Repression as a Means of Social Control

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Repression as a Means of Social Control

• Seattle,
• Lynching
• and
• Iraq

2
This Week

• WTO and repression in Seattle
• Repression as a means of social control

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Things to think about

• What happened in Seattle in November of 1999?
• What is the WTO?
• Why did people protest the WTO?
• What was the response of local police force?
• How is repression part of socialization?
• What are the goals of repression?
• Responsibility is mixture of small and large
  scale.
• How effective is torture as a means of social
  control and intelligence gathering?

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Goals of the WTO

• Remove any barriers to trade to allow goods and
  money to flow more freely between countries
• The WTO not only rules on trade barriers, but
  also "non-tariff" barriers to trade such as
  environmental regulations, food standards and
  intellectual property rights.
• Countries must use the "least trade restrictive
  rule" when developing laws or standards according
  to the WTO.

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Rulings of the WTO and GATT

• Dolphin-safe tuna
• Asbestos ban in France
• Labeling of genetically engineered food

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Labor Rally Seattle 1999
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World Trade Organization Protest Seattle 1999
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WTO Protest In Hong Kong December 2005
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Repression and Social Control

• How does society keep people in line?
• Internal Sources of Social Control
• Socialization internalizes societys goals and
  values
• External Sources of Social Control
• Informal sanctions - pressure, humiliation, etc.
• Formal sanctions - rules, laws, etc.
• Repression
• Use of coercion to enforce goals of the
  repressing group

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Repression to Silence Opposition

• At this anti-war rally, police used bean-bag
  bullets on protestors.
• Thus, people are encouraged to seek only
  legitimate means of voicing dissent, like
  voting.

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Responsibility for Repression

• While connected, it is necessary to separate the
  institution promoting repression from people who
  engage in it.
• Governments, military and political officials
  sanction the use of repression.
• War, dictatorial regimes, and governments
  encouraging fear of others promotes the use of
  repression.
• Mixture of small-scale (individuals who
  participate) and large-scale (institutions and
  context of repression)

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Some Individuals Participate

• Some people enjoy their role in the repressive
  regime!

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Others Refuse to Participate

• Revealed U.S. Soldier Killed Herself After
  Objecting to Interrogation Techniques
• Editor Publisher
• http//www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1102-05.ht
  m

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Pat Tillman

• After 9/11, enlisted in the Rangers to fight in
  Afghanistan, but was sent to Iraq instead.
• Thought the war in Iraq was so fucking illegal.
• Killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan.

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But, Torture is Official Policy

• The US engages in the practice of rendition, in
  which dozens of suspects have been seized and
  turned over for interrogation to other countries,
  including several known to engage routinely in
  torture.
• Torture Victim Had No Terror Link, Canada Told
  U.S.
• Scott Shane, NY Times 9/25/06

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Torture

• The violent force-feeding of hunger strikers,
  incidents of excessive violence used in
  transporting prisoners and combinations of
  interrogation techniques "must be assessed as
  amounting to torture"
• http//www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0213-01.ht
  m

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Torture Produces Little Useful Intelligence

• Torture was used to obtain justifications for the
  invasion of Iraq
• Confession That Formed Base of Iraq War was
  Acquired Under Torture
• Agence France Presse
• http//www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1027-04.ht
  m
• Information Obtained through Torture is
  Unreliable
• Campbell warns against torture
• http//news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/329539
  7.stm

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War Worsens Threat

• Spy Agencies Say Iraq War Worsens Terrorism
  Threat
• New York Times
• More Deadly Than Saddam
• Japan Times - http//www.commondreams.org/views06/
  1016-20.htm
• 98 Percent of Cluster Bomb Victims are Civilians
• Inter Press Service - http//www.commondreams.org/
  headlines06/1103-09.htm

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Military Charts Movement of Conflict in Iraq
Toward ChaosNew York Times -http//www.nytimes.co
m/2006/11/01/world/middleeast/01military.html?hpe
x1162443600enae294d1d13aed188ei5094partnerh
omepage
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Things to think about

• What happened in Seattle in November of 1999?
• What is the WTO?
• Why did people protest the WTO?
• What was the response of local police force?
• How is repression part of socialization?
• What are the goals of repression?
• Responsibility is mixture of small and large
  scale.
• How effective is torture as a means of social
  control and intelligence gathering?