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Media&Terrorism 1

Peer Perception on the Role of Identity in Media Coverage of Terrorism

Jaime Bellemare

Feminist InquiriesDecember 16, 2011


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Abstract

This paper explores how identity affects viewer opinion of medias coverage on matters

of terrorism in the post 9/11 era through a series of close readings, articles and interviews.

Ultimately, this paper argues that although specific identity factors may affect perception of

terrorism in the media more so than others, the experience of identifying within a minoritized

group leads to participants being more critical of mainstream medias coverage of terrorism

therefore leading them to seek out alternatives methods to obtain information on current events

and world news.


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Introduction

In this essay, I examine the role of identity in viewer interaction with media to discuss the

ways that opinion around media coverage of terrorism and counter-terrorism changes based on

the viewers social location and relationship to the hegemonic system of power. Looking at

markers of race, nation, class, gender, sexuality, religion, and ability this paper will critically

examine what role social location plays in the type of media consumed and how viewers make

sense of terrorism and counter-terrorism stories that conflict with their own life experiences and

knowledge.

In the decade since September 11, 2011 people living in the United States have looked to

dominant media sources to provide information about U.S. involvement in the Middle East.

However, these representations are rarely framed outside the notion of objective journalism,

which fails to recognize the ways in which knowledge is formed relative to systems of power.

Participants in the study reject the notion of objective media coverage and their responses help

add to the conversation about the role of epistemology in the forming of U.S. opinion on the

War on Terror.

Literature Review

In the past ten years the critical analysis and inquiries into media representation of

terrorism have been underpinned by concerns about what role identity plays in how such stories

are created and relayed to their audience. In this time, researchers have made attempts to

understand the effects of such media representations on particular communities in relation to

race, religion and nationality. Few researchers, however, have looked beyond what role race,

ethnicity and religion play in the way news coverage influences public opinion on matters of


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terrorism, counter-terrorism policy and U.S. involvement in the war on terror. Jasbir K. Puar in

particular has been one of the leading researchers not only focusing on race, religion and

nationality, but also looking at the way in which gender, sexuality, class and ability are being

used to talk about the construction of the terrorist and media discourse around terrorism. Puar

and Rais article Monster, Terrorist, Fag: The War on Terrorism and the Production of Docile

Patriots looks closely at the language used around those being labeled terrorist within political

messages and news media. Puar and Rais analysis brings to light that the language associated

with the term terrorist constructs an identity historically associated with people of color and of

lower socio-economic status. Using a queer feminist theoretical framework, Puar and Rai

discuss how the image of the terrorist is constructed around ideas of failed heterosexuality and

how standards of normativity are used to decide what behavior is rewarded through the label of

patriotism and what behavior is punished through the label of terrorism. I work to further this

research by discussing they ways in which interview participants interpret media representations

of deviant behavior relative to their own experiences. In doing this I work to establish a

connection between audience identity and opinion of the war on terror.

One particular way this project will be looking at the role of identity in formulating

opinions around media coverage of will be through assessing public discourse and attitudes

formed within the public sphere. Sun et al. conducted a study in which they interviewed more

than 800 Arab Americans about their general support of counter terrorism policies. The findings

of Sun et. al. are applicable to the research I will be conducting around issues of communication

and media. As Sun et al. says, Arab Americans have become the primary targets of the post

9/11 investigation (Sun et al., 541), which the study finds affects Arab American support for

U.S. policies regarding terrorism. In exploring media coverage of on this subject, this essay


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looks at the how participants understand the way stories frame who is targeted in post 9/11

investigations, how that is translated through media to affect public discourse.

In discussing the how the word terrorist is used within news media, this essay will utilize

the work of Nagar, whose article Who is afraid of the t-word? critically addressed the

relationship between the news media and who is identified as a terrorist. The study makes

comparisons from before and after September 11, 2001 about how often and in what context the

word terrorist is used. This article will directly connect to participant interviews, which take up

the question of who is labeled a terrorist and how media frames the terrorist in relation to race,

nation, class, gender, sexuality, and ability.

