Somebody Interviewed Assad. Chill out.

Many people I know were quick to jump on Jonathan Tepperman's throat because he interviewed Assad. The interview itself was remarked upon widely for the insane comments that Assad made, completely divorced from reality and quite clearly an attempt to portray himself as a reasonable, sensible man that the West can do business with against ISIS. The result of this interview, however, was very different; Assad simply came across as deluded or a pathological liar, something that was confirmed by Tepperman himself when asked about his impressions of that man. So the crisis is averted and we can all stop beating ourselves into a social media frenzy.

There's a strong tendency amongst Syrians supporting the revolution for group think, and we need to stop that. It doesn't help our case, it doesn't help Syrians, and it just alienates people who might be trying to help us in their own way. Not everybody needs to have exactly the same view. We don't all need to have the same friends, talk the same way, and use the same language. I myself find plenty of pro-revolution Syrians who use ridiculous terminology and say the stupidest things when referring to the Syrian conflict and I bite my tongue and shut up because it's negative and counter-productive. That's the price I've agreed to pay for supporting freedom of speech in Syria, I'm learning to deal with the fact that stupid people will say things and other people will agree with them sometimes. We all just have to have believe in each other a bit more. I want Assad's regime to be dismantled, and while I do worry that the world is forgetting us and that it might even forget about the horrible things that his dictatorship has done to Syria, I also know it is enough that I won't forget.