I have noticed lately that there are people who have independent opinions who do not wish to express their opinions openly. “I fear that the crowds will attack me,” they say. In this instance, the crowd is the people online who will attack that individual all at once because their opinion differs a little bit from the revolutionary dogma. But I do not accept that as a basis for staying silent. In fact, I do not think that a “crowd” exists. There are individuals who have their views and approaches within the framework of their own education and values. People can be wrong and they can have delusions, including massive ones. For example, “Armenia was producing enough electricity, but Levon was suppressing it so that the people couldn’t have it and so they could remain in the dark and cold.” How many tens of thousands of people believed in that fantasy? The fact that that’s a myth does not mean that Ter-Petrossian did not do anything condemnable as President, but this accusation is a lie, absurd, and simply goes against the laws of physics. However, people wanted to believe that because they had a demand to find someone who was to blame for their being cold and sitting in the dark. Can we truly call people who have their own demands a “crowd?” I think that’s wrong.
Or, “Sashik took 50 percent from all businesses.” Over these past six months, not one business owner has come forward and demanded their fifty percent. If a business owner lost half of their fortune due to Sashik, then they must simply be insane to not take advantage of the opportunity offered by the revolution to get back what they lost. That does not mean that the individual became rich through legal means, but no factual evidence has been presented yet to prove this “50 percent” story. Since this fantasy (unlike the fantasy of the first president turning off the electricity) is relatively new, there will likely be people who will want to argue with me, and perhaps people who will insult me. Should I call them a “crowd” and stay quiet? I think that it’s unnecessary to do so. We should not be afraid of the opinions of society, nor should we seek to argue with people who hold those opinions.
Yes, people have illusions. Don’t I? Don’t the other seven billion people in the world?
Aram Abrahamyan
