Patrick M Brennan

This week, the US Congress passed a bill, known as the “Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA)“. The corporations fought for (a.k.a. bought and paid for) this legislation, and they’re just jizzy over it. The act severely increases the criminal penalties afforded to animal-rights activists for some activities which were already illegal, and arguably for some activities which are just acts of civil disobedience. But this isn’t really about amending the criminal code; this act is purely political, and its real political goal is clearly to expand the rhetoric of “terrorism” well beyond all sensible bounds. Under this act, for example, you’re a terrorist if you and your friends chain themselves across the entrance to an animal-testing laboratory to prevent trucks coming and going.

Think about that for a moment. According to your Corporate Masters in the Republican Party, a bunch of animal-loving hippies singing in the Merck parking lot is exactly the same as Mohammed Atta and his band of suicidal thugs crashing into the World Trade Center. Isn’t that special? Doesn’t that warm your heart? Aren’t you glad they’re in charge?

Sure, folks, there are some people out there who have committed crimes – against property and people – and in their own minds, they may be doing it for a noble cause. Well, number one, we already have laws on the books to deal with these people, and number two, anyone heard of Paul Hill? How about Eric Rudolph? Why does nobody call these guys “terrorists"? (Any guesses?)

This new law has no other purpose but to chill dissent and shut down peaceful protest. Its impact on actual criminal behavior will be minimal; its impact on the rhetorical war against animal-rights activism and eco-activism will be large. Sure, today the targets may be the Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Rights Militia. Today. Tomorrow, the targets will be PETA and Greenpeace. Green is the new Red.

The political program which is being deployed in our country is depressingly familiar. It should be obvious to anyone who actually reads. Those of us who do read have been expecting this for a long time.

We’ve already seen that in our country, those who are tagged as “terrorists” have no rights – no right to contest their imprisonment, no right to trial, no right to see the evidence against them – and they may be jailed indefinitely on the mere say-so of the executive.

“He’s a terrorist,” says George W. Bush, and nobody challenges that, and off goes someone, into a black hole where we will never hear from him again.

Once that bulwark has been established – once there is a distinct class of people without any rights – it only remains to enlarge the sphere of that class. It only remains to enlarge the definition of who is a “terrorist".

It’s a program which has been repeated over and over again, in many times and places. You probably know about a few of the more famous places; repeating them here would be redundant.

First they come for the terrorists.

They may take a while to work their way to you. (How do you feel about eating meat? Inhaling mercury? Having a private conversation with your attorney?) But they will, eventually.