We’re schizophrenic. We truly are.

Two years back we would have raised hell over a law like the recently released protesting laws. A year back, had former President Mohamed Morsi dared issue a law like that, the country would have gone into a massive uproar and called him a tyrant — not to say that he isn’t a tyrant, really.

Today, we’re accusing the same people who defended freedom of speech, equality and human rights of treachery, being paid and thuggery. The same people who slept in Tahrir Square for days and nights dreaming of a better Egypt are now being called thugs.

We stood watching and cheering on as activists like Nazly Hussein were being dragged, beaten and then suddenly released into the middle of nowhere without letting their families or lawyers know their whereabouts or that they were even released.

They were arrested for merely staging a peaceful protest. We’re watching and saying ‘oh yes, serves them right, that will teach them to know their limits.’ We’re thinking they’re driving the country into ruins because they’re not joining in the massive cooing over the army’s heroic role and crowning Minister of Defense, General Abdel Fattah El Sisi, our savior.

I know Hussein personally, she’s a good friend and I can safely say; she isn’t paid to fight for rights she truly believes in. She was never hired to stand her grounds. She was never compensated for standing by every martyr’s family and giving up her Master’s degree, her promising career and a full-time job to stand her ground and achieve her dreams for this country.

We can disagree with the activists, but it’s truly shameful we cannot get behind their right to peacefully voice their opinions. It’s truly shameful that we need to think twice before condemning violence against women and men whose sole crime was standing in memory of their martyrs. It’s truly sad that those are the very same people who gave up so much for demands we applauded only a few months ago.

We’ve been watching as some — and the word some here is key — Rabaa protestors vandalized buildings, smashed cars, attacked women and men alike and cut off traffic. We’ve been watching and wondering where on earth our government was.

And the one time the government decides to take action was not when they saw a protestor spraying every single wall he came across, not when they saw him sabotage a traffic light and not even when they saw him smashing a car and attacking the passengers. No, it was to drag and beat peaceful protestors who were simply standing there.

But that’s neither here nor there; what’s truly shocking, is that we’re just standing there smirking at the screens and smiling about our heroic police forces instilling security in the country.

Oh, forget thugs, forget thieves, forget kidnappers, let’s get the activists.

It’s a shame. It’s truly a shame.

But I’ll say it again and again; I am truly proud to belong to this strong lineage of Egyptian women who never feared arrest, never feared blame and never even expected a thank you.

Hats off to you, my friend, and I am proud of you.