Methods

This paper draws on data taken from two interviews with Syracuse University students in

the Fall of 2011. These interviews were conducted in order to understand what role identity and

social location play in formulating viewer opinion of news coverage on issues of terrorism. This

study does not aim to make broad claims, but rather to look at individual interaction with media

sources and how the identity of two respondents affects that interaction. The study will then

expand to look at the role of identity if constructing news coverage on issues of terrorism post

September 11th

, 2011.

The interview participants chose the location of the interview, which took place in a

moderately quite area within Marshall Square Mall, a small complex of stores and study space

located on the Syracuse University campus. The interviewees were chosen for their diverse

backgrounds and relationship to the material being discussed. Kelly Colson is a nineteen-year-

old Syracuse University sophomore who identifies as white, lower-middle class, able bodied, and

queer. Peggy Walker is a twenty-year-old Syracuse University junior who identifies as a person


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of color, middle class, able bodied, queer and genderqueer. Both of these students have an

educational and activism background in issues of race, class, gender, sexuality and ability

although neither has an educational background in media or journalism. The range of knowledge

and varying social locations of each respondent were considered before choosing the interview

subjects, as beneficial tools for respondents to look critically at their relation to popular discourse

around issues of identity and terrorism.

Interviews were performed using feminist methodologies and interview techniques. In

conducting the interviews, it was important to interpret the dialogue in relation to the historical

and social factors that would shape both answers and comprehension of questions (Dunbar, 280).

In practicing feminist interviewing, it is necessary to recognize that all women are uniquely

situated and that there are many intersections of identity that affects that situation (DeVault &

Gross, 175). In doing so, I use a post-modern approach to standpoint theory. While standpoint

theory confronts how knowledge is affected by dominant systems by giving value to the point of

view of people in oppressed groups, post-modernism allows me to complicate this by

recognizing the influence of intersectionality within those groups. Although my respondents

may share identity factors, they are not positioned within the same social location and therefore it

would be inaccurate to look at their responses in the same way. As the interviewer I must

understand the social location of my respondents in order to understand what they are saying and

why they may respond or not respond in certain ways (Dunbar, 281). I must also understand how

my own social location affects the content of the interview and my understanding of my

interviewees responses. By looking at my role as a researcher in relation to my respondent and

my research, I am practicing reflexivity and becoming a partner in the creation of the study

(Dunbar, 281; Fontana & Frey, 696).


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In critically examining news medias coverage of terrorism I must consider many of these

same factors in relation to the epistemology of knowledge being produced. Journalism schools

and news organizations stress that reporters and media outlets should be objective, allowing only

facts to tell stories. However, in doing this journalists fail to discover how those facts became

constructed in the first place and how their own social locations and predispositions affect their

understanding of such facts. Feminist standpoint epistemology goes beyond what journalism

labels fact, to discover how knowledge is created, communicated and reaffirmed (Jaggar, 303).

In using this method, this essay critically examines not only how public opinion is formed

around personal experience and identity, but also how news is formulated within the news

market. Jaggar writes about the way in which media is controlled in relation to race, gender and

class, In class divided societies, prevailing systems of knowledge never reflect the interests and

values of the society as a whole but instead reflect the interests and values of the dominant class

(Jaggar, 304). Jaggar goes on to discuss how this is representative of who have the means to

produce and control knowledge. In looking at interview responses and media discourse around

terrorism, it will be important to closely read the ways in which these power structures affect the

ways responses are formed and stories are formulated.

In order to go about understanding the epistemologies of news media, I researched the

identities of top executives at news corporations for both mainstream media outlets like CNN,

ABC, MSNBC and FOX and the media sources discussed by interview participants like

Feministing and Article 27. I also looked at how these companies generate revenue or meet the

financial needs of their publication to establish connections between the social identities of those

who have power within media and what type of information is conveyed through those

platforms.


