The Overton Window On Political Violence Has Moved

[kpete]

The Overton Window On Political Violence Has Moved
by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said
Wed Apr 07, 2010 at 07:32:21 AM MDT

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While the level of violence and threats of violence is very troubling, what is more troubling is the ho-hum attitude about it. Political violence is a particular horror of mine. I find no romance in revolution or armed struggle. When it happens it is the last and worst possible choice. When it starts in democracies it is one of the hardest things to end, with the cycle of tit-for-tat violence going on and on and on. Being Irish I have an innate ability to form and hold a grudge (you know what Irish Alzheimer's is? You forget everything but the grudge), so perhaps I have a lower threshold for this than others.

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What has happened is that the Overton window on violence in general has been moved by our actions in the so-called "War on Terror". War always alters the tone of a nation, long-term wars more than short term ones. The jingoism, the talk of being "with us or against us", the news of death, civilian and military, all take their toll. However, I believe it is our torture of prisoners and the lengths that the members of the criminal Bush administration have gone to justify it is the biggest culprit in this case.

One of the ways that they gained acceptance of a practice which was anathema to Americans previously was by the demonization of the people who were tortured. They were the evil Muslim terrorists, the worst people in the world. This was the chink that they slipped in through; the idea that bad people deserve bad things to happen to them, especially if it protects good people. The obvious problem with this construction is who defines the bad people? It was President Bush and the Republican Party.

The failure of the Obama administration to hold anyone accountable for the known and admitted war crimes of torture just made the acceptance of extreme acts of violence grow and harden. It also left in place the ability of Republican politicians to define an enemy who no common decency should be shown. They were more than willing to use this ability to describe Democrats and their agenda at every turn.

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the rest:
http://squarestate.net/diary/172/the-overton-window-on-political-violence-has-moved

[LoZoccolo]

1. Good find; recommended.

I love to see articles about group dynamics, strategy, psychology, game theory, and propaganda on DU. I think a lot of people would benefit from a good grounding in these.

[unblock]

2. exactly; beware the shifting frame. the focus should always be on should GOVERNMENT have this power

even if i'm fully convinced the subject is the rottenest scum of the earth, i simply don't believe in handing over the power to torture (or the power to kill already incarcerated individuals, for that matter) to the government.

to me it's just making a bad situation worse. have a trial, lock 'em up, throw away the key.


giving the government the power to torture or kill the guilty inherently means
giving the government the power to torture or kill the innocent.