How to break the neocon 9/11 fear porn frame | The Agonist

How to break the neocon 9/11 fear porn frame

Today, as I post for the ~~third~~ fourth time a list of "three things to do today" I originally wrote on September 11, 2004, I have finally understood what the article is about: exceeding yourself.

So much advice about "appropriate" observances for today boil down to: be small. Close ranks. Disconnect from larger things. never forget -- to fear and hate. Be the least that you can be.

Instead, I'd like to suggest that we mark the day by exceeding ourselves, surpassing the boundaries of our fear and small thinking and tribalism.

My original list follows below the break, without edits. The shorter version might read:

Think for yourself.
Reach out and connect with your community.
Reach beyond your own community to those who may have cause to be more fearful than you are.
Challenge your assumptions.

I appreciate any suggestions or additions to (either version of) the list.

Three Things to Do Today

1. Turn off your tv. And your radio.
Treat yourself to a régime de jingoisme for one day. Today is a really good day for it.

2. Go to your public library...
...and find out if your local branch is part of the September Project, an international campaign to bring people into public libraries on September 11 to share and discuss about democracy, citizenship, and patriotism through public talks, roundtables, and performances--and register to vote. (And if your library isn't participating this year, you have a whole year to persuade them in time for 2005.)

Progressives often yearn for a way to raise the level of public discourse. Now's our chance.

3. Vote with your wallet...
...for respect, communication, and support. Go and patronize a locally-owned mom and pop business--run by people of middle eastern descent. There is still massive racial profiling against "arab looking" people (whatever that means), there is violence and discrimination against Muslims, and today is an extra scary day for too many people. Show your neighbors that not everyone is a fascist. I'm off for lunch to a Lebanese restaurant I just found on the edge of my neighborhood. It's just a small, compassionate way to say the whole country isn't built on hate.

And the bonus round, for the truly brave among us:

4. Take a book out of the library...
...on learning Arabic, or Middle Eastern history, or Islam. Does the thought send a chill down your spine? Because let's be honest: we know that all those books are likely flagged on the FBI's watchlists through the Patriot Act. In discussions on civil liberties and public surveillance, the common defence of the Patriot Act is "but I have nothing to hide...." If you believe that, then go to your library or book store and bring home a book that will put John Ashcroft's knickers in a knot, knowing that your name (and address, and if you buy the book, your credit card number) is winding up on an FBI list or in a file. And if the idea makes you uncomfortable, you may want to rethink your position on civil liberties...and at the same time, go back to that mom and pop business and spend a little extra money.

Shaula Evans September 11, 2007 - 11:03am

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( categories: Miscellany | Opinion )

The Spritual Inspiration of Rumi

Perhaps most of you have already read Rumi, but if not, anything by him is worth checking out. Also to learn about the Sufi faith.

Here are some Rumi titles to look for. I believe his writings to be one of the most positive forces out there.

neophyte September 11, 2007 - 12:44pm

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Rumi Celebration

http://www.asia.si.edu/events/performances.asp

neophyte October 25, 2007 - 7:56am

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august saw a similar celebration

in Canberra
Aust site: http://www.ipcf.org.au/Web/index.htm

graham October 25, 2007 - 8:01am

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"our" government did 911 keeps me in balance.

Lasthorseman September 11, 2007 - 3:53pm

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knowing that soon God will smite the infidels on the Har Megido brings me peace, as well.

_{Turn back to the Constitution - and READ it.}

Rick September 11, 2007 - 8:30pm

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I'm sorry, but I don't find the rhetoric used in...

...point number 4 in particular to be about breaking the fear frame at all. To my mind you're using the same fear to a different purpose. Telling people that buying a book will necessarily place them on a watch list? I find that a less than compelling means of getting people to connect to larger things, particularly when it's clear that your assertion seems not to be backed by certainty.

