Zizek re September 11

[Peter E. Zelz]

> US may not be "fascist" per se, whatever that means,
> but there's a level of control over the population
> that I haven't seen anywhere else outside China (where
> I have lived and traveled extensively, and I speak
> fluent Chinese). Bush & Co have people mesmerized,
> imo, the way their war criminal predecessors have for
> decades; similar siutation in other countries, of
> course, cf. Gravity's Rainbow re the nature of
> control. 


And the singular thing that I find absolutely fascinating is how Bush & Co
have co-opted the term 'patriot'.  Once upon a time (and I'm thinking two
hundred, thirty years ago or so, on the western shore of the North
Atlantic) the word patriot referred to a bunch of people who, for various
reasons, stood up and said "This shit isn't going to fly any more."  Now,
the patriot is the person who falls in line, does what he or she is told
and doesn't ask any questions.  It's absolutely perverse, and absolutely
brilliant.

Cheers,
z