Yesterday moron Whistle Ass called terrorism an ideology

[Raenelle]

Now I realize he wouldn't know an ideology if it bit him in his whistle ass, but his handlers should/do know better.

Terrorism is just a tactic, and it has absolutely no ideological content. Anyone, with any ideology, can pick it up and use it.

As Atrios noted yesterday: "God, one can waste an entire life debunking the latest right wing misrepresentations" Lies, obfuscations, confusions, distortions, sloppy generalizations, and an utter inability to analyze, to define, to separate apples from oranges, to fucking reason--that's what the right-wing calls thought, and that's why we feel we're going crazy whenever we hear them speak.

[ronnykmarshall]

1. Whistle Ass?

What's the story behind this cute new kickname for the Asshole In Chief?

[GOPisEvil]

3. Google "Sally Baron"

It was her term for El Arbusto.

[JHB]

4. From a feisty 71-year-old lady

Several people helped me carry my sign, seven feet long with poles at the ends mounted with American flags...on one side it said: "Welcome to bushville"....and on the other side: "From Sally Baron, born in Hurley, Wisconsin 1932..."OH BUSH...he's SUCH a Whistle-Ass"...and we had several whistles...which went well with our Poor Peoples collection of drums (buckets) and other odd instruments...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=221594

[ronnykmarshall]

13. Oh that's right!

What a gem she was!! We love ya Sally!! :loveya:

[K-W]

2. God Forbid

we try to understand why people comitt terrorists acts rather than pretending that only evil ideologically corrupt people do it.

[ixion]

5. actually, Terrorism is an ideology

(just remember that Whistle Ass often only speaks the words he's told to, and probably doesn't know many of their meanings, if his extemporaneous speaking is any indication)

The thing about Terrorism is that it's an abstract ideology. For example: You can point to a Buddhist monk and say that person practices Buddhism. The same is true for many other 'isms', but not so with Terrorism. Basically, a terrorist is one who seeks to provoke terror for its own sake. No ideology behind the motives for the terror, just the terror. Following a strict defintion, there are actually very few 'real' terrorists out there. Governments and Institutions in opposition to each other will label each other terrorist to provide a catharsis to motivate (or scare) the populace.

That is to say: it's a two way street.

And a true type of 'terrorist' is say, Dr. Evil from the Austin Powers series. Someone who causes trouble for the sheer love of doing so.

Just my two cents. ;-)

[K-W]

6. You use a fictional example

I doubt you can find a real human being who inflicts terror for terror's sake. The Bush administration wants us to think that these people are just evil. They hate freedom, etc. This way we dont look at the real reasons behind thier actions, ie American intervention in the middle east.

[Nevernose]

8. You never met my big brother

The was LOTS of terror going on around my house :-)

I doubt you can find a real human being who inflicts terror for terror's sake

[Tracer]

7. I Have to Disagree.

Terrorism has a great deal of ideology behind it.

Please read "The Age of Sacred Terror", by Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon.

[Raenelle]

9. "Sacred" Terror--it's already qualified in your example.

Drop the adjective, and you'll see what I mean.

Terror is a tactic, suitable to those who are inferior in power to those whom they oppose. It's point is to get the enemy to overreact. When the enemy overreacts, then resources--recruits and money--start to flow to the terrorist, and the ratio of power begins to change.

Now, of course, there are stupid revolutionaries--Tim McVeigh (rightwing) or the Red Brigades in Italy (ultra left) a few decades ago who thought of terror as a STRATEGY, rather than as one of many tactics in their war. When it's used as a strategy, the thinking is to commit a terrorist act, then the masses will rise up spontaneously. I never could figure out why they would think this. BTW, this was Charles Manson's reasoning too.

But terror is no more an ideology than collecting funds through a front group, or setting up safe houses, or spinning your message to get more votes, or flanking your enemy on the right rather than the left are ideologies.

[symbolman]

10. As Atrios noted yesterday:

"God, one can waste an entire life debunking the latest right wing misrepresentations" Lies, obfuscations, confusions, distortions, sloppy generalizations, and an utter inability to analyze, to define, to separate apples from oranges, to fucking reason--that's what the right-wing calls thought, and that's why we feel we're going crazy whenever we hear them speak."

And this is exactly WHY the Liberals always lose against these guys.. they steal the dialogue, create the emotion, fan it and brainwash their latest ignorants all at the same time..

Meanwhile, people like Atrios (a fine person) and others simply run off these easy marks with intelligent discourse.

this is WHY Liberal radio doesn't work either..

I'm pretty sure we can beat them, but you have to play their game - I've done that with some of my animations but some blogs won't touch them because, you guessed it - they aren't cerebral enough for the valued customers..

Just like the whistle concept, at Take Back the Media we are handing out whistles for contributions - we want to change the protest dynamic to more of an attack, and then belittle the authorities over a little ol' harmless whistle..

but do the blogs pick up on this? Nope.

at some point I'm gonna quit doing all this, it's turning into a waste of time.. not that I'm not getting my ego assuaged, it's just that the Liberals will never organise..

they are too liberal. and I'm one myself in case no one noticed :)

[Raenelle]

11. I contributed so I could get a whistle

It's a good idea (taking whistles to protests), and it might catch on. Give it time. The whistle does, IMO, have the potential to become the peace symbol of our generation.

[symbolman]

12. thanks!

maybe we should slap a peace symbol sticker on one side of each whistle :)

Looks like you get the red, white and blue earplugs then, our treat :)

I really think that making a LOT of noise is the answer, plus Honoring Sally Baron..

appreciate the contribution Raenelle!