Who Will Be Our Next Bogeyman……….?

……….now that Osama bin Laden is dead (again)? MSNBC.com has dutifully and expeditiously offered new candidates for the title.

Our state masters require the existence of an enemy or someone to fear in order to justify their protection racket. If none genuinely exist they won’t hesitate to create one or many, an exercise they have accomplished with expert proficiency since the end of the Cold War. A continual and all pervading fear helps inspire obedience and submission to state dictates defended as necessary for the masses’ protection.

Look over this display of candidates. Which would you pick to be someone whose mere headshot will cause dread and anxiety among soccer moms and the voting slaves. I always considered OBL to be a bad candidate for such a designation. His friendly smile and warm eyes belied his proven history of violence. Maybe this time an enemy will be chosen with the proper, terrifying mug shot.

Creating non-state actors and independently acting “terrorists” to be feared is a stroke of genius. Who better to create angst among the populace than an individual or small group moving from place to place, their whereabouts or plan of attack never certain to our protectors? Who better to fear than an individual who has no allegiance to a specific state? States are certainly easier to designate as an enemy. The propagandists won’t hesitate collectively smearing an entire foreign population held captive by its rulers, who defy or object to “our” ruler’s assumed hegemony.
 
They (meaning individuals) are all to be considered a threat. Iran and China are examples of such abuse. It’s much easier for boobus to comprehend such simplistic characterizations. However, people with any knowledge or familiarity with a maligned population may be harder to convince as to the severity of this supposed, collective threat. But a lone gunmen can be concocted to meet whatever specifications its creator desires. These specifications will also be harder to contradict because nearly no one will be familiar with this lone actor or small group. Just how deranged, blood thirsty, or despicable a character do you need? Just list the desired attributes, create a menacing resume, and draw up the perfect bad guy of your dreams. Let your imagination go wild.

So view the contestants carefully. Let’s all do our part to help out Homeland Security and their benevolent fear mongering. Choose who best encompasses the US state’s description of “evil doer.”