The Ideological Hegemony of 911 (fwd)

[Tony Tracy <tony@xxxxxx>]

The enclosed is from my comrade & friend Garth Mullins, a PhD student &
anti-globalization activist here in Vancouver. Garth invites comment
directly to him on garth@xxxxxxx

Comradely,

Tony Tracy

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2001 05:12:10 -0700
From: Garth Mullins <garth@xxxxxx>
Subject: The Ideological Hegemony of 911

Chipping Away at the New Ideological Hegemony:
The Creation of Counter Hegemonic Discourses to Imperialism and War
by Garth Mullins

"America's New War" is also a war of ideas, in which voices against war
and racism are massively outgunned. Regardless, an ideological
counter-strike must be launched, and this new consensus of revenge broken
open to reveal the old power relations that reside within.

In the wake of September 11, a new consensus has emerged among our rulers,
with the tacit support of a public that has been shocked and scared by
CNN's 24 hour news cycle of earnest commentators and disaster porn. It is
a public that has been attacked, presented with an ultimatum rather than a
debate, and given no alternatives. This new consensus must be exposed as a
fraudulent ruling class offensive, a crass attempt to recapture ground
lost to social movement criticism and declining popular confidence. It is
a opportunistic call to arms by the architects of the New World Order, to
defend profit accumulation, militarism, imperialism, property relations,
corporate client government, global free-enterprise and top-down, consumer
culture. There has not been so organized a ruling class offensive since
that of Mulroney, Reagen and Thatcher in the 1980s

Dissidents of this new orthodoxy must articulate and popularize an
opposing discourse, build a counter pole. The media have framed the debate
as between Bush and bin Laden, in the familiar Luc Skywalker vs. Darth
Vader story arc. It is US imperialism or terrorism. The public is forced
to choose, and then participate in the daily "two minutes hate."

Renewed Hegemony

Since the Battle of Seattle in 1999, many people had begun to question a
world organized around the principle of unbridled wealth accumulation by
massive transnational corporations, where client governments compete to
underbid one another and attract mobile capital. Governments,
corporations, trade deals, international institutions investor's rights
and even capitalism were beginning to lose legitimacy in the eyes of
millions. Rulers and bosses around the world have used the tragedy of
September 11 to silence this growing chorus of critics, make a grab to
regain the legitimacy lost to them and manufacture a new ideological and
political consensus. The media is faithfully re-framing the political
discourse, free of alternative viewpoints, save for a few marginalized,
de-contextualized voices.  Whereas before protest was sensationalistic and
sexy, dissent is now tantamount to support for terrorism. The growing
movement against war and racism must work to create a counter-pole, a
counter-hegemonic discourse opposing terrorism, but also the role of US
foreign policy, imperialism and global capitalism. Instead of falling into
media fetishes of "Who did it?" we must ask "why war?" and deconstruct the
"as seen on TV" Arab terrorist.

Economically, the same relations of production that drive corporations to
maximize profits and drive governments into an under bidding war, also
drive states to war. Investor confidence is shaky after an attack in the
heart of the financial capital of the world.  Markets need to be rallied!
The assets of the rich need cushioning for the coming recession. The Dow
Jones needs to reflect that "America is still open for business".
Investors need to know that George W. is minding the shop, that America is
still No. 1, John Wayne is still in the saddle and the Globo Cop is on the
beat.

Ideologically, the current drive to war needs to be understood in the
context of neo-liberalism's growing crisis of legitimacy. Cracks were
appearing in the promise of corporate globalizaiton, trade liberalization,
and "consumer democracy." Social movements and civil society pried at
these cracks, polarizing the political landscape and creating a
counter-hegemonic block. People were rejecting corporate rule, but at the
same time a conservative backlash was consolidating.  A serious
questioning the political, economic and social order had begun as many
stepped outside of the designated role as consumer / spectator, and were
beginning to become actively engaged in de-constructing this order.
Since September 11, you are either an uncritical supporter of GW Bush, or
a terrorist. This dichotomy excludes the growing popular discontent with
corporate rule and the decline of democracy. Any response other than flag
waving patriotism and hawkish war-mongering indicates a callous disregard
for the thousands that died on September 11 and support for terrorism. A
critical examination of the underlying causes of terrorism and critical
review of US foreign policy lies far outside of the re-framed political
landscape.

