Of all the themes that have emerged since 9/11, the notion that if we do [insert rational harm-avoidance behavior here], the terrorists have won is the most annoying, misleading, and unrealistic. I understand the basic premise: Terrorists win based on fear, and if they can scare us into doing certain things, they are able to achieve their objectives.
But their objective is not to make the U.S. more authoritarian. Or to line the budgets of DC and NYC SWAT teams. Or to prevent large outdoor gatherings. Their goal is to paralyze our foreign policy, undermine our client states, and establish Islamist theocracies across the world, starting in the Middle East. And one of their goals is to kill a lot of Americans. If the terrorists do any of those things they really have won.
Street criminals do not win when I lock my door or carry a gun. Drunk drivers do not win when I buckle up or avoid driving around at 2:30 a.m. on New Years day. These groups have imposed costs, no doubt, but the alternative of passive victimization is a much higher cost. And that’s what we’re frequently counseled to do in the face of terrorism: ignore the problem and hope it goes away. We are told not to listen to our own intuitive sense that some areas, some gatherings, and some people just feel more dangerous. This counsel is mere propaganda. To the extent we’re harder targets, more informed citizens, and more aware of risk and benefit of different activities, we are a more aware and less easily victimized society.
The notion that we cannot and should not change any of our behaviors, that the status quo on September 10, 2001 was somehow sacred, is ridiculous and insulting. Things had to change. The only question we should be asking is whether our precautions–both individual and collective–are sensible and cost-effective. But we should never forget what a terrorist victory really looks like.
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Right. When Enya sales skyrocket, the terrorists have won.
Rigorous and thoughtful response. I’m impressed.
Well, it was rigorous and thoughtful commentary–I thought it deserved the same in a response!
I’m glad to have inspired this post.
Don’t mind Brooke. She gets pissy when another blog gets more thoughtful commentary than hers.
Jesus, it really is shit on Brooke day. Oy.
Okay, serious thoughtful commentary:
I thought the dudes with big guns on the metro this morning warranted an exception to my “Only use the-terrorists-have-won joke tongue-in-cheek” rule.
I don’t think we’ve lost the war on terror because of a police officer with a big scary gun on the train. But I think the terrorists have won some battles in a certain sense, in that they have created the need for so many highly visible reminders that there are people out there who want to kill us–that’s part of what terrorism is: it creates a climate of fear. It wounds a nation’s psyche. I think of those as small victories achieved by the terrorists.
Does it mean we shouldn’t protect ourselves? Does it mean we’ve lost the larger war on terror?No. I realize that visible changes are necessary to protect Americans. But I’m sad for the passing of the time when we didn’t have to think about the threat everyday, just like my grandparents and parents were sad when they realized they had to lock their doors.
I don’t see anything wrong with longing for a past innocence.
My comment was over the line. Please disregard and accept my apologies.
The terrorists will have won when we lose our resolve to exterminate every last one of those motherfuckers, by any means necessary.
LAST PART EDITED OUT BECAUSE OF OVER-THE-TOP OBNOXIOUSNESS AND LACK OF GERMANENESS.
Wisemonkey and others, please avoid personal attacks. I realize things get heated here, but there’s no need for that sort of thing.
Roach, you swine! The Wisemonkey’s pearls of wisdom are always germane! And the Wisemonkey’s obnoxiousness is merely part of his rhetorical flourish! You should all be writing the Wisemonkey’s words down, for they will inevitiably be recognized as part of the canon of Western intellectual achievement.
Wisemonkey, since I know you and I know you’re playing it up for the cameras so to speak, I will forgive this idiocy.
Western intellectual achievement? No doubt from reading the dime-store true-crime books of which you’re so fond.
“The notion that we cannot and should not change any of our behaviors, that the status quo on September 10, 2001 was somehow sacred, is ridiculous and insulting.” So maybe we can pull out of Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Middle East without worrying that it will seem as if the terrorists have won. It was the right thing to do on Sept. 10, and it’s the right thing to do now.
John Douglas is looking for you, Roach.