Here's the thing about overthrowing a regime, even if the regime is full of assholes: it's usually followed by a period where nobody is in charge. And if you think that sounds pretty sweet, it's only because you've never experienced it -- imagine a world where if somebody breaks into your house in a murderous rage, there is absolutely no one to call. Yep, it's basically The Purge.
Jonathan Rashad
But the army guys are at risk, too.
This was the case during both of Egypt's revolutions -- there were stretches of time where the cops just ... gave up and left. As you can imagine, this was like surprise Christmas for any criminals or aspiring criminals out there. At that point, the populace was able to step in and dispense some good old-fashioned frontier justice, which in reality tends to look a lot like a crowd beating a man to death or a mob lynching a pair of alleged thieves.
As Cairo resident Adam told us: "Picture a thief tied to a lamppost. He has been beaten to within an inch of his life. There is euphoria around him; his captors are celebrating their swift imposition of justice. Some are taking pictures with their phones."
Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images News/Getty Images
It's never too violent outside for a selfie.
472 Comments