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Analysis

In the decade since September 11th

, 2011, cable news media like CNN, FOX and

MSNBC have proven to be dominant sources of news coverage around issues relating to

terrorism. While each one of these networks has established its own base audience largely

affected by political partisanship, the participants in my interviews made it clear that these are

not outlets in which they often look to for information because of their own social locations and

political opinions. Both interview participants positioned themselves as identifying as LGBTQ

and identifying with feminist politics. Peggy and Kelly listed multiple alternative and new

media sources that they use to gather political information, separating themselves from

traditional media outlets (11/14/2011, pg. 1). When I addressed this by asking the participants

what they think of more traditional, mainstream news outlets their answers shed light onto the

ways in which they do not see their identities and politics reflected in such outlets.

I dont think they are unbiased in their reporting at all because you do have tothink about the structures around mainstream media, like whos funding them,

whos keeping them employed, who has a pull on whether they are going to stayon the air or get paid at all and that is a big motivator for people that have jobs

there (11/14/2011, pg. 1).

Peggy is beginning to question the motives of these mainstream news outlets, clearly distancing

herself as not being represented within this space. In questioning the structure that supports

cable news outlets, Peggy brings attention to the role of capitalism in the media industry and how

this may affect how news outlets cover certain topics. The topic of terrorism is undoubtedly one

that may be affected by such capitalistic interest because of the entanglement in U.S.

international trade relations and occupations.

In understanding the way in which these elements of capitalism and the structures around

mainstream media can play a role in the information that is relayed, it is important that we look


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critically to see from what point of view these news outlets go about their reporting.

Epistemology is the framework of knowledge creation as influenced by social location and

political commitment (Jaggar, 303). While journalism outlets like CNN, FOX, and MSNBC

claim to be objective news outlets, feminist methods resists the idea of objectivity because it

does not take into consideration how personal experience and social location affect our

interpretation and relationships with what may be seen as factual evidence. To ignore the social

location and experience of those who have power over the context produced in such mediums

would be to ignore any kind of privilege that may be associated with such information.

CNN, MSNBC and FOX are all owned by larger corporations which have executive

boards largely if not entirely made up of white upper-class men. Peggy felt that people who

come from a place of privilege in this way would influence the type of information that gets

distributed because they are not as connected to stories concerning different communities who

have to deal with poverty, structural racism and heterosexism (11/14/2011, pg. 3). These

executive boards of these mainstream outlets are much different than the news sources that my

interview participants provided in which many of them do not have executive boards and those

that do have diverse representation throughout.

We must recognize how the level of privilege within an information source is directly

affected by the situated knowledge of those who produce the content. In this case we can see

that mainstream media sources reflect the privilege that is represented within their corporations.

Nagar writes, the output of the news media could be understood as a reflection of the power

structure that exists behind the political and economic scenes (Nagar, 534). When I asked my

participants how they saw these sources of power influencing media, Kellys response reflected

this same sentiment that people in positions of power affect media content.


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I would definitely say that politicians to some degree who clearly have money, atleast the ones that are most popular, control some of the media in some

respectspoliticians are clearly more covered than the social movements are,why is that? Because social movements, typically grass roots, dont have money

(11/14/2011, pg. 2).

We must look at the people who have positions of power within these media organizations as

having a similar influence as politicians because they are directly connected to this power

structure in terms of where they get their information, but also where their interest lies within the

economic market.

When looking at the ways in which these news organizations frame stories about

terrorism, my interview participants seemed to feel strongly that the mainstream news media

reflected the opinions of the U.S. national government and largely misrepresented groups that

challenged those opinions. Peggy, who identified with the Occupy movement expressed concern

that while she recognizes how poorly mainstream media has represented Occupy, she now

wonders whether or not they also misrepresent the Tea Party. Although she made it clear that

she thinks these are two very different types of movements, they both divert from the popular

sentiment within government. Both Peggy and Kelly expressed that challenges to the dominant

way of thinking are not represented well in mainstream media, but are also demonized by the

government. In some instances, Peggy and Kelly felt that this type of political challenge is what

led people to being labeled a terrorist, using the word terrorist as a scare tactic to ensure political

order is maintained by the dominant structure (11/14/2011, pg. 5).

