US policy of legitimatizing paranoia

by jst2laws 18 Replies latest social current

• 

  jst2laws

  (January 9, 2004)
  On Friday, the United States Government lowered the national threat level from an High to Elevated risk of terrorist attack -- or as more commonly known, from a Orange Code to Yellow Code. http://www.whitehouse.gov/homeland/

  What a relief. Now we can travel with less fear and apprehension. We can relax in our homes knowing all is more secure than a few days or weeks ago. So, everyone was a little anxious during the holidays. Just a cloud over the good times families had together. All part of a wonderful system established to protect us from the REAL DANGER of this world wide organized threat determined to ruin our lives.

  But then, how did you get to your relatives home for the holidays. You didn't drive, did you? Man, now that was a risk. You didn't make a fire in the old fire place did you? You were much more likely to die from a house fire, or the 50+ toxins you breathed in with the wood smoke, or from the asthma the allergens could trigger. In fact you are your loved ones were about 100 times more likely to become a victim of a mind controlling cult in the US, ten times more risk of joining Jehovah's Witnesses alone, than dying from an attack from Islamic terrorists.

  I lost two relatives to the JW Blood policy in the last eleven months. Why don't we have a Cult color alert system to warn us of risk of extreme religious attacks from within the country? I suspect a lot more people die each year in this country as a result of obeying the Watchtower then those who died in the Twin Towers.

  Please understand I am not minimizing what happened in NY on Sept 11, nor the threat of terrorism. We watched 3000 people die before our eyes. But this current level of fear is not based on what HAS happened but is based on what Government admininistration FEARS MAY HAPPEN. But these are the same paranoid guys who told us that Saddam had a nuclear weapons program, that Saddam was working with and was harboring Al Quiada, and actively producing chemical weapons. Saddam needed to go, but what about those who mislead us about the REASONS he needed to go?

  I am upset with the paranoia of our present government, not to mention the misrepresentation of facts to support their paranoia.

  Jst2laws
• 

  Aztec

  Steve, I can't add anything to what you said. That was excellent.

  ~Aztec
• 

  codeblue

  Interesting Jst2laws....Makes me wonder if such a calculation could be made about how many die each year as a result of unswerving loyalty to a cult?

  My thoughts are with you....loosing a parent is HUGE...I lost my Mom when I was 14, and then my Dad when I was 28...

  Hugs to you,

  Codeblue
• 

  SanFranciscoJim

  I am upset with the paranoia of our present government, not to mention the misrepresentation of facts to support their paranoia.

  Thank you for an extraordinary post.

  The movie "Wag the Dog" had a frighteningly vivid storyline, but was written, IMHO, by colossal idiots, making the movie a mockery of itself. It's a damned shame you weren't available as a screenwriter for that movie because, if you had collaborated on it, it would have become an intelligently memorable film that drove home a stinging lesson to American politicians. Unfortunately, the movie turned into pathetic fluff.

  Thank you for speaking out and putting things into perspective.
• 

  darkuncle29

  I think that the JWs taught us that fear is a useful and powerful tool to be used to control and influence people.
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  crinklestein

  I remember on Comedy Central's The Daily Show when they first came out with that bullshit color coded terror threat. Steven Colbert was standing in front of a traffic light and when it was green he was saying that we can all relax now. The country is in no danger any more. Then the light turned yellow and he said, "Uh John. There's been a change! We are now at amber alert status John! We could possibly be under....OH MY GOD! We are now at RED ALERT STATUS JOHN! We are under attack again! Take to the shelters everyone! This is the end.....oh....wait....now we're back down to green alert status. I guess we're ok again." It was hillarious and yet it made a good point...the color code system is stupid as hell.
• 

  Simon

  I'm cynical but I think the alert system is a wonderful thing for politicians to abuse.

  In the UK they put up the alert system ... and then ask for new powers and remove liberties. Nothing like fear of imminent danger to put people of objecting to new powers is there?

  Of course, the threats are never outlined ... just a 'general alert'.

  Watch for the alert going up and down during the election to generate feel-good or not as it suits.

  BTW: I agree - as humans we are very poor at comparing risk and become afraid of incredibly low-likelihood but well-publicised events and then unworried at much more real dangers.
• 

  Gopher

  we are very poor at comparing risk and become afraid of incredibly low-likelihood but well-publicised events and then unworried at much more real dangers

  That is a good point. The mad-cow paranoia here in the United States is an example of "incredibly low likelihood". Not to say that we can be 100% sure here like they can in certain countries where every beef animal is inspected after slaughter, but how many people in the USA and Canada have ACTUALLY died this year from eating beef infected with mad-cow disease? (Not to overlook the fact that a few did die in Britain before the officials acted.)

  But the government here is in a tough spot. If in the near future some terrorist act DID kill thousands more people here on American soil, then there'd be an outcry of "why didn't the government warn us"?
• 

  Yerusalyim

  Please understand I am not minimizing what happened in NY on Sept 11, nor the threat of terrorism. We watched 3000 people die before our eyes. But this current level of fear is not based on what HAS happened but is based on what Government admininistration FEARS MAY HAPPEN. But these are the same paranoid guys who told us that Saddam had a nuclear weapons program, low and behold, Iraq DID INDEED have a nuclear weapons program, how extensive it was...and how close he was to having a nuke is still not clear...what is clear is that he had the material, ability, and will to develop a dirty bomb at any time he choose. that Saddam was working with and was harboring Al Quiada, working with...well, I suppose that could be debated...harbouring...that is beyond doubt a fact...as a certain Al Qaeda official had surgery in Baghdad not long ago...or have we forgotten this? There were indeed contacts between AQ and Iraqi intelligence.and actively producing chemical weapons. It's not been shown that Iraq was NOT producing chems...the evidence SUGGESTS he was...but when you send your stockpiles into Syria...it's hard to prove. Saddam needed to go, but what about those who mislead us about the REASONS he needed to go? I wasn't misled...how were you misled?

  I am upset with the paranoia of our present government, not to mention the misrepresentation of facts to support their paranoia.

  . One of the fallacies of your post is that you connect the threat level with Iraq. The worries were about an A Q attack and not really connected with Iraq.

  France is still trying to locate the no-show Algerian witha French Passport who was also a trained pilot who is said to have developed a bomb that can make it through the screening process...but there's no cause for alarm...right?

  Something tells me that when the next terrorist event occurs in the US that those leveling the same criticism you are will then be belleyaching that the government wasn't doing enough.
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  crinklestein

  On MSN's website they have news blurbs and on the same page there were these two blurbs:
  
  Terror threat level raised but people don't seem to be taking it seriously enough.
  and
  Although threat level raised people urged to go about their lives like normal.

  So what the hell do they want from us? Do they want us to walk around acting paranoid looking over our shoulders or do they want us to go about our lives like normal?