1990s things went to hell with capitalism.
In Africa some look back to the colonial age and even apartheid era and see things were more stable.

The problem is that stability isn't everything. Having control of your destiny is what you want. Under apartheid or Communism people didn't have this. And they don't necessarily have it now in southern Africa either. Corruption, crime and all sorts of things have kept it bad. But, in southern Africa they can now hope that they can make things better. They can see it could change, under apartheid it couldn't.

 

[Sally]

This is kind of usual.

Many people look back at Communism in Russia and think it was better. People had jobs and they could live life, even if it wasn't great. In the 1990s things went to hell with capitalism.
In Africa some look back to the colonial age and even apartheid era and see things were more stable.

The problem is that stability isn't everything. Having control of your destiny is what you want. Under apartheid or Communism people didn't have this. And they don't necessarily have it now in southern Africa either. Corruption, crime and all sorts of things have kept it bad. But, in southern Africa they can now hope that they can make things better. They can see it could change, under apartheid it couldn't.

Maybe you're right, but realistically I don't think that many people from the former U.S.S.R. look back fondly at communism. I was talking to a Ukrainian woman in the market after I asked her how she was in her own language. She told me that I was very lucky to have been born in America, and I said to her -- Don't I know it.

 

[frigidweirdo]

This is kind of usual.

Many people look back at Communism in Russia and think it was better. People had jobs and they could live life, even if it wasn't great. In the 1990s things went to hell with capitalism.
In Africa some look back to the colonial age and even apartheid era and see things were more stable.

The problem is that stability isn't everything. Having control of your destiny is what you want. Under apartheid or Communism people didn't have this. And they don't necessarily have it now in southern Africa either. Corruption, crime and all sorts of things have kept it bad. But, in southern Africa they can now hope that they can make things better. They can see it could change, under apartheid it couldn't.

Maybe you're right, but realistically I don't think that many people from the former U.S.S.R. look back fondly at communism. I was talking to a Ukrainian woman in the market after I asked her how she was in her own language. She told me that I was very lucky to have been born in America, and I said to her -- Don't I know it.

The Ukraine is not Russia. The Ukrainians wanted out, as did many other countries who were part of the USSR.
Sure, most Russians don't want Communism, in 2000 the Communist Party got 30% of the vote. Now it's about 17%. However many people vote Putin because he's bringing back that stability, so many Communists probably vote him too.

You're looking at about a 3rd of the population at least.

 

[Sally]

This is kind of usual.

Many people look back at Communism in Russia and think it was better. People had jobs and they could live life, even if it wasn't great. In the 1990s things went to hell with capitalism.
In Africa some look back to the colonial age and even apartheid era and see things were more stable.

The problem is that stability isn't everything. Having control of your destiny is what you want. Under apartheid or Communism people didn't have this. And they don't necessarily have it now in southern Africa either. Corruption, crime and all sorts of things have kept it bad. But, in southern Africa they can now hope that they can make things better. They can see it could change, under apartheid it couldn't.

Maybe you're right, but realistically I don't think that many people from the former U.S.S.R. look back fondly at communism. I was talking to a Ukrainian woman in the market after I asked her how she was in her own language. She told me that I was very lucky to have been born in America, and I said to her -- Don't I know it.

The Ukraine is not Russia. The Ukrainians wanted out, as did many other countries who were part of the USSR.
Sure, most Russians don't want Communism, in 2000 the Communist Party got 30% of the vote. Now it's about 17%. However many people vote Putin because he's bringing back that stability, so many Communists probably vote him too.

You're looking at about a 3rd of the population at least.

I am sure many Russians think highly of Putin. However,people from Russia are still coming out.

 

[frigidweirdo]

This is kind of usual.

Many people look back at Communism in Russia and think it was better. People had jobs and they could live life, even if it wasn't great. In the 1990s things went to hell with capitalism.
In Africa some look back to the colonial age and even apartheid era and see things were more stable.

The problem is that stability isn't everything. Having control of your destiny is what you want. Under apartheid or Communism people didn't have this. And they don't necessarily have it now in southern Africa either. Corruption, crime and all sorts of things have kept it bad. But, in southern Africa they can now hope that they can make things better. They can see it could change, under apartheid it couldn't.

Maybe you're right, but realistically I don't think that many people from the former U.S.S.R. look back fondly at communism. I was talking to a Ukrainian woman in the market after I asked her how she was in her own language. She told me that I was very lucky to have been born in America, and I said to her -- Don't I know it.