This can be seen somewhat through the interviews that were conducted on CNN around

the time that the war in Iraq began. CNN did a segment on how the support for the war in Iraq

was growing, hardly recognizing any dissent from the U.S. public. William Schneider, a

political analyst for CNN begins, Weve seen a lot of pictures of rallies, but the fact is,


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Americans are now rallying behind President Bush (CNN, 3/17/2003, 10:41am). While this

alludes to the fact that rallies are taking place that are not in support of President Bush, CNN

fails to discuss much more about these rallies and goes on to say that 64 percent of Americans

favor an invasion of Iraq. From then on the conversation revolves solely on those who support

the President, failing to recognize factors regarding social location that may affect who has been

included in the poll, and further framing the U.S. invasion of Iraq as positive by almost

completely ignoring those who oppose the war. In doing this they are allowing the dominant

political discourse as articulated by the U.S. government to grow stronger and helping to ensure

that this dominant power source remains in control.

News media also reaffirms this dominant power source through where they gain their

information, especially around matters of terrorism and war. For example, in discussions about

whether or not other countries would align with U.S. decisions of how to deal with the events of

September 11th, prominent political figures are quoted saying that the U.S. will know who their

friends are based on whether or not they receive support in their retaliation (CNN, 9/11/2001,

7:31pm). The idea that those who do not support U.S. retaliation efforts are not friends of the

United States, does not just apply in the realm of international politics, but also in the framing of

who is a friend or enemy of the United States domestically. Peggy and Kelly both felt that they

were at risk for being labeled terrorists because of their political beliefs. Their level of

discomfort with this notion was visible through the way the joked and laughed calling one

another terrorists.

E: I mean we could be the enemy sitting right here, now. I dont know.P: Maybe, we are the, we are the enemy. Were horrible. (laughing)

E: We are the enemies I suppose. (laughing)P: Watch out guys, you got some terrorists here eating subway and sipping boba

tea!


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Sun et. al. discovered that Arab Americans disapproved of U.S. counter terrorism

measures largely because they felt as if their own ethnic and religious identities were being

persecuted and that their own civil liberties and safety were at risk (Sun et. al., 550). Sun et. als

research showed that Arab Americans often felt targeted by U.S. counter terrorism policies and I

found that this sentiment was shared by my interview respondents who clearly felt targeted by

the media and U.S. governments depiction of what it means to be a terrorist (Sun et. al, 551).

This correlation shows that identity factors affect opinions about both media and political

policies.

Another one of the major themes that I found within my interviews and research was the

language used to describe terrorists. As Puar and Rai argue, the construct of terrorist uses the

knowledge of failed heterosexuality and a contrast to the idea of American patriotism (Puar &

Rai, 2002). In the CNN interviews on the day of September 11th

, the word terrorist was

employed to describe those who committed the actions. However, this word was paired with

other words like coward, bastard, barbaric and viscous. Similarly, FOX news labeled Osama bin

Laden a dirtbag, and a monster overseeing a web of hate (Puar & Rai, 2002). Puar and Rai

relate this description of the terrorist to Foucaults figure of monstrosity. In doing this, the

terrorist then becomes positioned as the monster, characterized not simply by terrorist action

but by failure to fulfill the U.S. definition of patriotism defined by symbols of cultural capital.

By discussing terrorists as cowards and dirtbags, the media and political discourse are framing

the terrorist as possessing failed masculinity and lower class. In my interview with Peggy, she

also brought up this topic, saying that there is a clear vision for what it means to be a terrorist

within the United States.

It would be foolish to even suggest that theres not a, a picture for like a posterperson the for the word terrorist in America and that is somebody who is Muslim,


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who is male and I think often times they have been portrayed as being reallystraggly like Bin Laden so thats classist, thats a race thing, its an un-American

thing (11/14/2011, pg. 4).

Puar and Rai discuss the effects of positioning someone as a terrorist in relation to identity

factors such as race, class, religion, sexuality, gender, and ability all of which are used to

construct the ideal American patriot and contrastingly used to construct the image of the terrorist.

