- The hallmark of an effective dictatorship, whether that
be Stalinist Russia or Hitler's Germany, is the wholesale silencing of
the opposing voice. Criticism of the government must be eliminated because
the foundation of despots crumbles when their authority is questioned in
a sober and educated manner. For those of us who don't live in countries
like China or Zimbabwe, a benchmark of how healthy our freedoms are is
to judge how our government reacts to criticism. We should therefore be
alarmed that a growing pretext is being set whereby it is either illegal
or an act of political suicide to criticize President Bush.
-
- Prior to September 11, jokes about George W. Bush's questionable
intelligence were the highlight of any given evening at the comedy club.
Bush's own words provided enough material to build on.
- Consider the following,
- "I've coined new words, like, misunderstanding and
Hispanically."-Radio-Television Correspondents Association dinner,
Washington, D.C., March 29, 2001
-
- "You teach a child to read, and he or her will be
able to pass a literacy test.''-Townsend, Tenn., Feb. 21, 2001
-
- "Rarely is the question asked: is our children learning."
- Florence, SC, Jan. 11, 2000
-
- "I think anybody who doesn't think I'm smart enough
to handle the job is underestimating."-U.S. News & World Report,
April 3, 2000
-
- Since the terrorist attacks, any questioning of Bush's
mental capacity is viewed as subversive activity. If you're a politician,
you must resign immediately. If you're a member of the public, you may
be subject to an FBI investigation.
-
- In September of 2002, German Justice Minister Herta Daeubler-Gmelin
suggested that Bush's foreign policy was planned to distract from his domestic
problems, a tactic used by Hitler. The media hijacked the comments and
concocted headlines like 'German Minister says Bush is new Hitler'. White
House spokesman Ari Fleischer, eager to childishly avenge German non-cooperation
in the war with Iraq, responded by labelling the comments as "outrageous
and inexplicable." Despite a public apology, Daeubler-Gmelin was subsequently
forced to resign from office.
-
- As an aside, in a decidedly unsophisticated propaganda
crusade, the Bush administration has compared Saddam Hussein to Hitler.
Hitler's projected 1,000-year Reich was to be built by invading countries
and setting up a pan-European empire. Ask yourself, how many countries
has Bush threatened to invade compared to Saddam Hussein?
-
- Just a month after Daeubler-Gmelin resigned, Francoise
Ducros, a top aide to Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, referred to
President Bush as "a moron" at the NATO summit in Prague. The
comment was made to a radio reporter and instantly became front-page news.
In stark contrast with their reaction to Daeubler-Gmelin, the White House
trotted out Flesicher to dismiss the comment as "something from someone
who doesn't speak for the Canadian government.'' They wanted to keep Canada
sweet because at that stage their unbridled support for a war on Iraq was
on the verge of being secured. Ducros apologized but was forced to resign
shortly after.
-
- Just a day after Ducros quit, the British satirical cartoon
show, 2DTV, were informed by the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre
(BACC) that an ad for their Christmas video had been banned. The commercial
featured a cackling Bush mistakenly putting the videotape in a toaster
instead of a video player. The BACC ruled that the ad was offensive to
Bush's intelligence. This, despite the fact that the programme itself 'offends'
Bush's intelligence on a weekly basis. 2DTV produced a milder second version
of the ad but this too was banned because it portrayed the President in
a negative light. The realization that the man supposedly leading the free
world in a war against global terrorism was in fact quite stupid is just
too hot to handle.
-
- The consequences of criticizing Bush were fully understood
by these politicians and companies. However, at least they have a media
platform on which to defend themselves. This saga takes on a more sinister
tone when individuals are persecuted for daring to stand up to Bush.
-
- A protest group called 'Turn Your Back on Bush' experienced
the full force of the new post-9/11 dictatorship after they discovered
the President was to fulfil a speaking engagement at Ohio State University
on June 14 2002. Lost in the muddy nostalgia of a pre-9/11 America, where
groups had at least some rights to assemble, the protestors thought they
could rekindle the days where a Bush appearance went hand in glove with
a chorus of boos from a sizeable minority. Not so, Richard Hollingsworth,
Associate Vice President of Student Affairs, warned the group that he was
aware of their plans and that any protest would entail ejections and arrests
being made. He also threatened undergraduates that their diploma would
be stripped if they were to do so much as make a sound.
-
- This had a massive chilling effect and only a handful
of students and others actually did turn their back on Bush at the ceremony.
One was ejected by police and his arrest was probably only avoided because
he was carrying a three-year-old child. This enabled the Washington Post
to state, "If there was a protest in the stadium, it was not visible
to reporters." The Post could then concentrate on the sycophantic
response of the audience to Bush's every sentence with glee.
-
- Richard Humphreys, a resident of Portland Oregon, was
sentenced to three years in jail after he made a joke about President Bush
during Bush's March 2001 trip to Sioux Falls. The joke included the line
"I said God might speak to the world through a burning Bush,"
which was taken as meaning Humphreys wanted to douse Bush in flammable
liquid and set him ablaze. A bartender overheard and immediately alerted
the police to the activities of this dangerous terrorist. The actual arrest
was obviously made before September 11 but the way that event changed the
mindset of the American authorities no doubt contributed to the ridiculous
three year prison term, which was handed out in June 2002. This story was
originally reported by CNN, who mysteriously chose to remove the article
from their website just a few weeks after its appearance.
-
- If you think that was an overreaction, just consider
the case of a student at Bellbrook High School in Ohio. The unnamed teenager
chose to wear a T-shirt with the words "not my president" superimposed
over a picture of President Bush. When a crosshair was added to the design,
two students came forward and complained to the school administrators.
The Assistant Principal then made the decision to call the FBI because
the high school kid could have been a terrorist planning to assassinate
Bush. What's even more absurd is that the FBI actually treated the case
with the utmost significance and the investigation was eventually turned
over to the Secret Service!
-
- These are the real threats to America - not wide-open
borders or Muslim fanatics - but high school children with political T-shirts.
The authorities seem really keen on protecting us from terrorism, don't
they? In a gut-wrenching climax to the story, the two kids who snitched
on the teenage terrorist were praised as heroes. The Assistant Principal
said they had complied with the demand of the government - that citizens
stand together with homeland security and keep an eye out for potential
terrorist activity, for this, he was proud of them.
-
- The liberties of Americans, as enshrined in the Constitution
and Bill of Rights, were erected on the foundation of logic that the citizenry
has to watch its government like a hawk. Any government that is allowed
to roam freely without checks and balances becomes tyrannical. History
has proven this over and over again. In the new America, the government
watches the citizens and in turn the citizens are told to watch each other.
Criticism of the government is outlawed and anyone that does so is either
ridiculed or thrown in jail. If America is to be rescued from being the
home base of a global fascist empire, we need put our foot down. We need
to criticize the government more than ever.
-
- Then again, I might just be a terrorist and you should
really call the FBI for the good of the Fatherland.
-
-
-
- "Published originally at EtherZone.com : republication
allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact."
- Mail this article to a friend(s) in two clicks!
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Paul Joseph Watson is a writer and researcher based in
Sheffield, England. He is the webmaster at both Propagandamatrix.com and
prisonplanet.com. Watson's new book 'Order Out of Chaos' - published by
Dandelion - will be released later this year. He a new columnist for Ether
Zone.
-
- Paul can be reached at: paul@propagandamatrix.com
-
- Published in the January 13, 2003 issue of Ether Zone.
- Copyright © 1997 - 2003 Ether Zone.
- http://www.etherzone.com/2003/wats011303.shtml
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