Welcome home

June 29, 2006

Living in the Dominican Republic, I don't watch a lot of CNN Headline News. So my re-acquaintance with it in the Miami International Airport last week was a real punch in the stomach.

As I watched CNN from noon to 1 p.m. on June 23, a delicate mass media strategy became clear to me. The goal is to foster fear and passivity among the populace without disturbing consumerism. The formula is simple: every main story and major interview should include first a reason to be afraid then a call to go about one's daily life.

The day's lead story followed the detainment of seven men in Miami who had been allegedly in the talking stages of planning an attack on the Sears Tower in Chicago and the FBI Headquarters in Miami.

Government officials coordinated their responses. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller used much of the same language throughout their respective press conferences. They both warned that "homegrown terror can be as dangerous as Al Qaeda," a comment CNN anchors parroted throughout the hour.

CNN reported conjectures as facts to increase fear by invoking religious stereotypes. Early in the report the detainees were referred to as "a radical Islamic group" and "radical Muslims"; an hour later it came out that actually, "they described themselves as Christian - and they read the Bible."

Contradictions aside, the case for being fearful had been built. A CNN correspondent fanned the flames by interviewing Chicago residents about how they felt about talk of a Sears Tower bombing. "Some people were rattled but most took the news in stride," according to the correspondent. Leading interview questions caused Chicagoans to respond with concern but vow to "keep moving," saying they had no control over the threat.

Gonzales and Mueller followed up their preliminary comments by urging viewers not to panic, saying there is "no immediate threat" in Chicago or Miami. CNN anchors commented on the "ineptitude" of the "homegrown terrorists," repeating that the men "never acquired the means" to carry out their plans and that the group was "more aspirational than operational."

More interviews with Chicagoans produced the sentiment that "you can't stop moving just because of terrorists" and "we have to trust the authorities to do their job in protecting us."

This story was recapped or updated seven times during one hour of programming, and not for a lack of other news. When arguments are unsound, the tactic becomes mind-numbing repetition of sound bytes and buzzwords to convince the viewership of its validity. (Remember how ridiculous "Saddam was behind 9/11" sounded when they first started saying it? Now most of the US population believes there was some connection.)

The implicit and explicit messages here are: be fearful of local terrorist threats but don't stop "moving," i.e. going to work and consuming; terrorists are dangerous yet inept; and any action by the authorities has the interests of the people in mind.

The longer one watches CNN Headline News, the clearer these messages become.

Let's look at a short piece on the bird flu during the same hour of programming. The teaser before a commercial break announced: "Next: a family who had bird flu, what they found, and whether you should be alarmed." The report detailed what was "possibly the first human-to-human contraction of bird flu" in a case where seven of eight Indonesian family members died from the flu. "Nevertheless," continued the reporter, "this does not increase the risk of a human pandemic." Here is the model with a new twist: be afraid enough to buy vaccines, but not enough to stop consuming chicken.

As a follow-up to the "terror-related" arrests in Miami, Chicago police were interviewed about "how to prepare for a range of attacks." One segment focused on the dirty bomb, which is an explosive mixed with radioactive material. An officer warned that people should be cautious after an attack because "you can bring it [the radioactive material] into your own home and contaminate your entire family."

Yet, according to the same officer, dirty bombs are not immediately dangerous. "The worst it could do is increase cancer rates in an area, and it's not terribly difficult to clean up.. Much depends on whether citizens panic or keep their wits about them - and listen to what the authorities tell them."

Indeed, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's website encourages victims of a dirty bomb attack to "move away from the immediate area" then "turn on local radio or TV channels" for instructions. Again: be afraid, but not too afraid - and trust us, the government and media, to keep you safe and informed.

In the face of terrorist threats and bird flu pandemics, how should we as citizens respond? "Planning for your financial future is one of the most important things you can do," was the advice for a young college graduate who wrote in to the program. "Save for big ticket items like a down payment, and start thinking about retirement."

These reports are interspersed as always with commercial breaks that attempt to reinforce the objectivity and utility of the news source. "CNN: The most trusted name in news." And: "CNN: It's essential."

The repetition, the repetition. I say it again because they said it again. And again and again and again. "Al Qaeda wannabes," "homegrown terror," "plans to blow up the Sears Tower," "no immediate threat." Brought to you by the most trusted name in news.