While the department of Homeland Securitys If You See Something, Say Something program

specifically says, Factors such as race, ethnicity, national origin or religious affiliation alone are

not suspicious, media and political officials have reaffirmed that suspicious behavior does in

fact come from people who fit a particular identity (DHS.gov, 12/12/2011). Not only does this

further demonize minoritized groups, but it also leads to violence as Puar and Rai discuss with

the increase of violence against queer people of color in New York (Puar & Rai, 124). Even

within FBI policies, racial, national origin, religious and ethnic demographics are being gathered

and used to investigate communities (Reilly, 10/20/2011). When the FBI was confronted about

this, they stated that they oppose such discrimination, but, Often, though, certain terrorist and

criminal groups are comprised of persons primarily from a particular ethnic or geographic

community, which must be taken into account when trying to determine if there are threats to the

United States (Reilly, 10/20/2011). This reflects the ways in which privileged groups maintain

their power by constructing a nationalistic version of patriot that excludes people who do not fit

within the white, upperclass, able-bodied and heterosexual model.

I understand that my own social location and relationship to the research respondents

undoubtedly affect my research findings. In researching this area, I came with prior knowledge

in the area from both my work as a broadcast journalism student and my experience working

within the cable news industry at MSNBC as well as further research I have done on the topic of


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constructions of language in relation to how media uses identity in framing stories around

terrorism. While I believe that this experience helped me in formulating a better understanding

of the role of identity in forming media stories on issues of terrorism, I think that it also made

conducting interviews with my respondents more difficult. Rather than allowing the respondents

to tell me about their own experiences, there were many times in which I guided their questions

by positioning them into relation to information I have found in my research. A prime example

of this was when I questioned by respondents on whether or not they think the identities of media

content producers affects the messages mainstream media conveys to their audience.

Interviewer: Do you, okay, so, speaking from the perspective of broadcastmedia, now, this is my own knowledge, most of the people who decide what gets

covered in broadcast media are people who are upper class, white, you knowpeople who are typically in positions of power even though some of the faces you

might see could be people of color or whatnot. So do you think that has anythingto do with what gets covered and what the mainstream media is able to portray to

their audience? (11/14/2011, pg. 3).

I feel this is also apparent when I ask questions in which my respondents clearly think

there is a right or wrong answer. Due to my prior knowledge on the subject material, I frame

questions as though I am looking for an answer rather than the opinion of my respondents.

Rather than asking questions like what is the definition of terrorism I could have obtained a

better response if I asked, what do you think of when you hear the world terrorism? In doing

this the respondent will see that there is no right or wrong answer and will feel more confident in

their responses.

While conducting my interviews and finding research on this topic it was important to

maintained my feminist ethics to construct a research product that takes into account how

systems of power influence my relationship to my respondents and research, as well as the

relationship of my interview participants and authors to the material being discussed. It was


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difficult for me to find feminist research that took on the issue of terrorism in the media,

however, to compensate for this I found feminist research around the issue of the constructions

of terrorism discourse and political science research around the issue of media representation of

terrorism issues. Combined with my own feminist lens I believe I was able to examine these

texts critically and interpret them in a way that was beneficial to my own research project.

Conclusion

In this essay I have looked closely at how viewers experience mainstream medias

coverage of terrorism. In doing this I found that my respondents positions of identifying outside

groups associated with cultural capital and privilege led them to form political beliefs that are

critical of U.S. government policies, which led them to be critical of the way in which

mainstream media covers those policies. In this instance, the identity of the media audience does

in fact affect opinion on the coverage of terrorism. Through my interviews and research I have

established a connection between who is labeled a terrorist and who is labeled a patriot based

markers of race, nation, call, gender, sexuality, religion and ability. Both my research and

interview participants agree that the label terrorist is given to people who not only politically

disagree with the U.S. government, but also do not align with the image of the American Patriot

which is centered around the privileged identity factors of white, male, upper-class, able bodied,

heterosexual and Christian.