My understanding is that the statutory basis for this sort of thing would be Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act. When I look for evidence as to whether the sorts of things you feared are happening, this is what I find [pdf]:

Section 215 did not create any new investigative authority but instead significantly expanded existing authority by broadening the types of records that can be obtained and lowering the evidentiary threshold to obtain an order. Public concerns about the scope of this expanded authority centered on the FBI’s ability to obtain library records. The OIG review found that the FBI did not obtain a Section 215 order for any library records during the 2002 to 2005 period covered by our review.

[emphasis added]

I'm highly sympathetic to many of the essential notions that you've put forward here, but it's important to understand - do number 1, and don't fear the obstacles to it you originally put forward under number 4. One properly deals with fear by not taking its counsel, not by putting forward other fears. We need to be sure that the fear is valid, and I'm pretty unconvinced that it is at this point. I'm not an expert on this issue, so I could be convinced that there's stuff going on that I haven't seen, but it seems to me that the double edge that you've put forward is potentially highly damaging to your aims.

I own thousands of volumes that would put Ashcroft's knickers in a knot (including many that he wouldn't begin to know the significance of), and frankly he and anyone else can kiss my pink little ass if they don't like it.

"The spectacle of this great nation which does not know its own mind is as humiliating as it is dangerous." ~ Walter Lippmann

JustPlainDave September 11, 2007 - 6:16pm

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that appears to be incorrect. I know you always like to downplay these things, but in fact the letters have been used.

"In July 2005, the FBI issued a national security letter to Christian and three other Connecticut librarians. The letter sought computer subscriber data for a 45-minute period on Feb. 15, 2005, during which a terrorist threat was thought to have been transmitted. A gag order prevented the librarians from talking about the letter."

I notice that took place in 2005, though after Ashcroft was gone. Ashcroft, for all his problems, had limits to what he would do or allow. Other AG's have lesser ethics. Leaving bad laws on the books is an extraordinarily bad idea, as I'm sure you are aware. They are ticking time bombs.

Look like this one went off.

Ian Welsh September 11, 2007 - 6:40pm

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You may call it downplaying...

...I call it trying very hard to look at things objectively. When I look at it objectively (and question the assumptions put forth, as Shaula correctly points out is valuable) I find that the OIG is actually correct - the request was not a request for library records (i.e., who's reading what books), but a request for the IP logs of a computer used by a patron, which falls under quite a different section of the act.

You'll also note that the request [pdf] was made by the SAC of the New Haven field office. I rather suspect Ashcroft didn't even know who he was.

"The spectacle of this great nation which does not know its own mind is as humiliating as it is dangerous." ~ Walter Lippmann

JustPlainDave September 11, 2007 - 7:54pm

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The ALA takes the 1st Amendment...

...pretty seriously. Most libraries now deliberately purge (or summarize, to remove identifying characteristics) their circulation files regularly.

Nonetheless, when either the ALA or the ACLU found a way to ask libraries (anonymously) about NSLs, the affirmative answers were in the thousands (sorry, didn't find the link on a quick google).

Those of us who watch the other side of the coin, so to speak, are quite familiar with the fact that Gonzales could claim "no verified abuses" because he had made it impossible for the OIG to get those abuses to him through the proper channels.

Further, I would claim that legislation should never grant abusable powers without oversight, even if the grantee was pure as the driven snow.

Gordon September 11, 2007 - 7:54pm

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I looked first to the ALA site...

...and all I was able to find was mention of a survey done by the University of Illinois in Jan/Feb of 2002 indicating that 80 some libraries out of 1,000 said that they had had some sort of contact with federal or local law enforcement related to 9/11. Lots of news coverage dated to 2002 and after that, bupkiss - all of which leads me to question whether this has really turned out to be the thing that everyone feared.

Me, I say go read what you want to read and don't worry about the watchlists. If I'm wrong, I'll be good company in the can (when I have the time, I have a pretty decent bridge hand).

"The spectacle of this great nation which does not know its own mind is as humiliating as it is dangerous." ~ Walter Lippmann

JustPlainDave September 11, 2007 - 8:39pm

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