October 11, 2009

Terror and the theatrical paradigm

By J.R. Dunn
Pittsburgh was treated to an impressive show the week of the recent G20 conference. A nice assortment of military choppers of various types and missions, along with odder aircraft difficult both to identify and explain. Both police and the National Guard were out in force, with downtown nearly sealed off.None of this hardware was used against the "3,000 - 4,000" (more like a few hundred) anarchist demonstrators when they turned their righteous wrath on a dozen Starbucks and a Whole Foods store. No serious confrontation was expected and none occurred. Because all of it - the Guard troops, the choppers, and of course the rioters -was theater. Certain unmentioned limits were in place. The Guard troops qualified as something called a "show of force", there to impress the international delegates as much as anyone else. The anarchists knew that they'd get home in time for Jon Stewart with their heads uncracked if they targeted only overpriced coffee and organic outfits....(Read Full Article)