Only traitors try to make us afraid of terrorists

[ciphergoth]

Quoted in full because this is important. I've corrected an error in his quote from the paper.

Only traitors try to make us afraid of terrorists

In this mind-blowing, exhaustively researched Cato institute paper by Ohio State University's John Mueller, the case against being afraid of terrorism is laid out in irrefutable logic, backed with credible, documented statistics about terrorism's risks. From the number of fatalities produced by terrorism to the trends in terrorism death to the fact that almost no one has ever died from a military biological agent to the fact that poison gas and dirty bombs in the field do only minor damage -- this paper is the most reassuring and infuriating piece of analysis I've read since September 11th, 2001.

The bottom line is, terrorism doesn't kill many people. Even in Israel, you're four times more likely to die in a car wreck than as a result of a terrorist attack. In the USA, you need to be more worried about lightning strikes than terrorism. The point of terrorism is to create terror, and by cynically convincing us that our very countries are at risk from terrorism, our politicians have delivered utter victory to the terrorists: we are terrified.

Much of the current alarm is generated from the knowledge that many of today's terrorists simply want to kill, and kill more or less randomly, for revenge or as an act of what they take to be war.

[...] The shock and tragedy of September 11 does demand a focused and dedicated program to confront international terrorism and to attempt to prevent a repeat. But it seems sensible to suggest that part of this reaction should include an effort by politicians, officials, and the media to inform the public reasonably and realistically about the terrorist context instead of playing into the hands of terrorists by frightening the public. What is needed, as one statistician suggests, is some sort of convincing, coherent, informed, and nuanced answer to a central question: "How worried should I be?" Instead, the message the nation has received so far is, as a Homeland Security official put (or caricatured) it, "Be scared; be very, very scared -- but go on with your lives." Such messages have led many people to develop what Leif Wenar of the University of Sheffield has aptly labeled "a false sense of insecurity."

-- Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing

A False Sense of Insecurity (PDF, see also HTML version), John Mueller, Ohio State University

Comments

[ladycat.livejournal.com]

Yes, but there's one vital error. The people who need to read this are too busy running round screaming *PANIC* *FEAR* *DREAD* and reading the Daily Mail...

[arkady.livejournal.com]

Duly linked. Most timely; thank you.

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

Finally, some common sense at last. Thanks for the links.

[diffrentcolours]

This is a good link to propogate, along with Schneier's thoughts on Threat Levels which point out that they do nothing useful.

[nictoupee.livejournal.com]

linked, thanks muchly. I do find today's UK headlines quite strangely timed with your post.

[zbyszek.livejournal.com]

Sound good (and similar in intent to my ill-formed rants regarding perceived "threats") - I look forward to reading it when I get home. Ta for linking.

[countess-sophia.livejournal.com]

Is this the same Cato Institute that's long been in bed with certain people who think it's a very good idea indeed to promote fear of terrorism in order to push their agendas through? That is an interesting piece of distancing. Still, even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

Soph, who is very suspicious of any organisation that names itself after Cato

[intellectronica.livejournal.com]

wow, for you to be quoting a cato inst. these must be very special times :)

b.t.w added you, since i've done away with my lshift jabber account.

[deathboy.livejournal.com]

don't know if it's of any use to you, but I've just reposted the contents of the PDF as HTML (http://deathboy.livejournal.com/882224.html), as I know many of my friends are unlikely to click, let alone read a lengthy PDF.

[wriggler.livejournal.com]

Interesting link, thanks.

I would like to alert you all to a 1 hour documentary called "Loose Change". It's about the Sept 11 2001 attacks. You can watch it on the link below via Google with broadband/high speed connections. Bear in mind it's made by an inexperienced 22 year old who could've done with some script editing. Nonetheless, it's definite food for thought, even if it's only 10% correct in its propositions. And highly relevant to current events.

www.loosechange911.com

Oh, and on this now liquid on planes thing

[ablueskyboy.livejournal.com]

There's a link in here to a friend of mine on LJ that posted a link to a really good point essay on the subject:

http://ablueskyboy.livejournal.com/81751.html