The Ukraine is not Russia. The Ukrainians wanted out, as did many other countries who were part of the USSR.
Sure, most Russians don't want Communism, in 2000 the Communist Party got 30% of the vote. Now it's about 17%. However many people vote Putin because he's bringing back that stability, so many Communists probably vote him too.

You're looking at about a 3rd of the population at least.

I am sure many Russians think highly of Putin. However,people from Russia are still coming out.

Of course. Not all think highly of him. I've seen people trying to get out of Russia by getting visas to the UK. They knew they'd stay in the country after their visa ran out.
However no one is going to get 100% support.

But how many Egyptians look back with nostalgia?

 

[Sally]

This is kind of usual.

Many people look back at Communism in Russia and think it was better. People had jobs and they could live life, even if it wasn't great. In the 1990s things went to hell with capitalism.
In Africa some look back to the colonial age and even apartheid era and see things were more stable.

The problem is that stability isn't everything. Having control of your destiny is what you want. Under apartheid or Communism people didn't have this. And they don't necessarily have it now in southern Africa either. Corruption, crime and all sorts of things have kept it bad. But, in southern Africa they can now hope that they can make things better. They can see it could change, under apartheid it couldn't.

Maybe you're right, but realistically I don't think that many people from the former U.S.S.R. look back fondly at communism. I was talking to a Ukrainian woman in the market after I asked her how she was in her own language. She told me that I was very lucky to have been born in America, and I said to her -- Don't I know it.

The Ukraine is not Russia. The Ukrainians wanted out, as did many other countries who were part of the USSR.
Sure, most Russians don't want Communism, in 2000 the Communist Party got 30% of the vote. Now it's about 17%. However many people vote Putin because he's bringing back that stability, so many Communists probably vote him too.

You're looking at about a 3rd of the population at least.

I am sure many Russians think highly of Putin. However,people from Russia are still coming out.

Of course. Not all think highly of him. I've seen people trying to get out of Russia by getting visas to the UK. They knew they'd stay in the country after their visa ran out.
However no one is going to get 100% support.

But how many Egyptians look back with nostalgia?

I don't know about the Egyptians except what the article said, but there are many older Iranians who look back nostalgically with their lives under the Shah. Some time back many had told me that if these religious nuts were gone, they would like to go back and spend the rest of their lives in Iran. The younger generation has said that America is now their home so they would never want to go back.

 

[frigidweirdo]

This is kind of usual.

Many people look back at Communism in Russia and think it was better. People had jobs and they could live life, even if it wasn't great. In the 1990s things went to hell with capitalism.
In Africa some look back to the colonial age and even apartheid era and see things were more stable.

The problem is that stability isn't everything. Having control of your destiny is what you want. Under apartheid or Communism people didn't have this. And they don't necessarily have it now in southern Africa either. Corruption, crime and all sorts of things have kept it bad. But, in southern Africa they can now hope that they can make things better. They can see it could change, under apartheid it couldn't.

Maybe you're right, but realistically I don't think that many people from the former U.S.S.R. look back fondly at communism. I was talking to a Ukrainian woman in the market after I asked her how she was in her own language. She told me that I was very lucky to have been born in America, and I said to her -- Don't I know it.

The Ukraine is not Russia. The Ukrainians wanted out, as did many other countries who were part of the USSR.
Sure, most Russians don't want Communism, in 2000 the Communist Party got 30% of the vote. Now it's about 17%. However many people vote Putin because he's bringing back that stability, so many Communists probably vote him too.

You're looking at about a 3rd of the population at least.

I am sure many Russians think highly of Putin. However,people from Russia are still coming out.

Of course. Not all think highly of him. I've seen people trying to get out of Russia by getting visas to the UK. They knew they'd stay in the country after their visa ran out.
However no one is going to get 100% support.

But how many Egyptians look back with nostalgia?

I don't know about the Egyptians except what the article said, but there are many older Iranians who look back nostalgically with their lives under the Shah. Some time back many had told me that if these religious nuts were gone, they would like to go back and spend the rest of their lives in Iran. The younger generation has said that America is now their home so they would never want to go back.

Same for most systems. When Mugabe goes some Zimbabweans will look back with nostalgia at his time too.

Someone is always going to benefit from a system, and if this changes they'll get nostalgia.