then they came for me...

[chelidon]

So first we (that's us, the "good guys") set things up so that foreign "terrorists" have no rights, can be invisibly handed over to other governments with the implicit expectation of their torture. Or, if we choose, the "terrorists" can be detained indefinitely on American soil or off of it, without access to counsel or any kind of outside contact, without oversight, and with frequent and explicit use of various forms of psychological and physical abuse and, if we can get away with it, torture, by us (the "good guys.")

But that is okay, because they are simply "terrorists" or "unlawful enemy combatants," so not subject to the Geneva Convention provisions, or, for that matter, being treated as if they had any kind of basic "human rights" whatsoever. Or at least we think that a few of them might be terrorists, or know terrorists, or perhaps have a family member who might know a terrorist, so it's all good. Once we decide you're a "terrorist," we (that's us, the "good guys") get to throw you in a hole forever, where we can do whatever the hell we want to you, and you never, ever, come out again, unless we decide that you can. Once you are a "terrorist," you are no longer a human being, and you have no human rights. Period. Might makes right, the ends justify the means, and don't fuck with the Chosen People.

But if you're an American (that's us, the "good guys"), you have certain rights, no matter what. Even if you're arrested or otherwise held in some ungodly foreign country, you have a powerful government whose duty is to go to bat for you, use State Department resources to pull strings and apply diplomatic pressure, and do their best to get information about you to your family, get you counsel, see that you're not abused, and so on. Right?

Wrong. If this story is true, it's another very chilling development, because you know this is not just an isolated case. Once you're a "terrorist," or even suspected of having some kind of contacts with "terrorists," even if you're a U.S. citizen, you are a non-person, you have no rights, and the U.S. government will not only fail to come to your aid, they'll help to interrogate you.

If you're a "terrorist" and a non-U.S. citizen, you have no rights. If you're a "terrorist," and you're a U.S. citizen overseas, you have no rights. Now U.S. citizens in this country have fewer and fewer rights every day. And the definition of "terrorist" grows broader all the time...

"O brave new world, that hath such people in it." But...if you're not one of "the people" (and that definition grows more narrow every day, exactly as the defintion of "terrorist" expands, thanks to those currently in power), there's no place for you in this brave new world...except, perhaps, in a locked kennel on Guantanemo, or a foetid foreign cell somewhere getting whipped and the shit kicked out of you by foreign "intelligence services" (aided by the FBI) and hoping that the shackles you are forced to wear 24/7 aren't yet giving you fatal gangrene.

At the risk of repeating some classic prose that gets trotted out far too frequently, but is still full of truth:

First they came for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one
left to speak up for me.
--attributed to Rev. Martin Niemoller, 1945

Comments

[moonmelody.livejournal.com]

I just needed to add my "Yes! Amen!" to this post. :) I need to actually get some work done, so I can't take the time to add my own rant, but I'll be adding you to my friends list so that I can read more of what you have to say.

By the way, I came to your LJ by way of thefirespiral.

[chelidon.livejournal.com]

Well, thanks, and welcome! You gonna come to Tejas camp with thefirespiral?

[moonmelody.livejournal.com]

I think so. I need to make sure I can get the time off, but assuming so...I'll be there!

[eeedge.livejournal.com]

Now, chelidon, you *know* that law enforcement agencies never make mistakes. This is why the death penalty and anti-terrorist laws are such good ideas.

[chelidon.livejournal.com]

No, of course they don't. How silly of me.

whoo. Now I can't stop giggling. See what you've done? ;>

[toasterstrumpet.livejournal.com]

And I keep asking "What can I do? What can be done about this?"

[chelidon.livejournal.com]

Good question. I think the answer is whatever your passion moves you to do, so long as you do something. Voting, organizing, protesting, writing letters to the editorial section of your local newspaper, writing letters to your Congresscritters, volunteering and/or donating money to the progressive groups of your choice (particularly in this case such as Amnesty International), are all good ways to make some difference. Spreading the word is key, as is working to get a change in this country's leadership. It doesn't have to consumer your entire life, but if one out of a hundred people spent even a few minutes a week working towards intentional change, amazing things could happen.

Being a cultural subversive makes a difference, too. Be a warrior for love, delight, wonder and joy -- push the boundaries of what is "normal," open people's minds just a little bit, wherever you can, to the possibility that life could be different, better, than it is now. Minds whcih are open even a little bit, may start to open further, and are that much more capable of envisioning constructive change, instead of being ensnared and encumbered by the chains of sameness.

[eeedge.livejournal.com]

H and I had a discussion over ice cream sundaes last night about where men can marry men, and where women can marry women. Then, because of where we live, I had to explain that she probably couldn't discuss it in school. I hate that we have to suppress our children's speech in order for them to live with their teachers, even.

That's one of the scary things about where we live. My boss' daughter got suspended for saying "Oh, God!" in her public school as a reaction to a pop test.

Cultural subversion is good. I want my girls to be tolerent people, even when surrounded by closeminded bigots. But I also don't want them hurt by my views until they are old enough to be able to anticipate the consequences and make informed choices.

[chelidon.livejournal.com]

I hate that we have to suppress our children's speech in order for them to live with their teachers, even.

Oh gosh, yes. I fully expect to get pulled into parent-teacher conferences from time to time, though perhaps only rarely, as we most emphatically do *not* live in the bible belt. People here have a very "live and let live" approach (so long as what you do is on your side of the stone wall ;>) as part of the culture, which suits me just fine.

I want my girls to be tolerent people, even when surrounded by closeminded bigots. But I also don't want them hurt by my views until they are old enough to be able to anticipate the consequences and make informed choices

I've had exactly the same concerns, as I contemplate how to raise my child (and perhaps later, children) -- It's a tough path to follow...I won't hesitate to raise my son with exposure to what I see as positive values. Heavens know he's going to be exposed to plenty enough "bad" values along the way, so I want him to at least have a basis for comparison. At the same time, he has to get along in the world, and worse, at school, so I don't want him to be the "odd one out." He's already going to get enough of that being as big and sharp as he is. Hard choices, for sure.

[mystfemme.livejournal.com]

Thank you for posting this. It's something I've been thinking for a long, long time. I appreciate your putting it into writing and out for the world to see.

[chelidon.livejournal.com]

Well, yer quite welcome, though, like morrigandaughtr, I think I write because I have to, so it's entirely self-serving, I assure you ;>

Seriously, though, it does really burn my britches that as a nation, we can and do behave with such blatant hypocrisy. Thus it ever was, but I guess I really do like to think the best of nations and people, frequent proof to the contrary notwithstanding. Part of making intentional change, though, is being able to name what is, right here and now, so I'd like to think there's some value in naming it, aside from providing an opportunity to vent my spleen, that is...

[morrigandaughtr.livejournal.com]

Naming it is OH SO IMPORTANT, IMO.

Re: the actual story, I can't say I'm surprised. Which in no way dimishes my outrage.

I feel a short story coming on . . .

[chelidon.livejournal.com]

Testify, sister! :> Speak those words of relentless, irresistable truth which are your gift to the world...

[eeedge.livejournal.com]

Naming is, as you say, very important. That's why we see so much suppression of free speech everywhere these days. If we name hypocrisy for what it is, then we weaken the positions of the idiots.