 |
 |
Dear all, The media lessons from Northern Ireland, or the North of Ireland, suggest that when spokespersons use the term 'terrorist', we need to consider who is speaking, for whom and to what purpose. Further, that those who hold state power will always be granted free access to the airwaves before anyone else; in fact views from the state and its agencies are frequently given as fact before being checked. As Allen has pointed out, the British state was not immune to using violence for political purposes, ie terrorism, here. The cases of Bloody Sunday, the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, the Glenanne Gang (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-26991706), etc. attest to this. States have, do, and will use violence to achieve their ends, which might include, but not is restricted to, defending its citizens. In fact, states often use violence against its own citizens (student protests in London, etc) As Deborah has pointed out, there are international laws governing wars. These have consistently and historically been violated by Israel against the Palestinians. The issue of non-state terrorism requires acknowledgement. But we must not lose site of the fact that states have historically and consistently murdered, maimed and destroyed the lives of more civilians than any oppositional group, no matter how obnoxious its policies. There are, of course, exceptions, which might include NI and Peru, but these remain exceptions. Israel is clearly not an exception. Lastly, when I consider and appreciate the existential fear of Jews living in Israel, as a legacy of the genocide by the Nazis, I also I reflect on the actual existential threat that Palestinians are forced to live under daily by the very state that purports to offer safety to another set of people. Norman Finkelstein is very good on this. I believe that some of our discussion should also consider the future of the land and the people. As someone brought up in a 'Protestant state for a Protestant people', I have an aversion to theocratic states. Further, I consider the concepts of democracy and theocracy contradictory. I believe that Edward Said's preferred solution, and addressed in 'A Common State', a film by Eyal Silvan, of one secular state, should be considered more often in debates. Best wishes, Cahal Cahal McLaughlin Professor of Film Studies, School of Creative Arts, Queens University Belfast Room 003, First Floor, 21 University Square, Belfast BT7 1NN N. Ireland 00 44 2890973634 [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> www.prisonsmemoryarchive.com www.facebook.com/creativeartsqub<http://www.facebook.com/creativeartsqub> On 29 Jul 2014, at 22:12, Allen Feldman wrote: Farah, it has been documented that the British state apparatus planted bombs in Northern Ireland, conducted shoot to kill arrests, tortured people detained under various Prevention of Terrorism Acts, and worked with Loyalist sectarian death squads. Yet, in terms of the mainstream media coverage the only "terrorists" in Northern Ireland were and are Republicans. Many lessons here that can be applied to what is happening in and around Gaza-- the logic of "tit" for "tat" killings from which the British state was no more immune than the Israelis, the Americans and the French in their neocolonial wars. Counterinsurgency has become since WW2 a transnational culture of the state that cross cuts democracies, oligarchies, socialist and authoritarian political ideologies. Since it accommodates multiple ideologies in its techniques and methods I would call it media. And in terms of this ongoing debate and its appropriateness-- I have been teaching a seminar for 8 years now called War as Media about the mediatization of war and the militarization of media. So nothings said here is irrelevant because the various postures voiced here sink into how media is theorized and taught and are very diagnostic of the field. I think all these exchanges are ultimately about children, the young people we teach and the pedagogy currently being transmitted to the children of Gaza by missiles and drones. All media educators on this list should read the work of the Israeli pedagogue and educational media theorist Nurit Peled. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/aug/07/israeli-school-racism-claim http://www.nimn.org/Perspectives/international/000132.php?section= On Tue, Jul 29, 2014 at 4:15 PM, Lee Salter <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote: Sorry, who's "we" and why are you referring to Northern Ireland? ________________________________ From: Farah Mendlesohn<mailto:[log in to unmask]> Sent: 29/07/2014 20:19 To: Lee Salter<mailto:[log in to unmask]> Cc: <[log in to unmask]><mailto:[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: MECCSA Digest - 29 Jul 2014 - Special issue (#2014-198) Actually we had a bombing campaign and we didn't bomb Belfast. Or, for that matter, Boston where much of the money came from. (and bombs went off in the city I lived in and in the town my parents lived in). best Farah On 29 July 2014 15:47, Lee Salter <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote: "What would you expect the United Kingdom to do if the Netherlands was firing off hundreds of rockets over to England? Nothing, or what would your proposed actions be?" If rockets were being fired from my neighbors flat or the roof, and UK bombed, I’d blame the neighbors" I think the analogy would be more like, What would you expected the Netherlands to do if Britain stole half of its land mass...I wouldn't be very much surprised if the Dutch fought