This research project is certainly limited due to the number of interviews that were

conducted and the way in which those interviews were done. While I am not able to make any

larger claims outside of the experience of my own interview respondents, I also recognize that

my relationship with both the material and interviewees has affected the responses that I have


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received, therefore limiting the validity of the conclusions that I have made. In the future it

would be helpful for researchers to develop more in depth questions that are able to assess how

viewers relate to the media they consume rather than asking questions which my respondents

may have not been prepared to answer. It would also be beneficial to expand this research into

looking at a larger variety of news outlets and transcripts to see whether or not the findings I

have made stay consistent over the ten year period since the events of September 11th

, 2001.


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Works Cited

DeVault, M. & Gross, G. Feminist Interviewing: Experience, Talk and Knowledge. Pp. 173-

197. InHandbook of Feminist Research: Theory and Praxis, ed. Sharlene Nagy Hesse-

Biber. Sage Publications, 2006.

Dunar, C., Parker, L., Rodriguex, D. Race, Subjectivity, and the Interview Process. Pp. 279-

298. InHandbook of Interview Research, ed. Gubrium, J. and Holstein, J. Sage

Publications, 2001.

Fontana, A. & Frey, James. The Interview: From Neutral Stance to Political Involvement.

Pp. 695 727.In Handbook of Qualitative Research, Sage Publications.

Jaggar, A.Just Methods: An Interdisciplinary Feminist Reader. Paradigm Publishers:

London, 2008.

Nagar, N. Who is Afraid of the T-Word? Labeling Terror in the Media Coverage of

Political Violence Before and After 9/11. Pp. 533-547. In Studies in Conflict &

Terrorism, 33:6. 2010.

Puar, J.K., et. al., Monster, Terrorist, Fag: The War on Terrorism and the Production of Docile

Patriots. Pp. 117-148. In Social Text, no. 72, Fall 2002. Reilly, R. J. (2011). Documents Show FBI Targeted Communities Based on Race,

Ethnicity. Talking Points Memo. Retrieved from http://tpmmuckraker.

Talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/10/documents_show_fbi_targeted_communities_b

ased_on_race_ethnicity.php

Sun, I.Y., et. al. Arab Americans Opinion on Counterterrorism Measures: The Impact of Race,

Ethnicity and Religion. Pp. 540 555. In Studies in Conflict and Terrorism.34:7,

2011.


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U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (September 16, 2011). If You See Something Say

Something. Retrieved from http://www.dhs.gov/files/reportincidents/see-something-

say-something.shtm

Woodruff, J. (Interviewer) & Hatch, O. (Interviewee) & McCain, J. (Interviewee). (2001).

CNN Breaking News. (Interview Transcript). Retrieved from CNN Website:

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0109/11/bn.13.html


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Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 33:533547, 2010

Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

ISSN: 1057-610X print / 1521-0731 online

DOI: 10.1080/10576101003752655

Who is Afraid of the T-word? Labeling Terrorin the Media Coverage of Political Violence

Before and After 9/11

NAAMA NAGAR

Department of Political Science

SUNY Albany

Albany, NY, USA

Several studies conducted after 9/11 found that American journalists have largelyembraced the governments official frame of the War on Terror. Drawing from theclaim of an ideological bond, this study investigates how American news media coveredpolitically violent organizations that are not linked to Al Qaeda or the events of 9/11.More specifically, the article examines whether the medias inconsistent use of the

word terror changed as a consequence of 9/11 by comparing the coverage of theseorganizations before and after 9/11. A quantitative content analysis of American mediaindicates that overall the coverage of political violence did not change after 9/11.Moreover, journalists remained vigilant about using the word terror when coveringpolitically violent organization.

