a few differences between now and Mubarak

I’m generally on board with the critique that “nothing has changed” since the Revolution. There’s a lot of truth to that notion.

However, it’s also a slight exaggeration. There have been some changes, some good and some bad, and they go roughly like this:

1. The climate is not as fearful. One generally feels more comfortable mouthing off about SCAF (Supreme Council of the Armed Forces) than about Mubarak.

2. Much more freedom of the press. Newspapers take a lot more risks now.

3. Crime is a bit worse, though still not that bad. Any Western city will still have a higher crime rate than Cairo right now, I believe.

4. Most importantly, people now know they can fight back. The burden of fear has shifted onto the regime somewhat. For the first time, they have to worry about the public reaction, and that’s why they’re limiting themselves to killing 15-20 protestors per day rather than trying a massive Tahrir clearance operation.

Geographically, it’s the government that is on the defensive right now. The protestors have all the strategic depth. Not only do they have Tahrir, they have everything surrounding Tahrir. You can walk straight into Tahrir with no trouble at all, even as a foreigner; you will only meet protestor gatekeepers, not any police or Army. The protestors are able to deliver supplies into Tahrir at will, from what I can see.

By contrast, the government is pinned in in those few blocks surrounding the Ministry of the Interior. (Which may mean Ministry of National Parks and Wildlife in the USA, but it means Ministry of Domestic Oppression in Egypt as in many other countries.)