Last night, after a fourth day of protests in the town of Ferguson, Missouri, where police have been tear-gassing citizens protesting the shooting of teenager Michael Brown, the protesters got some solidarity on Twitter—all the way from the Middle East.
There was some sympathy from Palestinians, who are experienced in dealing with American-made tear gas, and probably also with the kinds of tactics used by Ferguson police: The town’s former chief of police was trained in Israel.
And there was practical advice on how to handle a tear-gas attack:
This is not the first time the Arab Spring sent its support to demonstrators in the US. In 2011, during the protests against a proposed anti-union bill in Madison, Wisconsin, well-wishers around the globe called a local pizza parlor to order deliveries for the protestors. At least one order reportedly came straight from Cairo.