Thursday, August 15, 2019

Killer Narratives

Abdelwahab El-Affendi, "Killer narratives: The real culprit of mass shootings in the US"
Mass violence is not the product of religion or culture. It is born of narratives of insecurity.

Sci-Fi films like the Terminator series (in particular Terminator II - Judgment Day), or The Matrix trilogy, use morphing - a special-effects process in which someone or something changes shape or form - to present the viewer with alternative perspectives on the same reality. In the Terminator, the "cyborg" robot has the power to take the shape of humans - usually after killing them - of any age or gender. Once it takes the human form, characters within the film start responding to the violent attacks against "the monster" with horror. However, the viewers applaud these brutal attacks, and even demand more. The narrative demands it, after all, especially after the atrocities it perpetrates!

This illustration of the effect of narrative framing holds the key to understanding instances of mass violence, such as the recent series of mass shootings in the United States. The two young men who carried out the mass shootings on August 3 in El Paso, Texas and August 4 in Dayton, Ohio, were acting in a different movie from the one we are all watching. In their story, they were not opening fire on "innocent people", but heroically responding to "an existential threat".

The two episodes occurred within 14 hours of each other, and only a few days after a similar attack in California. This indicates a shared story that is gaining traction. While the Time magazine counted 250 other mass shootings in the US this year, the last three were somewhat different. They seem to have a clear political message, with racist and anti-immigrant undertones. The El Paso incident, in particular, appeared to copy the notorious July 2011 Oslo massacre by right-wing "terrorist" Anders Behring Breivik, who uploaded a rambling Islamophobic "manifesto" on the Internet before murdering 77 people. While the Oslo attacker ranted about a "Muslim threat" to European identity, his El Paso copy-cat was also believed to have uploaded a racist "manifesto" deploring the "Hispanic invasion" of Texas.

As expected, these atrocities raised serious questions and an anguished soul-searching. And as Americans of all walks of life tried to answer the vexing question "why?", their divergent answers once again highlighted the deep divisions the country is currently facing. Liberals blamed lax gun laws and racist rhetoric promoted by US President Donald Trump. Those on the right cited mental illness, suspect Internet and social media sites and violent video games.

This mirrored the contested explanations of the 9/11 attacks and more recent atrocities committed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS). As they tried to explain the reasons behind these atrocities, serious academics and analysts focused on complex political, economic, psychological and ideological factors feeding terrorism across regions and cultures. However, right-wing ideologues focused on Islamism (even Islam) as the main factor. These views are now dominant in Trump's inner circle. It is interesting - and ironic - that the resulting Islamophobic narratives have fed populist right-wing rage in Europe and the US, contributing in turn to right-wing militancy and terrorism.

The research I conducted in collaboration with colleagues from around the world has proven both sets of explanations inadequate. Our study (published in Genocidal Nightmares: Narratives of Insecurity and the Logic of Mass Atrocities, 2015) was unique in that it included an unprecedented array of cases and cultural contexts (from Europe, Asia and Africa). We rejected the simplistic cultural-religious explanations because mass violence is perpetrated in many cultural contexts - Orthodox/Catholic/Protestant Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim - and the majority in all these groups (even among "Islamists") opposes terrorism.

However, alternative explanations looked equally unconvincing. Terrorism and mass violence do not result automatically from economic deprivation, political injustice or religious or ethnic polarisation. Psychological explanations are particularly problematic. It cannot be convincingly argued that the millions who abruptly engaged in intense mass violence, such as in Rwanda, Yugoslavia, India, Darfur, and so forth, have all suddenly become "insane", as it takes plenty of sustained rationality even to conduct genocide.

This is where our "narratives of insecurity" solution comes in. As in the case of the science fiction narratives cited above, "It is the story, stupid!" People do not just wake up and attack their life-long neighbours and friends because of insanity. Rather, they act within a shared story, emphasising a threat to their values or existence. Like cyborgs (or monsters in old fairy tales), the neighbours become part of a bigger story of aliens threatening our very existence. They take on the role of "invaders" threatening Europe's (or America's, India's etc) cultural identity. It is interesting that al-Qaeda and ISIL fighters also peddle similar narratives about "Crusaders" threatening Muslim land and even Islam itself.

All will be lost unless urgent action is taken. Anyone "possessed" by such narratives of a clear and present danger will feel compelled to act, or at least demand action. This is especially true if this picture is embedded within a wider narrative of a "conspiracy" of elite inaction, even complicity. In such a scenario "direct action" would be called for, and actors that promise it hailed.

Again, as the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek remarks, some fictional narratives, such as Fox's hit TV series 24, illustrate this by showing how "ticking bomb scenarios" tend to justify extreme action, including the arrest and torture of key security agents. Even the son of the secretary of defence was arrested in one episode in the context of tackling a threatened mass terror attack. In the series, even the victims themselves accept this as justified, and go back to work immediately after their release!