back. -------------------------------------------------------- MeCCSA mailing list -------------------------------------------------------- To manage your subscription or unsubscribe from the MECCSA list, please visit: https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=MECCSA&A=1 ------------------------------------------------------- MeCCSA is the subject association for the field of media, communication and cultural studies in UK Higher Education. This mailing list is a free service and is not restricted to members. It is an unmoderated list and content reflect the views of those who post to the list and not of MeCCSA as an organisation. MeCCSA recommends that the list be used only for posting of information (for example about events, publications, conferences, lectures) of interest to members or to promote discussion of current issues of wide general interest in the field. Posts to the MeCCSA mailing list are public, indexed by Google, and can be accessed from the JISCMail website (http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/meccsa.html). Any messages posted to the list are subject to the JISCMail acceptable use policy, which states that users should avoid “engaging in unreasonable behaviour, or disrupting the general flow of discussion on a list.” For further information, please visit: http://www.meccsa.org.uk/ -------------------------------------------------------- -- There is no such thing as a right time or a wrong time. There is only the now. The future is made up of accumulated nows. -------------------------------------------------------- MeCCSA mailing list -------------------------------------------------------- To manage your subscription or unsubscribe from the MECCSA list, please visit: https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=MECCSA&A=1 ------------------------------------------------------- MeCCSA is the subject association for the field of media, communication and cultural studies in UK Higher Education. This mailing list is a free service and is not restricted to members. It is an unmoderated list and content reflect the views of those who post to the list and not of MeCCSA as an organisation. MeCCSA recommends that the list be used only for posting of information (for example about events, publications, conferences, lectures) of interest to members or to promote discussion of current issues of wide general interest in the field. Posts to the MeCCSA mailing list are public, indexed by Google, and can be accessed from the JISCMail website (http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/meccsa.html). Any messages posted to the list are subject to the JISCMail acceptable use policy, which states that users should avoid “engaging in unreasonable behaviour, or disrupting the general flow of discussion on a list.” For further information, please visit: http://www.meccsa.org.uk/ -------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------- MeCCSA mailing list -------------------------------------------------------- To manage your subscription or unsubscribe from the MECCSA list, please visit: https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=MECCSA&A=1 ------------------------------------------------------- MeCCSA is the subject association for the field of media, communication and cultural studies in UK Higher Education. This mailing list is a free service and is not restricted to members. It is an unmoderated list and content reflect the views of those who post to the list and not of MeCCSA as an organisation. MeCCSA recommends that the list be used only for posting of information (for example about events, publications, conferences, lectures) of interest to members or to promote discussion of current issues of wide general interest in the field. Posts to the MeCCSA mailing list are public, indexed by Google, and can be accessed from the JISCMail website (http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/meccsa.html). Any messages posted to the list are subject to the JISCMail acceptable use policy, which states that users should avoid engaging in unreasonable behaviour, or disrupting the general flow of discussion on a list. For further information, please visit: http://www.meccsa.org.uk/ -------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------- MeCCSA mailing list -------------------------------------------------------- To manage your subscription or unsubscribe from the MECCSA list, please visit: https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=MECCSA&A=1 ------------------------------------------------------- MeCCSA is the subject association for the field of media, communication and cultural studies in UK Higher Education. This mailing list is a free service and is not restricted to members. It is an unmoderated list and content reflect the views of those who post to the list and not of MeCCSA as an organisation. MeCCSA recommends that the list be used only for posting of information (for example about events, publications, conferences, lectures) of interest to members or to promote discussion of current issues of wide general interest in the field. Posts to the MeCCSA mailing list are public, indexed by Google, and can be accessed from the JISCMail website (http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/meccsa.html). Any messages posted to the list are subject to the JISCMail acceptable use policy, which states that users should avoid engaging in unreasonable behaviour, or disrupting the general flow of discussion on a list. For further information, please visit: http://www.meccsa.org.uk/ --------------------------------------------------------