Pixelated Semantics

Being alarmed about the government's intentions

With Attorney-General Philip Ruddock saying "people should be extremely nervous about the possibility of a terrorist attack on Australian soil" the government has not just completely contradicted its own "Be alert - not alarmed" message, the Minister is blatantly spreading alarmism and fear in a calculated manner. In the complete absence of attempts to calm the population, the only inference is that the government is driving the fear towards offering increasingly draconian powers as the "solution". This is not only cynical, it represents the total abrogation of responsible democracy. Threat levels have not been raised, we are told to believe that the Irak invasion has not made us more vulnerable, and yet from this gaggle of self-interested lawyers masquerading as a government, the emphasis is not on prevention but on fear. Being "entitled to feel nervous" just leaves Australians suspended between indiscriminate killing, and increasing police state powers. Being entitled to constitutional human rights would be vastly preferable.

The media in Australia seem to be very happy to run with the A-G's alarmism. The Age uses "You should be nervous warns Ruddock" though it earlier headed the story "Australians 'entitled' to fear attacks". The Daily Telegraph has "We're entitled to fear attack: Ruddock". Channel 7 has "Australians 'entitled' to fear attacks". The use of personal pronouns ("you" and "we"), and the choice of the word "fear" although the Minister used "nervous", shows that promoting a little negativity goes a long way (before returning to the government as a public plea for "security"). The take-away media message is that it's right to fear and it's personal. It is arguably extremely naive to believe this is not deliberate manipulation of public sentiment.

Dateline on SBS last night presented a damning indictment of the official use of secrecy provisions accompanied by damaging leaks to the media, finding that the rights of "suspects" and "the accountability of the government" are diminished. The tactic is for the Government, frequently the A-G, to smear "suspects" by leaks to the media, then to "hide behind the secrecy provisions of its own terror laws when challenged". The media coverage following the "raids" was also noted here in June.

The SBS reporter points out that none of the people given the "smear and hide" treatment following recent "raids" have been charged with any offence, and concludes that "perhaps we should all be alert and alarmed".

Item posted by AutoEditor at 11:48 am ::