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Date: Mon, 01 May 2000 16:30:30 -0700
From: frank scott <•••@••.•••>
MIME-Version: 1.0
To: •••@••.•••
Subject: Re: cj#1088> re: Elian, police states, propaganda, Cuba
This is not my take (exactly) but is closer to what I
feel...the scenario outlined by rkm is one frequently
followed, but I believe it has nothing to do with this case.
In fact, it gets danherously close to leading us to
helplessness, thinking that everything, without exception,
is part of a scenario which has been thoroughly planned in
advance, only to make us even greater dupes than we have
been....not healthy!
Maybe this isn't , either , but it is more widely shared,
and again, closer to the truth - I think...
fs
Next Time, I Want to See His Finger on the Trigger: Michael Moore
Release: Sunday, April 30, 2000
I have only one criticism of Janet Reno and the raid the INS
conducted in Miami the morning before Easter. The gun wasn't
big enough.
I looked at that now-famous photograph of the INS agent with
the 9mm automatic in his hand as he demanded that Elian
Gonzales be turned over, and I thought, "This guy is in a
bunker full of crazed kidnappers who believe that Flipper is
a member of the Holy Trinity, and all he has to defend
himself and the boy is that dinky little gun?"
The media, though, did not ask my question. It took off on
its latest witchhunt. One commentator after another deplored
"the use of force." Politicians called the INS agents "storm
troopers." Anchormen spoke of the "horror" and "terror" in
little Elian's face as he was "snatched" ...
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Dear Frank,
Thanks for your message. Lots of food for thought. And as
usual, you do a great job of helping me illustrate my
points.
You say you don't think my argument applied to this case,
but you give no reasons why, so we can let that rest. But
once again, I would suggest focusing on the bottom line of
the transaction - which outcome, in the long term, is the
most significant? Hint: it is rarely the outcome which
receives the most coverage.
In the Kosovo scenario, for example, all the
coverage-concern was about ethnic conflict. As we all know,
ethnic conflict in Kosovo is now much worse than it ever was
under Serbia. The bottom line in that case was the
destruction of Serbia, and that received relatively little
coverage during or since.
The bottom line with Elian is the fact that well-meaning
people like yourself and this Michael Moore have become
supporters of stronger police methods.
Let me ask you a question... Suppose you were in a position
of power, and you wanted to move the country toward becoming
a police state. What kinds of strategems do you think would
be effective? Selling drugs and arms to L.A. street gangs
might be a good scheme, creating situations which obviously
require helicopter swat teams etc. But of course they've
already thought of that one. In fact, they seem to be
pursuing every tactic in parallel. With the Elian case,
they seem to have hit a gold mine.
I'm intrigued by your comment:
...it gets dangerously close to leading us to helplessness,
thinking that everything, without exception, is part of a
scenario which has been thoroughly planned in advance, only
to make us even greater dupes than we have been....not
healthy!
Well, they plan what they plan, and they control what they
control. This certainly doesn't include "everything,
without exception", but it does include nearly everything
that gets a lot of media coverage. You've got to understand
that the media is an awesome tool with which to control
public opionion. And control of public opinion is
absolutely essential to keeping our society running the way
it does.
The empire has two primary things it needs to control: the
globe (economically and geopolitically), and us
(psychologically and politically). Most of us are somewhat
savvy about the trickery and conniving that the regime
engages in with international affairs, but we don't always
realize that we ourselves are also on the front lines. The
Western public, particularly the American public, has the
power to disrupt the system in a way no 'pariah' dicator or
upstart third-world country ever could. Keeping the public
under control is a _core task of imperial management, and
the regime would be insanely stupid not to apply the media
systematically to that task.
One of the things the media can do on a regular basis (but
not _too often) is to get everyone riled up about something.
It could be OJ, or Clinton's sex life, or Elian, or
whatever. It is during such 'riling sessions' that the
biggest shifts in public attitudes can be brought about, or
that the biggest actions can be taken under cover of the
riled sentiment. Just as a film studio can only produce and
distribute five or six major titles a year, so is the regime
limited in the number of 'opinion reform' projects it can
carry out each year. This is not a resource they would want
to squander.
The relevant question, when one of these episodes comes
along, is not "Do they control everything?". The relevant
question is: "Why are they riling us up this time?".
There is always a bottom line payoff for the them, that's
simply how the system is being used; that's their modus
operandi. If you aren't aware of that, then I can see why
you'd find it suspicious that each time something comes up
in the media, someone comes up with a theory about why
yet-again there's a secret agenda. It would seem like too
much of a coincidence.
But once you are aware of the pattern, the whole things
becomes more transparent and obvious each time you see it go
by. You can see them using the same tricks, and refining
them. And you can usually tell where things are heading
fairly early in the game.
If someone's stereo goes missing from their car, you can be
fairly certain a thief was at work. The fact that this is
true every time is not a bizarre coincidence. It's simply
the nature of disappearing stereos. Similarly for media
circuses.
Let's look at your last remark again:
...it gets dangerously close to leading us to helplessness,
thinking that everything, without exception, is part of a
scenario which has been thoroughly planned in advance, only
to make us even greater dupes than we have been....not
healthy!
If you don't understand how the system works, then you are
in effect politically helpless, whether you realize it or
not. If you deny evidence because it threatens to make you
_feel helpless, then you are choosing to accept false
comfort in place of actual empowerment. That is what an
ostrich allegedly does. I know it's scary, but if you
really want to change the system, you have to face up to the
reality of what opposes us.
The dragon is awesome, but only by going into the cave can
you learn its vulnerabilities. The current regime is
powerful but it is not omnipotent. It has fatal
vulnerabilities. You must be willing to acknowledge and
understand the nature of the power before you can perceive
the vulnerabilities.
all the best,
rkm
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Richard K Moore
Wexford, Ireland
Citizens for a Democratic Renaissance
email: •••@••.•••
CDR website: http://cyberjournal.org
cyberjournal archive: http://members.xoom.com/centrexnews/
book in progress: http://cyberjournal.org/cdr/gri.html
A community will evolve only when
the people control their means of communication.
-- Frantz Fanon
Capitalism is not the same as free
enterprise - it is a very specialized
ideology which holds the accumulation
of wealth as the only economic value,
and which demands that such economics
dominate all other societal values.
-- rkm
Permission for non-commercial republishing hereby granted - BUT
include and observe all restrictions, copyrights, credits,
and notices - including this one.
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