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Nov
28
This article about the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Act from In These Times caught my eye in late October, but it kept getting relegated to open tabs that closed on me and, once the Wide Open tsunami of comments and posts hit, I never posted about it (I’ve since quadrupled my RAM and am able to retain a lot more memory – well, my computer can, I wish it was as simple as a chip replacement for me).
A little bit about the bill from the article:
[California Democratic Rep., Jane] Harman’s bill would convene a 10-member national commission to study “violent radicalization” (defined as “the process of adopting or promoting an extremist belief system for the purpose of facilitating ideologically based violence to advance political, religious, or social change”) and “homegrown terrorism” (defined as “the use, planned use, or threatened use, of force or violence by a group or individual born, raised, or based and operating primarily within the United States […] to intimidate or coerce the United States government, the civilian population of the United States, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives”).
The bill also directs the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to designate a “center of excellence,” a university-based research center where academics, policy-makers, members of the private sector and other stakeholders can collaborate to better understand and prevent radicalization and homegrown terrorism.
Now – that’s all well and good. Sort of. But just how much it’s not well and good isn’t exactly what I want to write about.
What I want to write about is – why don’t we have this kind of mobilization to identify potential sex offenders? Or potential murderers? Or potential white collar criminals?
What do all these folks have in common?
Some kind of psychopathology. That ends up hurting other people. And lands them in jail. And costs the taxpayers money. And destroys lives – of the perpetrator and the victims, who are direct and indirect.
Why don’t we have research funded to help determine which parents are going to do unspeakable things to children? Who will define “unspeakable”? Or when someone is a child? Or who is a parent? Why not all adults?
Why not a study to help understand and identify these folks, for any of these things, if we’re going to say okay to such efforts on behalf of “homegrown terrorism” and “violent radicalization”?
Because just as they know now about serial killers as well as terrorists, there are few to study and they are extremely rare in society. All we will end up doing is freaking out everyone else from questioning anything and being any different from whomever the people doing the study want to say are the “norm.” Because all a norm does is show us what is out there – not what is possible.
I want safety, security and a life free of terror and terrorism. But all a proposal like this does is foster the notion that we have many things to fear – including each other, especially if we don’t conform to the average – whatever that turns out to be.
With all the kinds of negative, harmful behavior that exists and is so much more rampant, how absolutely sad and scary that this bill is flying through the Congress.
This Huffington Post piece by Philip Geraldi does a decent job of outlining why we should be worried about the bill, H.R. 1955, which you can see here on Thomas.
Hattip to Susan at BlueOhioan.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 1:42 pm November 28th, 2007 in Crime, Culture, Foreign Affairs, Mental health, Parenting, Politics, Religion, Social Issues
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[...] Psychopaths R Us: Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Act [...]
I blogged it with some additional stuff attached and my own homegrown paranoia:
http://badamerican.wordpress.com/2007/11/29/illegal-discontent/
(Jill: when they ask just say you NEVER KNEW ME
lol – oy and a sigh.