[whataretheysaying] Mary Madigan: Terror infestations

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Posted by Mary Madigan:
Terror infestations
http://whataretheysaying.powerblogs.com/posts/1187107388.shtml


   emilystrange

   [1]Scott Kirwin at Dean's World writes

     Fox News is having a hissy-fit over Steven Levitt's soliciting
     terror attack ideas from the readers of his New York Times'
     sponsored blog. Today when talking head on Fox News a "blogger" -
     as if this was the worst epithet she could imagine one could hurl
     at a journalist.

     Levitt is more than a "blogger" or a journalist - he's the author
     of Freakonomics and an economics professor at the University of
     Chicago. I happen to own the book, and found it sandwiched on my
     bookshelf by Bill Gertz's Treachery and PJ O'Rourke's On the Wealth
     of Nations. I purchased it from American Compass - a bookclub for
     conservatives (yes contrary to what many on the Left claim, some of
     us do read.) It's a good read, and rather conservative in its
     economic arguments.

     Now I like Fox News, but it does have a tendency to get its
     collective panties in a twist over certain things...it's hard for
     me to separate Fox News's bias from the justifiable concerns raised
     by Levitt's actions.

     However, after thinking about it I have to conclude that Levitt's
     post is not a big deal. Jihadists in caves are not lacking for
     ideas to attack us. It's not like they need help from University of
     Chicago professors or those who read their blogs. Native
     psychopaths view themselves as geniuses: they don't need ideas from
     intellectuals. They have their own - or get their ideas from their
     dogs, their god, or the voices in their heads.

   I'm just surprised that so many people are coming up with ideas on how
   to attack themselves.

   After 9/11, it never occurred to me 'think like a terrorist' or to
   come up with ways to kill me. All I could think of were ways to
   destroy the enemy.

   If we put our minds to it, we'd realize that it's not so hard to do.
   Terrorists are like a bug infestation - counter-terrorism should
   involve identifying the beast, then targeting their nests so you can
   destroy the infestation without destroying the rest of the house. *

   These daydreams were useful and psychologically satisfying, giving me
   some a yippy kay yay mother f@*#ers sense of satisfaction, security
   and a hope that the problem could be controlled.

   I guess it's easy to come up with an infinite number of possible
   terrorist attacks, just as it's easy to come up with an infinite
   number of possible ways to die. But if you obsess about avoiding death
   and risk, you never enjoy or accomplish much. If we put a huge effort
   into preventing every possible terrorist attack that our minds can
   create, we'll be doing the terrorists' jobs for them. We'll wind up
   creating a static, fear-based society enclosed within a panic room of
   "security".

   The terrorists' ideal caliphate is static fear-based society enclosed
   within a panic room of sameness and security. If we succeed at
   'thinking like a terrorist', we'll succeed at putting ourselves in
   their simple mindset.

   The result of this obsession with panic-room "security" can be seen in
   John Robb's essay, [2]The Coming Urban Terror. According to Robb,
   terror gangs are going to use our technology against us, and there's
   very little we can do about it, other than quake in fear.

   As [3]Alan Sullivan says in his analysis of Robb's essay:

     [the] article is strangely abstract â a prolonged fret over ways
     and means, instead of men and motives.

   Robb's 'solution' to the upcoming terror wave? It doesn't occur to him
   to analyze the terrorists, identify them and get them before they get
   us. Even a well-armed and informed citizenry isn't part of his
   solution. He proposes that we exert "local control over essential
   services". An easy lesson on how to respond uselessly and prolong a
   fret.

   * speaking of bug infestation, here's a creative way to reduce a fruit
   fly infestation. Put some chopped bannas or rotten apples in the
   microwave. Leave the door open for about thirty minutes during the
   day, leave the kitchen so they feel free to congregate on the rotten
   fruit. Then return, shut the door quickly and nuke 'em for at least 5
   minutes. (Given their exoskeletons, fruit flies are tougher than
   poodles). It doesn't target the nests, but it does give some yippy kay
   yay mother f@*#ers satisfaction.

   If only we could build a microwave big enough to hold these
   [4]nectarines

References

   1. http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1186938068.shtml
   2. http://www.city-journal.org/html/17_3_urban_terrorism.html
   3. http://www.seablogger.com/?p=8488
   4. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/6707499.stm