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Tcahr Issue 28
TCAHR - Better Living Through Memetics
Volume 02, Issue 04
Deconstructing Johnny 12/09/01
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This was going to be a fun issue. I had all these great
topics running around my head. Tops on the list were things
like women and relationships, memetic ancestory, night-time
patrols, and comic book superheroes. We were going to have
fun, but Mr. Ashcroft, U.S Attorney General and all-around
asshole ruined all that. Now I have to go ahead and
deconstruct Johnny's virus. Everybody thank Johnny.
Besides, I've been getting a lot of spam this week from the
Republican National Congress this week addressing me as
"Dear Republican", which only helped put me in an
absolutely foul mood. Around the TCAHR office, thems
fightin' words.
This week, Ashcroft unleashed this carefully crafted
soundbite:
"Our legal powers are targeted at terrorists.
To those who scare peace-loving people with
phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this:
Your tactics only aid terrorists, for they
erode our national unity and diminish our
resolve. They give ammunition to America's
enemies and pause to America's friends."
The first thing that should be noted is mood. The tone of
the language used is meant to establish two moods. Use of
the words "targeted", "terrorists", "tactics", "ammunition",
and "enemies" create one of these moods. Lest we forget
America is at war, Ashcroft drills it home by using words
with military connotations.
The second mood established by the above virus is that of
fear of loss. The intended host of this is meant to feel
"loss" by the words "phantoms", "lost", "erode", "diminish",
and "pause". These word are linked to other words of
powerful connotations to promote imagery, such as "lost
liberty". This would be considered an NLP (Neuro-Lingustic
Programming) technique in its use of juxaposing something
"good" with something "bad".
Readers with a passion for verse may have discovered a use
of poetry techniques to create rhythm within the virus.
This is established repetition of sounds. In the sentences:
"To those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost
liberty" and "They give ammunition to America's enemies and
pause to America's friends", the use of repetition of intial
consonants are used. Rhythm helps in continuing the process
of making this piece more agreeable to the human ear, hence
making its memes more easily digested.
I have no doubt that this piece of Ashcroft's speech
was meant to be disseminated throughout the mediasphere: it
is more poetry than political speech. While the above
techniques were used to attract attention, it is the wording
of the soundbite which is used to propel the meme.
By coupling "those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms
of lost liberty" with "Your tactics only aid terrorists, for
they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve",
Ashcroft gives us a fine example of a meme with a
propagative profile; a meme with more than one mode of
transmission.
The Ashcroft virus equates speaking out against the
government's tactics to hunt down terrorists with the
eroding of "our national unity" and diminishing
"our resolve". The mood of fear is used to promote the
"dissention is un-American" meme by proselytic transmission.
Fear is encouraged to make the meme more acceptable to its
host target and create an appeal for security.
The "dissention is un-American" meme also uses adversative
transmission to minimalize those who argue against the
government. If you speak out, you "erode" and "diminish"
America. You are automatically an enemy, or to paraphrase
Bush's own virus, "you're either with America or with the
terrorists." There are no shades of gray in Ashcroft's
words.
Cognitive transmission is acheived by majority opinion. If
most of a group agrees and retains Ashcroft's ideas (which
would be those Americans whose memetical valances tend to
agree with him: Republicans, conservatives, and warhawks),
those of the group who do not agree are more easily
converted.
Finally, there is motivational transmission, which is
accomplished by the adoption of an idea if these is
something to gain. Destruction of an enemy, victory, more
power, release from fear, security...make your own list.
So Mr. Ashcroft sends this virus into the mediasphere.
Naturally, he is attacked in the newspapers and television
for this. After, he pretty much implicated the media, which
has poked through every nook and cranny of his questionable
actions and has the power and resources to comment on them in
a national scale. So what happens next?
On Friday Mindy Tucker, Justice Department spokeswoman played
sheild for Ashcroft and said:
"Ashcroft was very clear he wanted public
debate. Anyone who reported that he
criticized anyone who opposed him was
absolutely wrong and in doing so became
part of the exact problem he was describing."
Ohhhhh. So everyone misunderstood him. He wants public
debate, but then slams the newspapers and televisions. I
mean, "to those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms
of lost liberty, my message is this: Your tactics only aid
terrorists" can be taken in so other many ways.
See? The newsreporters were wrong. They're the exact problem
he was describing. They're aiding the terrorists and eroding
our national unity while dimishing our resolve. I get it now.
I'm so convinced by the brillance of Ashcroft, I'm gonna go
re-enlist right now and kill me some towelheads while drinking
a beer and blelching out "The Star-Spangled Banner".
Yeah, Riggghht!
Mr. John Ashcroft, you pig-fucker, I've seen better set-ups
in B-grade action films.
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This renga was inspired by BMC's writings in issue #177 of
N-Com (http://www.neo-comintern.com). Since I've
already aided terrorists by excercising my limited right to
free speech, this is as good a place as any to post it. This
renga may be forever reproduced freely.
AMERICAN JINGOISM RENGA
There is no honor
in vindictive, bloody fists
feinting innocence?
America, haven't you
been a terrorist yourself?
How can I believe
in the word "freedom" coming
from your liar's mouth?
Your Latin neighbors are forced
to swallow your freedom raw.
Wasn't it your hand
that directed the troops that
burned Nicaragua?
The silos held no missiles;
your freedom fighters burned grain.
Who destroyed more Cubans;
Castro or your embargo?
Your freedom brings death.
Mr. Citizen, killing
is easy from the suburbs.
Mrs. Citizen,
is it easy to yell for
nuclear weapons
When your country has many
and your enemies so few?
What whetted your taste
for atomic destruction?
Japanese children?
Hirshiman firestorms?
Nagaskian mushrooms?
You would cheer the death
of innocents and soldiers
just to say you won.
You're worse than politicians...
Fuck you, U.S. Citizen.
Jet Jaguar
TCAHR CEO
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Smart people I ripped off this time!
Blackmore, Susan. "The Meme Machine", Oxford University
Press, Oxford, UK: 1999.
Lynch, Aaron. "Thought Contagion: How Belief Spreads Through
Society", Basic Books, New York, NY: 1996.
Rushkoff, Douglas. "Media Virus", Ballantine Books, New
York, NY: 1996.
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tcahr@hotmail.com Copyright 2001
