The weeping and wailing industry is almost as quick to react to
certain events as the paramedics are, and this morning's paper has a local
runner's group holding a silent run in the attempt to feel
relevant or perhaps to express ire that anyone would interfere with one
of America's sacred sports. Yes, I'm sounding cynical here, but it's
not because I'm callous with regard to the loss of life and all the
injuries, it's just that in recent decades, the public reaction to high
profile death has been so orchestrated and so formulaic that it cheapens
the moment and distracts us from seeing such things in context. I'm not
interested in crying, I don't subscribe to self-pity and I don't need
closure or healing. I'm interested in being able to keep the kind of
things that have plagued us all at least since Guy Fawkes tried to blow
up Parliament from happening, as much as is possible in a free country.
Judging
from other events, we'll soon be seeing piles of Teddy Bears on Boston
streets and other silent runnings slowly turning our anger and
willingness to learn from this event into a declining series of maudlin
and sentimental exhibitions of self-pity and the lachrymose quest for
'healing.' One might forget just how rare such occurrences are in our
country. One will forget what must be done to keep things that
way. Our record, at least since the Oklahoma City bombing and the
events of 2001, to thwart bombing attempts has been pretty good and the
mawkish mourning and stuffed animal social club hasn't played much of a
part.
According to a CNN.com editorial, only one successful bombing
in America has been carried out since 9/11/01 -- by a White
Supremacist. In the decade before that there were many, not the least of
which were the killing of 168 in Oklahoma City, the 1998 Olympic
bombing in Atlanta and the 1993 World Trade garage bomb which killed 6.
I don't include the horror of the 'Branch Davidian' holocaust, where
David Koresh and his devout men of valor as he called them burned his followers to death.
What
can we learn from the recent past? That such events are pretty rare in
America and getting more so as compared with Europe -- that our
domestic politics of anger and violence is costly, for another. 380
people have been indicted on terrorism-related charges in the United
States between September 11, 2001 and December 31 2012 and of those 207
have been so-called 'jihadists' or Muslim extremists, but non-Muslim
perpetrators, 80% of whom have been American "conservatives" have killed 29 versus 17 by Muslims. All this and more from a Syracuse University study.
But
we've obviously gotten better. We're catching nearly all the bombers
and poisoners before they can act. We'll never achieve perfect safety,
not even if we achieve a perfect police state, but we'll come closer if
we pay more attention to our own potential terrorists all across the
political and religious spectrum and spend less time wallowing in
stylized and choreographed sorrow.
Is it time to
notice just how much of our grossly exaggerated fear of mad bombers
should be directed toward the American Right? How much is fueled by
Rush and Fox and Coulter and Bachmann and yes, the holy hellfire
Christian Conservatives?
"the public reaction to high profile death has been so orchestrated and so formulaic that it cheapens the moment and distracts us from seeing such things in context."
ReplyDeleteAnd also, to systematically dissipate any momentum that may exist to do anything about the problem. We're seeing this now, with Newtown, where all the public desire for some sort of change is about to come to nothing. And we are about to see it with this bombing. If it turns out that it was done by a Muslim religious lunatic, we'll be treated to an endless orgy of mindless hatred which accomplishes nothing, and if it turns out to be one of our own religious lunatics, it will be swept under the carpet as fast as possible, to prevent Americans from dwelling on what we have become.
The kind of hyper-emotional/irrational reaction we see to this may be just part of the craziness that spawned it. There's power and profit in keeping people at the edge of hysteria, conducting our emotions, directing them toward some unseen end.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading a piece this morning titled "a nation mourns" I saw a picture of a guy in a wheelchair with most of one leg blown off and part of another, tendons and bones hanging out of the stump, I sure as hell wasn't "mourning" or anything like it. I'm so angry at the bombers, the poisoners, the crusaders and their damned 'causes' -- angry at the hetemongers, the dehumanizers and all the right and left hands of some bogus god. I'm angry at the News corporations getting fat from riling up the rabble, the crusading politicians, the bigots and more bastards than I can begin to list. There is more blood on more hands then we can do anything about.
What we need is some voice telling us we don't need the cringing, sobbing and weeping. We don't need to tell ourselves we're "terrorized." I'm not afraid and most people are not afraid. We're angry and we want an end to all these self-righteous and inhuman acts.
ReplyDeleteIs it time to notice just how much of our grossly exaggerated fear of mad bombers should be directed toward the American Right? How much is fueled by Rush and Fox and Coulter and Bachmann and yes, the holy hellfire Christian Conservatives?
ReplyDeleteYes, it IS time to direct our wrath and resentments towards the American Reich wing, and it is long overdue too. The Reich panders their bullshit to enrich themselves: but what offends me most is - not merely the manufactured outrage, the self-serving lies, their authoritarian prescriptions on how to behave and what to think – but their telling me what to FEEL. No one scripts my feelings for me. This is the most oppressive and unforgivable offense of all and the one that stirs my anger and contempt.
IOW, the American Reich wing respects NO BOUNDARIES.
DeleteRespect for the individual specifically and human life in general seems to be nothing more than empty words for some. As the decades have passed I have noticed, or perhaps more accuretly perceived a steady gradual deterioration in the overall level of respect for the others rights. Equally as troubling, at least for me is the shift away from accepting responsibility for ones actions and the readiness to assign blame to others, In saying this I single out no particular party or political beliefs. Why I say this is because there are shitheads on the right and there are shitheads on the left. This is really a given, for the rest of us isn't it about time we started ignoring the shitheads, vote them out of office, and come together as Americans and solve problems? Or is it better to continue the partisan madness?
ReplyDeleteI find myself thinking of the Roman Empire. Internal decadence and weakness caused the fall. Perhaps the specifics are different but I fear a similar fate awaits this nation.
Our problems are deeper than just the right wing in politics, although they certainly figure in the problem. I am really concerned for my grandchildren as I believe this nation will fall to tyranny of some stripe before it finally falls.
Well, As of this morning, one suspect is dead and the other is leading cops on a hollywood style chase through a Boston suburb. Seems, if these are the real perps, that they're from the former Soviet Union with an agenda that isn't clear. One cop is dead in a shootout and another wounded and bullets are flying.
ReplyDeleteSounds like at least some people aren't hiding under the bed in 'terror' or mourning and mumbling about not hurting people. I hope they take the bastard alive.
Taking the bastard alive would be excellent. We very well could extract information of immense value. When the process is done try him and if found guilty then put him to an unspeakable torturous and slow death.
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