Feel the Fear
Reported by Eleanor - August 2, 2004 -
At least half of Fox & Friends (Aug.2, 7:00 -8:00 a.m.) was devoted to the NYC terror threat.
Tom Ridge and Col. David Hunt gave us the latest. I heard warnings like: Al Qaeda has plans to attack NYC; three places are targeted; the border of Mexico is a more likely entrance point than Canada; truck bombs are the most likely weapon of choice; but don't stay home. Kilmeade even made a comment about something "stuffed in socks." (As I have said before, he couldn't help it. This was totally unrelated to the topic, but he had to find some place to put his talking point of the day.)
The Fox friends asked Tom Ridge about the chance of "dirty bombs" being used. Ridge said that truck bombs are more likely. Fox friends asked if "Al Qaeda is already here." Ridge said we don't know.
Comment: This 30 minutes of fear mongering leaves a viewer cold. I don't doubt that the threat is real, or more specific than we've heard in the past, and we need to know of a specific threat, but I heard absolutely nothing that makes me feel safer, or anything that I can do. The questions about "dirty bombs" and Al Qaeda's possible presence on our soil planted seeds of fear in viewers' minds. Why throw out these word bombs other than to instill fear? If Ridge had knowledge of "dirty bombs," would he say it? Or if Al Qaeda is in our midst, he would have already said that if it's not classified information. If it is classified, no answer is expected, and the question is intended to hype the threat, and not to inform. This kind of dialogue raises the fear level unnecessarily. We're helpless to do anything. The media speculation about dirty bombs and Al Qaeda's shadowy presence heightens the fear.
Big Brother is encircling the wagons, right? I can go outside, right? Are you afraid yet? A wise man once said, "There is nothing to fear, but fear itself." As long as we are kept in constant fear, the terrorists have won without firing a shot.