Security analysts use the term "securitisation" to refer to moves aimed at shifting routine administrative matters such as migration or health to major national threats. We can see this in the way Trump has classified Muslim and Latin American immigration, and trade with China, and even with Canada, Mexico and Europe as national threats. In such cases, securitisation permits policymakers to take exceptional measures that would not otherwise be permissible, such as suspending human rights, building walls or engaging in trade sanctions, military mobilisation, etc. I have coined the term "hyper-securitisation" to refer to cases where fear-mongering rhetoric is used to incite mass panic and incite genocide and similar atrocities.

These narratives are often contested; rival versions gain currency according to how skilfully and convincingly they are presented, and which influential narrators chip in. It is different when the head of the state and mainstream media, rather than fringe actors, peddle the stories, thus enhancing the plausibility of threat narratives. Political mood shifts helped bring extremist right-wing parties from the fringe to centre in India, Israel, the US and Europe. The Brexit debate in Britain also shifted the political topography. However, in Canada, Germany and France, more centrist forces prevailed.

To sum up, perpetrators of mass violence act within a narratively-constructed and validated context. They are "possessed" by narratives of intense insecurity, usually wrapped up in conspiracy narratives about betrayal and sinister evils lurking in the dark. These narratives are self-reinforcing since their believers would treat every refutation as corroboration, every revelation to the contrary as "fake news" from the same suspect sources. It is a virtual death trap that often ends in mass murder unless some courageous voices rise up and win the contest.
The media today is full of accusations that Donald Trump's "narrative" regarding illegal immigration is inspiring Right-wing violence... but why don't they ever complain of Left-wing inspired violence (ala ICE Shootings)? I suppose the media's agenda doesn't suit calling attention to the social problems that their extreme Progressive ideology cause, especially in spurring racial animosity against Whites and against the Police within minority communities. After all, the media OWN the narratives. And the media leans Left.

14 comments:

  1. They don't complain about it because "we can all be grateful that nobody was injured"... as per the article YOU linked to. "Left-wing inspired violence" (as you say) is no where near the problem that Dotard-inspired white supremacist violence is. The violence from the left is also more of the "frustrated" variety. "Frustrated" being the word you used to describe trumpturd HATE.

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  2. No, the media simply doesn't report on the Left-wing inspiratiosn (ie environmentalism). Meanwhile they see ALL the right-wing inspiration stuff and rail to the high heavens about it whilst being completely silent on the about the Left's contributions to the catastrophe (ala- DAYTON SHOOTER).

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  3. They are "silent" because there is no connection. tRump uses his bully pulpit to preach hate. Elizabeth Warren does not. Protesting hate is not itself hate. It is anti-hate.

    Re your "harmless prankster" comment: (incorrect) mind reading on your part.

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  4. No connection to the planet running out of resources/warming as a reason to off people as written in the El Paso shooter's manifesto? Who knew?

    Corporations are heading the destruction of our environment by shamelessly overharvesting resources. This has been a problem for decades. For example, this phenomenon is brilliantly portrayed in the decades old classic “The Lorax”. Water sheds around the country, especially in agricultural areas, are being depleted. Fresh water is being polluted from farming and oil drilling operations. Consumer culture is creating thousands of tons of unnecessary plastic waste and electronic waste, and recycling to help slow this down is almost non-existent. Urban sprawl creates inefficient cities which unnecessarily destroys millions of acres of land. We even use god knows how many trees worth of paper towels just wipe water off our hands. Everything I have seen and heard in my short life has led me to believe that the average American isn’t willing to change their lifestyle, even if the changes only cause a slight inconvenience. The government is unwilling to tackle these issues beyond empty promises since they are owned by corporations. Corporations that also like immigration because more people means a bigger market for their products. I just want to say that I love the people of this country, but god damn most of y’all are just too stubborn to change your lifestyle. So the next logical step is to decrease the number of people in America using resources. If we can get rid of enough people, then our way of life can become more sustainable.

    Sounds like an eco-warrior to me. But you just ignore the "inconvenient" facts...

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  5. Elizabeth Warren has never suggested getting rid of people. Dotard HAS.

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  6. Warren wants to abort them, not deport them.

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  7. So does Bernie...

    Socialist presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders says if he’s elected, he wants American taxpayers to pay for abortions in poor countries around the world to limit population growth. Why? Because Sanders claims mass abortions will limit climate change.Sanders made the assertions at the CNN townhall discussing the “climate crisis.” A female teacher asked the following question: “Human population growth has more than doubled in the past 50 years. The planet cannot sustain this growth. I realize this is a poisonous topic for politicians, but it’s crucial to face.

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  8. Abortion is a woman's choice. Neither Warren nor Sanders support forced abortions.

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  9. It isn't. Murder is a crime punishable by law. What is your point? I assume you are saying abortion is murder. Despite the Supreme Court deciding otherwise.

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