The 11 September 2001 (9/11) events and the subsequent declaration of the War on

Terror represent a crucial turning point in U.S. foreign policy. Some scholars argue that

these attacks also illustrate a shift in media-policy relations that signifies the American

news medias tendency toward patriotic coverage.1 Several empirical works, written mostly

after 9/11, detect an ideological bond between policymakers and reporters, noting that

journalists embraced the official War on Terror frame for their interpretation of reality.2

Even though these works provide compelling evidence, they focus on media coverage after

the attacks of 9/11; in most cases the media coverage they analyze is directly related to the

wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The present study explores similar questions regarding the effect of policymakersframes on media content. At the same time, it broadens the scope of study across time and

space. The current analysis compares the coverage of politically violent organizations not

directly linked to Al Qaeda before and after 9/11. Previous research has shown that before

the attacks, the news media were very cautious and inconsistent in their use of terrorist

narratives when covering political violence.3 This study therefore investigates whether 9/11

had an effect on the coverage of such occurrences given the emergence of a broader public

discourse on terrorism. Moreover, the study also examines whether news organizations with

Received 1 February 2008; accepted 28 August 2009.

Address correspondence to Naama Nagar, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Political Science,SUNY Albany, Milne Hall, 135 Western Ave., Albany, NY 12222, USA. E-mail: [email protected]


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How are gender and sexuality central to the current war on terrorism?

This question opens on to others: How are the technologies that are being

developed to combat terrorism departures from or transformations of

older technologies of heteronormativity, white supremacy, and national-

ism? In what way do contemporary counterterrorism practices deploy

these technologies, and how do these practices and technologies become

the quotidian framework through which we are obliged to struggle, sur-

vive, and resist? Sexuality is central to the creation of a certain knowledge

of terrorism, specifically that branch of strategic analysis that has entered

the academic mainstream as terrorism studies. This knowledge has a

history that ties the image of the modern terrorist to a much older figure,the racial and sexual monsters of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Further, the construction of the pathologized psyche of the terrorist-

monster enables the practices of normalization, which in todays context

often means an aggressive heterosexual patriotism.

As opposed to initial postSeptember 11 reactions, which focused

narrowly on the disappearance of women, we consider the question of

gender justice and queer politics through broader frames of reference, all

with multiple genealogiesindeed, as we hope to show, gender and sex-

uality produce both hypervisible icons and the ghosts that haunt the

machines of war. Thus, we make two related arguments: (1) that the con-

struct of the terrorist relies on a knowledge of sexual perversity (failed

heterosexuality, Western notions of the psyche, and a certain queer mon-

strosity); and (2) that normalization invites an aggressive heterosexual

patriotism that we can see, for example, in dominant media representa-

tions (for example, The West Wing), and in the organizing efforts of Sikh

Americans in response to September 11 (the fetish of the turbaned

Sikh man is crucial here).1 The forms of power now being deployed in the

war on terrorism in fact draw on processes of quarantining a racialized

and sexualized other, even as Western norms of the civilized subject pro-vide the framework through which these very same others become sub-

jects to be corrected. Our itinerary begins with an examination of Michel

Foucaults figure of monstrosity as a member of the Wests abnormals,

followed by a consideration of the uncanny return of the monster in the

discourses of terrorism studies. We then move to the relationship

Jasbir K. Pua

anAmit S. Ra

Monster, Terrorist, Fag: The War on Terrorism

and the Production of Docile Patriot

Social Text72, Vol. 20, No. 3, Fall 2002. Copyright 2002 by Duke University Press.


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Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 34:540555, 2011

Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

ISSN: 1057-610X print / 1521-0731 online

DOI: 10.1080/1057610X.2011.578550

Arab Americans Opinion on CounterterrorismMeasures: The Impact of Race, Ethnicity,

and Religion

IVAN Y. SUN

Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice

University of Delaware

Newark, DE, USA

YUNING WU

Department of Criminal Justice

Wayne State University

Detroit, MI, USA

MARGARITA POTEYEVA

Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice

University of Delaware

Newark, DE, USA

While domestic and international terrorism have become the focal concern of the U.S.law enforcement and intelligence agencies, little is known about Arab Americans at-titudes toward counterterrorism policies that center on aggressive law enforcementpractices. Using survey data collected from 810 Arab Americans, this study reported

the general pattern of support for antiterrorism measures, including surveillance, stopand search, and detention, and examined the effects of race, ethnicity, and religionon measures targeting the U.S. citizens generally and Arab Americans specifically. Theresults revealed that the majority of Arab Americans showed weak to modest support foraggressive law enforcement practice, especially those targeting Arab Americans. ArabAmericans attitudes toward antiterrorism measures were significantly related to their

ethnic identities and religion with those who identified themselves as Arab Americansand Muslim showing less favorable attitudes toward counterterrorism measures. ArabAmericans confidence in the federal government was also found to be positively as-sociated with support for antiterrorism practices. Implications for research and policyare discussed.