An hour of CNN Headline News. I can't think of a stronger argument for organizing ourselves and producing our own news, news that informs, news that empowers. Alternative media: It's essential.

The Cultural Exchange Hour welcomes Mr. Cloudy

June 15, 2006

Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome once again to The Cultural Exchange Hour. Today we have the pleasure of hosting a very special guest from the Temperate North -- a face rarely seen in these tropical climes -- folks, put your hands together for Mr. Cloudy!

[Applause]

Why thank you. Thank you, everyone. What a surprise to be invited to the Caribbean!

Our pleasure. As you know, this is the latest in our efforts to facilitate new experiences for people in different parts of the world. Mr. Cloudy, when was the last time you were in Santo Domingo?

Must've been, let me see -- last November, was it? I think it was. I was here for a United Nations conference on climate change.

How fitting! [Laughs]

I'll say! [Laughs]

So tell me, Mr. Cloudy, how have the people here treated you?

I haven't seen so many happy faces since I visited Sub-Saharan Africa in '96. They folded up their umbrellas, turned their fans down to medium, and gave me big, relieved grins!

Is that so? I would've imagined that Dominicans would be upset by change. They're real good buddies with Mr. Sunny down here, aren't they?

Well, I got a couple of scowls from the guys selling bottled water and freeze pops. But most folks were thrilled. It doesn't take long to get used to a change for the better.

Better, you say?

Sure! Mr. Sunny might be your buddy way up in the North, but here he's worn out his welcome. He does nothing but make people uncomfortable. The sweating, the sunburns, the untimely melting of ice cream -- that's all the work of Mr. Sunny.

You learn something new every day. Folks, that's why you tune into The Cultural Exchange Hour. Always fun, always educational.

Those are two things that don't always go together, ha ha.

So how long do you plan to stay in the city, Mr. Cloudy?

Unfortunately, I'm on my way to London this afternoon. You can look forward to a lot more of Mr. Sunny the rest of the summer.

Sorry to hear that. Nothing against Mr. Sunny, if you're watching from home, but it's just been such a pleasure having you with us. You've been a breath of fresh air, so to speak.

The pleasure is all mine.

Thanks for tuning in once again, everyone, to The Cultural Exchange Hour. Next week we'll explain a new game, called "soccer." Apparently they are currently playing the international championships of this game, called the Cup of the World.

Fear, loathing and bird flu

June 11, 2006

Bought your bird flu vaccine yet? Before you do, read this excerpt from the inaugural address of the Justicia Global Summit, given by organization co-founder Angel Pichardo.

If our vocation is social transformation, we need to know how the system of domination works. We need to know it uses different kinds of machinery to manipulate us, that it uses all of the communication media to create fear in us, to separate us, to disassociate us from the different realities, from the true social reality in which our population lives.

We see, for example, that on the international scale one of the greatest fears they've sold us in recent years has been the bird flu. Who hasn't heard of the bird flu? The whole world moves according to the fear that bird flu produces; we wait on pins and needles to hear new developments in the case. They keep us informed about the bird flu as if it were a brand-new illness. Well, the truth is it was discovered about ten years ago, and in all those years it has unfortunately caused the deaths of about a hundred people.

So what's going on? The bird flu is hyped up precisely because one of the owners of Tamiflu, which is the vaccine used to combat the illness, is one of the great hawks of the world. Because of all of the bird-flu hype, because of all of the fear sent out on media airwaves, the profits of Tamiflu increased from $205 million to $1 billion in one year. So when you see that the man behind all this, the man who owns the vaccine, is Mr. Donald Rumsfeld, you understand and say, "Ah, now I see why they want to scare the world to death so we buy vaccines to protect ourselves from the famous bird flu."

But nowhere do you see the shameful image of the deaths of thirty thousand boys and girls every day from diahrrea, from malnutrition, from drinking contaminated water. We don't hear news of these deaths because news of these deaths doesn't generate profits for anybody.

News of the death of these children doesn't generate profits for those who keep us wrapped up in a culture of fear, where we have learned to be afraid of each other, afraid of our shadows, afraid of our compatriots, afraid of our streets. We're afraid to go out at night; we're afraid to go out during the day.

If we let ourselves be governed by fear, we contribute to the society they want us to have, the society of disunity. Fear makes us stay unorganized - it makes us afraid of organizing ourselves.

