I got it nearly half a year ago when I went to see Rothschild speak but didn't sit down with it until last week. The book is really just a compilation of stories from Rothschild's McCarthyism Watch up the The Progressive's webpage. These are mostly stories of the abrogation of citizens' rights here in post-9/11 America presented in a Joe Friday just-the-facts-ma'am manner. We are told what happened and given statements, where possible, from the repressee and repressor. There are 82 stories in all with each being given 2 or 3 pages.
The incidents portrayed here range from the relatively minor, such as when three teachers in Oregon were ejected from a political rally for simply wearing t-shirts that read "Protect Our Civil Liberties", to the fatal, like the case of the death of Balbir Singh Sodhi by goon violence. Just a sampling:
Brett Bursey went to protest a visit by Dubya in South Carolina. While standing on public property holding a sign that read "No More War For Oil", he was arrested after refusing to withdraw to a "free-speech zone" a half mile away. "Bursey said he was already in a free-speech zone: the United States of America." He was arrested for trespassing, though these charges were later dropped. Then Bursey was indicted by U.S. attorney Strom Thurmond, Jr. "for violating a statute having to do with presidential assassinations, kidnappings, and threats."
Brothers Yasser Ebrahim and Hany Ibrahim are Egyptians who were in the States when 9/11 happened. Nineteen days after the attacks, The FBI, INS, and NYPD came to their apartment and arrested them. They were denied the right of an attorney and spent 24 hours at a holding facility during which even the right to use the bathroom was also denied. They were moved to the Metropolitan Detention Center where they had their faces slammed into walls and were forced to walk around in leg chains so the guards could get their kicks by tripping them. When Yasser asked about their human rights, he was told, "Three thousand people died in the World Trade Center. You have no rights." The brothers were eventually deported without ever having been charged of a crime.
However, not all the stories involve visits from the authorities. Take the case of Muammar Ali, a student at New Mexico State University in 2005. He was their star running back. But that fall he was released from the team, as were the two other Muslim players, by head coach Hal Mumme. Mumme supposedly questioned Ali about Islam and its relation to Al-Qaeda. The coach also had players give the Lord's Prayer after practice and before game time. Mumme refused to even give a reason for cutting Ali.
The stories here are quite disturbing. Exercising one's rights can earn you a visit by men clad in trenchcoats and sunglasses or, even worse, land you in jail. Honestly, though, I am not surprised that G-men and Secret Service agents are out knocking on people's doors looking to follow-up on reports of things "un-American". Disturbing, yes; shocking, no. If the book has a flaw, then it's that one group here has virtually no voice – the snitch. I would have liked Rothschild to do a little bifurcation and devoted one half to the short stories such as those above and the other to examining one tale in-depth.
To illustrate, there's the story of Mark Schultz of Atlanta. In June of 2003 he stopped to get a cup of java at a Caribou Coffee before work. Schultz worked at a bookstore and had a long shift ahead of him as the new Harry Potter book was being released. While in line at the coffeeshop, he read a print-out of an online article given to him by his father. It was called "Weapons of Mass Stupidity: Fox News Hits a New Lowest Common Denominator". As Rothschild writes: "Another customer at Caribou Coffee evidently saw Schultz reading the article and called the FBI on him."
I fully expect those in power to jerk people around and to get all jumpy when someone dares question them. But what's so sad here is that Schultz was ratted on. It wasn't Big Brother watching, it appears to have been a member of his community – a fellow citizen. And it's the stories of these snitches and the Coach Mummes that I'd like to hear more. I want to try and understand why an article that is critical of Fox News is so terrifying to someone that they'd call the Feds. What kind of person would do that? What are his/her views on free speech?
Many of the stories in the book involve Joe Six Pack sitting at home only to get a knock on the door from a G-man and/or Secret Service agent. These stories often end with a quote from an official at one of the agencies saying something like, "We received a report and we followed up on it." I believe these officials most of the time and so what interests me is who exactly is being a tattle-tale? Are any of them just trying to get back at a neighbor by calling the FBI? Imagine the fear that must be engendered when you get a visit from the Feds. Now imagine how it must feel to know that you were visited, not because the government is spying on you, but because your neighbor reported you to them. That is, perhaps, even worse.
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