Thursday, June 20, 2013

Bye, Bye Ms. American Spy

Countercurrents
Satya Sagar
June 19, 2013.
First they came for my neighbour's lands,
I didn't speak out because, ha ha, I never really liked the Joneses.

Then they came for the forests,
and I didn't speak out because, well … I am not a beaver or a deer.

Then they came for the minerals,
and I didn't speak out because it wasn't all mine anyway.

Then they came for my private emails,
AND BOY ! AM I ABOUT TO ABSOLUTELY FREAK OUT!

(Fr. Anonymulle)
 Read the rest of this satirical article here.

*****
Comment: I like the article by Satya Sagar because it pokes fun at Americans and other Westerners who find themselves offended and irate at the revelations that the US is spying on them.

Wonder where all that irateness was when Bush/Obama and company were spying on Muslims everywhere, killing innocents with drones and keeping people locked up without charge for a decade or more?

Were they paying attention?

Obama who will be in South Africa on the 29th of June has moved quickly to dispel the fears of good American people and their counterparts in Europe that the US is not spying on their private emails or phone calls or anything untoward like that.

As Sagar points out three recent statements from the arch-imperialist stands out to explain why the spying and why good Americans (most of them white and by definiton) should really not be loosing sleep about the crap Edward Snowden has caused:
  • ‘We were protecting US security and tracking terrorists' ('Cause Osama lives)
  •  'Spying is not the same as hacking' (China hacks)
  •  ‘The spying is not directed at the American people' (Unless they Muslimy of course
So there you have it.  Nothing to worry about if you white (even play-white or colorpean) and you want to use your email for all the virtual fornication you desire.  Also, you can download all the porno you want and talk smack about whoever ticks you off at work.

Obama says that the US does not spy on American people.

Though of course not all Americans are created equal so you may want to check your ass before you send those porno emails or call your relatives to tell them of your plans to blow-up the weekend or that your spouse is the bomb in the blowing department, etc.

"If your name is Ahmed or Fatima, you (should) live in fear of the NSA" so says Anna L. Miller in a Guardian article of the same name (June 19).

I would not worry too much though.  If all you doing is holding down your business and paying the bills it is unlikely that Obama is watching you - well if you not Muslimy of course.

If you live outside the US does it not seem now like the whole damn Internet was one grand conspiracy to spy on all of us?

And just like a toxic relationship it is going to be hard to break-up with the world wide web.

Oh well, I guess Obama and company gets to read my dirty emails too. 

Onward!

4 comments:

Pstonie said...

I rather suspect most "muslimy" people would've been happy to not give a shit along with everyone else, had the media implicated "asiany" people for 9/11.

Ridwan said...

Thanks for your comment Pstonie.

I can't confirm your suspicion because I am dealing with what is in front of me.

Muslimy people have carried the burden of those who flew planes in those buildings.

The further implication is that democracies - even pretend ones - would have a system of checks and balances that protect individual rights.

That would mean group discrimination would, or rather should, be unthinkable.

Lastly, a large proportion of Asian people are Muslims - and a large proportion of non-Muslim Asian people would appear Muslimy to racists in the US.

The damaging emphasis is on racism.

Peace,
Ridwan

Pstonie said...

Racism, IMO, is a tool in this case. The demonisation of Muslims is motivated by greed. The ones they wanted to attack are living on the oil they want. They need the support of the voting public to do it, thus: terror. Racism is a reaction to that fear. It's not even a first order symptom.

And it wouldn't be possible without a system as retarded as democracy to make sure the lowest common denominator (a racist fuckhead, in this case) has the most say.

No, all men are not created equal. Most generally lack the intelligence to know that they shouldn't have power over their fellows. Have everyone vote, and you can be sure that idiots will be the best represented.

I'm guessing there is none of this talk in political science texts. Just default exaltation for democracy, very similar to the kind mandela gets, despite the facts in both cases. People need their symbols so they don't have to think too hard about what to believe, right?

Ridwan said...

Hi there Pstonie:

Thanks for more thought to chew on.

I disagree somewhat about the order of racism. Racism is significant because of the element of power.

So, the US has the power to make its race prejudices felt - as you say to get to the oil or the other strategic objectives.

Appreciating the role of power in an analysis of racism is key to any level of analysis be it focused on local, national, or international politics.

People who align themselves with the race prerogatives are being racist but the first order or point of analytical entry is the state - the US in this case - and its ability to use power to secure its racialized interests.

Race prejudice without power is not racism.

So I could have all kinds of racist thoughts about the Japanese but without power of them it remains just a prejudice.

It is no coincidence that the idea of race developed alongside the idea of the nation-state in the 16th century.

The state at this time wields inordinate power and I, therefore, agree with your pessimistic assessment of democracy of the late capitalism kind.

In fact, it is not a new critique because that is what they made Socrates drink the hemlock for.

His critique of democracy.

He derided the loss of sophistication, the dumbasses who rose to the top, and the greed of those who pretended to be democratic (the opportunists).

These are the symbols that you speak to. The ones people take on because of the manipulation - which in effect is about power and subservience.

Those who resist are enemies of the state - even made to be insane.

Power concedes nothing and it fears anarchy.

Not all political theorists parrot the nonsense that sells for political science (itself a problematic term of American origin).

But unfortunately that is what is promoted by the order of the day.

The rest is about resistance - a dialectic of ideas if you will :0)

Peace,
Ridwan