If you would like the full text of this address in Spanish or English, please e-mail me at shenkti@earlham.edu. Angel and his family will be visiting Goshen, Indiana in mid-July.

The Justicia Global Summit:
An inadequate summary

Justicia Global delegates in San Cristóbal after hearing talks on DR-CAFTA. L-R: Elvia, Mark, Simón, Berenice, Joanna.

June 5, 2006

Dear friends,

We're now a week past the whirlwind of intensity and emotion that was the 2nd International Summit of Justicia Global.

Among national and international delegates, guests, and organizers, our numbers ranged from 60 to 125. We listened to lectures, worked in small groups, participated in urban and rural encounters and wrapped up with an open mic night.

One of the highlights for me was the activity in Herrera, a neighborhood where we're working with a group of kids. The kids presented an exposition of their drawings and paintings, showed us how to start an urban garden, and showed off their toys made of recycled materials.



Kengri, a seven-year-old member of the presentation team, gave us an explanation of the three R's of the environment. "Recycle, because when people throw out garbage, we take it and recycle it into something new, like toys. Reuse, because when people throw out their garbage, we reuse it to make something new. Reduce, because when people throw away things and we make new things out of them, we reduce the amount of garbage."

What they made from "garbage" was impressive. One boy made a TV from a cardboard box and put on his own show with a sock puppet. Kengri showed us a video camera he had made and later interviewed some delegates with it.

A main conference theme was recognizing the manipulation of information by the mass media. Earlier that day one speaker had called for a rise in alternative media that have the interests of the masses in mind. Already by the evening, the kids in Herrera were modeling their own TV station!

Another major focus of the summit was an analysis of the interconnected systems of oppression that make it difficult for us to relate to each other and our world in healthy and just ways.

These interconnected systems, what Justicia Global calls "the pillars of domination," have been constructed to alienate us to such a degree that we believe social transformation to be impossible or unnecessary or both. Justicia Global calls for us to recognize these pillars at work in society and in our own lives, recognizing them as cultural constructions in order to go about dismantling them.

Anthropocentrism - This is the conception that human beings are superior to all other beings. This idea, supported by science and most Western religions, justifies humans' destruction of the natural world.

Yet not all humans are conceived as equally superior beings. The other pillars detail the relationships of domination and inequality among groups of people.

Androcentrism - this is the conception that men are naturally superior to women and therefore have the right to control and dominate them. This pillar values traits traditionally assigned to the masculine such as strength, intelligence and logic at the expense of the emotional and the intuitive. Androcentrism manifests itself as gender-based violence and, for example, the fact that women make 60 percent of what men do for the same job.

Racism - With this pillar, what is considered the "central, superior being" continues to be reduced and better defined. The pillar of racism develops the concept that the ideal human being is a white human being. Thus a relationship of domination is created toward the "non-white" Other.

Adultcentrism - With the addition of this pillar, the only ones left who are completely human are adult white males. Children, according to the pillar of adultcentrism, are seen as "the future" and are therefore not yet full human beings capable of making choices. The elderly are considered "past their prime" and are often seen as a burden on society.

Occidentalism - This pillar transverses the others and is sustained by the conception that the Western is superior to the Eastern. Occidentalism links the West to civilization, logic and science; mystery, superstition, and uncivilized nature are attributed to the East. These stereotypes justify a relationship of domination by the Western over the Eastern.

Nationalism - This pillar creates yet more division among groups of people and tends to limit concern and work for change to small pieces of land called Nation-States. Nationalism contrives a sense of identity and commonality based on where people were born, hiding relationships of exploitation within a country and making it hard to see the humanity of people from other countries.

Positivism - This is domination based in scientific knowledge. Positivism has a linear conception of time, history and progress, and thus alleges that capitalist society is the endpoint of human development. It argues that science is completely objective, neutral, and the only valid form of knowledge. Positivism "proves" the validity of the pillars through scientific methods.

The call of Justicia Global is to challenge all of the pillars at once. We get no closer to a culture of solidarity and peace if we attack racism by appealing to nationalist sentiments, or if we fight to save the environment but reproduce gender inequalities within our group. Only a struggle against violence in all its manifestations will lead to that better world we're always talking about.

* * *

The next activity of Justicia Global in the United States will take place in Goshen, Indiana in mid-July. We are excited to host the organization's co-founder Angel Pichardo and his family during that time. Stay tuned!

Tim