If you find yourself under the rule of a bloody tyrant, your list of options is usually rather short. But occasionally, and surprisingly, things can open up. So instead of your usual options:

 a) Obey in silence

 b) Get shot

You sometimes see another option appear:

 c) Burn the world

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29831262

By the standards of Africa’s many kleptocrat assholes, Blaise Compaoré is a rather calm dude. As in, he doesn’t rob cash to the point that there’s the word “billion” in the phrase, and he doesn’t generally leave a trail of bodies in the streets. Still, it’s easy to see why he’s a true goon and the people hate him considering Burkina Faso’s one of the poorest, least developed countries on the planet.

It’s good to be The King

At this point the news is still fresh and reports are conflicting. But it appears the ruled masses did not take too kindly to Compaoré’s plan to run for yet another term after 27 years in power. The people marched on parliament, burned it, and then headed toward the presidential palace. The enforcers did what enforcers do and met some portion of the crowds with tear gas and gunfire.

Just about every person on the planet wishes they could burn their legislature at some point

Some reports say Compaoré’s been overthrown and others that the army still backs him. In their standard illiberal fashion, the hack-fraud-diplomat-squads of the West have oh so delicately put it out there that they’d just rather have Compaoré stay put for stability purposes. Which I suppose you can’t blame them given how this kind of thing’s worked out in say Syria, Iraq, Thailand, Mali, and on and on for the last few years.

Still, eventually folks don’t care. There might be a nightmare for Burkina Faso that follows today. And maybe after all the violence and chaos is over, folks will wish they’d just left Compaoré as their boss. But the human spirit can only take so much. After a while, after 27 years of evil, maybe it’s just time to roll the dice. And hope somehow it all works out.

Whatever happens in the future; for this one moment; this man is free