Arab Spring on Wall Street?

The "Occupy Wall Street" rallies (and accompanying brutality against protesters) have been getting undue media attention in Iran. I suppose the Iranian government is doing that on purpose to deflect criticism of the way they handled thier own uprisings after their botched presidential election. That's why this article about Iranian student uprisings in support of Occupy Wall Street is so fascinating:

The protesters [in Iran] shouted “Down with America”, “Down with Israel”, “Liberal Democracy is finished” and “Confronting Islam is the Last Nail in the US Coffin.” They also set the US flag alight at the end of their peaceful march.

The last time Iranians chanted "Down with America" and burned an American flag was during the whole American hostage crisis when the Iranian people themselves actually hated America. This time is different. They are chanting "Down with America" in seeming solidarity with protesters in America. They see the American protesters as extensions of the protesters in the Arab Spring--as extensions of their own community.

It's a strange predicament... While the Iranian government certainly doesn't want to encourage its people to follow the Arab Spring against their own government, I'm sure they are allowing this particular protest to occur with gleeful satisfaction. I do wish the rhetoric wasn't "America" though, and that Iranian protesters weren't linking this to anti-Jewish sentiment. Iranians more than anyone else should understand how offensive (and erroneous!) it is to talk about "Iranians" and "Iran" as if the people and the government are one. In the same way, I highly doubt "Occupy Wall Street" is about hating America--it's actually about having faith in America, and wanting to make things better. You don't yell "Down with America" to people who are fighting for America.