Counterterrorism has clearly emerged as one of the top priorities in the post-9/11 era

of American policing. An expanded role of police organizations in homeland security

generally and in antiterrorism, intelligence-gathering, and immigration law enforcement

particularly has been widely observed. The term the widened criminal justice model was

Received 7 August 2010; accepted 31 October 2010.Address correspondence to Ivan Y. Sun, 331 Smith Hall, Department of Sociology and Criminal

Justice University of Delaware Newark DE 19716 USA E mail: isun@udel edu


29/30

CNN BREAKING NEWSTerrorism Attack on New York City and WashingtonAired September 11, 2001 - 12:35 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND

MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL

FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

AARON BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jeff, just step back for a

second. You know, you talk about anger, and we stand up here and we look at

this, and we've all listened to what's been going on now as we've been on the

air for three hours or so. And there was a woman that Richard Roth interviewed

about a half an hour ago, who said what I suspect that most Americans arefeeling right now, and some would like to say it can't, how angry she was, how

cowardly this all seemed to her.

Quickly we go back to Washington, and Judy Woodruff. Judy?

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, government sources

telling CNN that President Bush, who had been in Florida for a two day trip,

and who broke that trip off this morning to head back to Washington, will now

not return to Washington. Repeating, President Bush will not return to

Washington.

We do not know where the president will land or where his aircraft will go, Air

Force One. But, we just are passing along this information just as soon as we

have it.

Again, as we were talking to former NATO head Wesley Clark, General

Wesley Clark a little while ago, he pointed out there are contingency plans that

the military and security people have for the president in a situation like this.

So, we're not going to do any speculating right here about where the president

might be going.

Joining us now on the telephone we want -- there is some information we want

to share with you about aircraft in the sky that is, we're told is safe right now.

We're told by the FAA, the Federal Aviation Administration. They're telling us

50 aircrafts are safely in the sky right now, all within about 50 miles of their


30/30

TPMMuckraker

Documents Show FBI Targeted

Communities Based On Race,

EthnicitySHARE

RYAN J. REILLY OCTOBER 20, 2011, 5:11 PM1255 5

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) just released a massive trove of FBI

documents indicating that anti-Muslim training materials have spread pretty far and

wide within the bureau over the past several years and that analysts have

been targeting areas based on racial and ethnic demographics.

Its all part of the ACLUs new Mapping the FBI initiative, which aims to exposemisconduct and abuse of authority by the bureau. They say the documents show that

the FBI has been targeting American communities for investigation based on race,

ethnicity, national origin and religion and that analysts across the country are

associating criminal behaviors with certain racial and ethnic groups and then using U.S.

census data and other demographic information to map where those communities are

located to investigate them.

The FBI said in a statement that they join the ACLU in opposing racial or ethnic

discrimination and said the Attorney General Guidelines and the FBIs Domestic

Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG) clearly prohibit the predication of

investigative activity solely on the exercise of First Amendment rights, including freedom

of religion, or on race or ethnicity. Civil rights advocates want those guidelines updated,

but the FBI defended taking demographics into account.

Often, though, certain terrorist and criminal groups are comprised of persons primarily

from a particular ethnic or geographic community, which must be taken into account

when trying to determine if there are threats to the United States, the FBI said in

a statement.

One of the documents obtained by the ACLU through Freedom of Information Act(FOIA) request is a 2003 FBI memorandum from San Francisco on an FBI trainer whose

material included what the ACLU describes as:

Racist and derogatory assertions about Arabs and Islam: the Arab mind is a Cluster

Thinker, while the Western mind tends to be a linear thinker, and although Islam was

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