Little Johnny has been feeding the family pooch scraps under the table. Mom sees him and yells from the kitchen, "Johnny, come here right now! 1...2..."
What happens when she gets to 3?
In truth - it doesn't really matter; Johnny is scrambling to his mother's side before the fateful "3" can even be uttered. Why? Would his mom really do anything that would actually harm him? Probably not. Why does Little Johnny run to her when he's only being threatened by numbers?
From the time we are very young, fear is used as a tool for compliance and manipulation. Why didn't you play with matches? You would burn the house down! Why didn't you talk to strangers? They would kidnap you! Why did you always have to be good around Christmas time? Santa wouldn't bring you anything!
As useful and well-meaning as these sentiments may be, they all stem from fear. Everyone has used scare-tactics at some point, whether with children or adults, and they have proven to be highly effective. After Sept. 11, 2001, it was all too easy for Bush to lead the United States into war. We were all so scared of the bombings and the terrorists lurking around every corner that we did not really pause to fully analyze the consequences of such a war, or more importantly, the reasons for going to war at all.
When people did start to question, Bush simply pulled the frightening, imminent weapons-of-mass-destruction card and all was as before. People slipped back into the submission that comes with being scared out of your wits.
The media uses an almost constant string of fear tactics. In Michael Moore's award-winning documentary "Bowling for Columbine," Moore focuses heavily on how our broadcasts dwell on the negative and dark side of humanity, causing people to fear their neighbors and the unknown.
In the documentary, Marilyn Manson reflects on our culture of fear and says of television and news, "there's floods, there's AIDS, there's murder, cut to commercial, buy the Acura, buy the Colgate, if you have bad breath they're not going to talk to you, if you have pimples, the girl's not going to f*** you, and it's just this campaign of fear, and consumption, and that's what I think it's all based on, the whole idea of 'keep everyone afraid.'"
Evidence of this "campaign of fear" that Manson speaks of is all too easy to find at Ball State. The current "Police Yourself" campaign, complete with ads and posters of androgynous students in handcuffs and mocking themes, such as the "Surprise Party," are exploding with fear-pumped propaganda. The Muncie Police also helped add to this cyclone of fear last weekend, when they gave an unprecedented number of alcohol-ticket violations and arrested several students for minor alcohol consumption.
A student who received an alcohol-violation ticket last weekend said, "It'll definitely slow me down a lot. It will prevent me from going to bigger parties." But while her "Police Yourself" experience might slow down her drinking, she also said, "I feel used, you know? I don't want to be an 'example' for their campaign."
Now, here comes the million dollar question: "Do the ends justify the means?" Is this campaign of feeding off of fear and manipulation really bringing about some good? Are students now making healthier, more responsible decisions when it comes to alcohol, or are they just getting angry and smarter about hiding it? If this campaign had begun before the deaths of McKinney and Hartford, would it have prevented them?
Write to Carla at caalderman@bsu.edu
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