26-10-2008, 01:36 PM
Myra Bronstein Wrote:Well I don't think that the JFK/RFK/MLK assassinations fit the model of disaster capitalism Charles, wherein the mobsters take advantage of public shock over an event to ram through legislation that wouldn't pass under ordinary circumstances. For example the patriot act was passed in the aftermath of 911. I do think Oklahoma City falls into the shock doctrine category, given the anti-terrorism legislation that was passed using it as an excuse.
Hm, I forgot about TWA 800. Not that I know a whole lot to forget. I wonder how that fits in to the big picture.
Myra,
I wouldn't presume to speak for Ms. Klein or to claim that I am sufficiently well-versed in her hypothesis to offer in-depth analysis.
However, I feel confident to suggest that she would be sympathetic to the idea that the sort of public shock over a manufactured event that is central to her argument may be utilized for purposes other than pressuring passage of legislation which in non-crisis circumstances would be unlikely to become law.
Think of the significant changes in post-JFK Cold War foreign policy as de facto legislation that could have been implemented only after Kennedy was removed prematurely from office.
Think of OKC and TWA 800 as "shocks" that were stilled by the buffering effects of Clinton's failures to take full advantage.
Back to the '60s: I would go so far as to argue that the Civil Rights Act might not have passed absent the tragedy in Dallas, and that that legislation served the short- and long-term purposes of assassination sponsors by supporting the illusion of a democratic America even as democracy vanished in a halo of blood on November 22, 1963.
The shock of RFK's murder served to prevent certain legislative changes that would have formed the foundations of another Kennedy presidency. Accordingly, we can argue that Ms. Klein's hypothesis extends to the central event of June 4, 1968.
And the murder of Dr. King, which I ask that you see as the yang to the Civil Rights Act's yin, also may fit within the Klein paradigm.