Dissenting Voices

Within hours of the attacks in New York and Washington, the consolidation
of a renewed hegemony was underway. Most of the world's nation states,
opposition parties and mainstream media have been willing to sign a blank
check to George W. Bush, and rally around the flag. "Terrorism" has now
been constructed to mean the expression of any dissenting viewpoint. This
new consensus, imposed from above, has re-framed the political debate
between uncritical support for US foreign policy or terrorism. We cannot
become impaled on the horns of this false-dichotomy. The various
communities affected by this racist backlash, constituents of the
anti-globalization movement, women, aboriginal peoples, unemployed
workers, the poor, labour, etc. need to come together to form a
counter-hegemonic block and popularize a mass anti-imperialist sentiment.

Stamping out dissenting voices is a priority for this new bosses
offensive. Sunera Thobani, former head of the National Action Committee on
the Status of Women and UBC professor, told a feminist conference today
that US foreign policy is the main agent of violence in the world, not
terrorism. Such rare dissenting comments were met with chorus of
disapproval. Rather than encouraging a public debate about the issues,
Liberal, Alliance and NDP politicians strongly slammed Thobani's comments.
It has been proposed that a Liberal MP attending the conference, who made
did not immediately slam Tohobani's comments be fired, and that such
conferences should receive no public funding. In sharp contrast to
coverage of anti-globalization activities, anti-war events, such as this
weekend's rally in Vancouver receive little attention from the mainstream
media. The comments of our federal "social democratic"  party searve to
remind that the only way forward is mobilization from below, rather than
looking to our elected leaders above: New Democratic Party leader Alexa
McDonough, demanded "an unequivocal rejection of the kind of cheap
sloganeering, of the excessive rhetoric." She went on to say that "this is
a time to be building tolerance, to be building bridges, not to create
greater divisions."  (Vancouver Sun, Oct 2, 2001)

Mobilizing

Since September 11, there has been a massive retreat among social justice,
environmental and labour organizations. Much of the Canadian labour
movement has cancelled all public political activities, under the
direction of Buzz Hargrove and Ken Georgettti. Many of the more mainstream
environmental groups have edited their web sites to remove any critical
mention of Bush. In Vancouver (as elsewhere) there are plenty of unions
and laobur activists that have rebelled, getting active, passing
resolutions and forming and joining anti-war coalitions. CUPE National
chair Judy Darcy has spoken out against this retreat in an open letter to
the movement. Voices for social justice need to make themselves heard now
more than ever.

The anti-globalization (and other) movements are shifting their focus to
building opposition to the coming war, the racist backlash and erosion of
civil liberties. This is not simply a redeployment of individuals and
events under a peace banner with moral commitment to pacifism. The
anti-globalization movement has, to some degree, developed a radical
critique of neo-liberalism, an analysis of global political economy and
militant tactics. These should be carried forward to contribute to and
inform the work of the anti-war movement. However, a much more concerted
effort must be made to include and reach out to a diversity of
communities, especially those facing the brunt of the racist backlash. The
anti-imperialist analysis so glaringly absent from much anti-globalization
organizing must be developed and made central to the current struggle.
Further, an anti-racist, anti-oppression orientation and process
(sometimes considered secondary) must now be taken to heart by the
shifting anti-globalizaiton movement.

We should also look to previous anti-war organizing. There are parallels
in the pattern of mobilization in the lead up to the Gulf War of 1991.
During "Operation Desert Shield" as US/UN troops massed in the Persian
Gulf and Saudi Arabia, anti-war events attracted relatively small numbers.
Yellow ribbons and American flags were everywhere. However, on the day
before George Bush's January 15 deadline to Iraq, tens of thousands
exploded into the streets across the country, walking out of schools,
workplaces and communities. The reality that Canada was going to war had
become apparent to everyone.  "Operation Desert Storm" catalyzed the
anti-war movement into action.  Organizations memberships increased
dramatically and the movement ballooned. In "America's New War," there is
no deadline, no well publicized date that war is to be declared.  War has
been declared, but no shots have been fired (back.) The troop build up is
underway, and so is the equivalent of the yellow ribbon campaign. US
Special Forces have already been in Afghanistan..On Tuesday, US lead
coalition members were briefed with the evidence and case against bin
Laden. One significant difference is resources; before the Gulf War there
was no mobilized anti-globalization movement with a large and diverse
membership, radical analysis, militant tactics and a number of significant
victories under its belt.

This time we won't know. There will be a press briefing at the White House
to announce that some kind of military action has already been taken.
Media access to the actual areas will be non-existent. There may be
video-game style footage of smart bombs targeting selected sites for
":surgical strikes" circa 1991. But that will only be the first event, and
will hopefully impress upon many people the reality that our government is
now an accessory to the killing of innocent civilians that it so recently
denounced.

It is not the imperialist war drive of Bush and Chretien, but it is rather
voices for social justice and against racism and war that truly champion
the memories of those that died on September 11.

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