Whether it be Rod Dreher proclaiming a granola manifesto of sorts or Fareed Zakaria declaring his capitalist manifesto, it seems journalists at large have become enamoured with the concept of moving the masses whilst seated at their desks sipping herbal tea or perhaps, a java jolt.
Oh, the power of the pen! The unleashing of the sword with nary a bead of sweat on the brow! You gotta love us. Personally I tend to be the laziest of creatures on God's planet, right above the old sloth when it comes to journalism. Hence, I write this miserable blog. (Please note that I am sipping Starbucks and eating gourmet chocolate as I write this text manifesto piece. smile)
But slap yo' momma into the next county, as we say in Texas. The world of manifesto-ization has gotten incredibly more fun with the advent of text messages and the quick Tweet of protest.
The current situation in China is merely a small example of the tip-of-the-text-iceberg in the world to come. Rumor has it, the whole thing has been stirred up by a sweet-looking little old lady in Virginia. So what does our state of Virginia have to do with an uprising in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of China? Possibly plenty, if your name happens to be Rebiya Kadeer.
While not negating the distinct possibility that the Muslim-majority population in this region has been treated brutally in the past by the Chinese security apparatus, the complete unfolding of this episode over the last few days leaves me with a sense of sadness. Ethnographic upheavals always take my thoughts back to the Rwanda massacre of the previous decade. That was accomplished without text messages, but the repetitive slogans of the lowly daily radio broadcasts struck the match.
The Uighurs proudly proclaim that the world now knows they exist. Yep, you and over six billion other people which inhabit the planet. President Hu Jintao rushes home from the G8 summit with public proclamation from the Chinese government sounding similar to the message given by the Grand Ayatollah of Iran regarding their own tweetering, texting mass of political activists. Indignities, systematic and sanctioned oppression or historic brutality aside, the Uighurs will now pay heavily if they heeded a text manifesto to move to the streets to foment civil disobedience. The lucky ones, will be the humble folks who barred their doors and stayed home leaving cell phones off. Those armed with a deadly cell phone, beware. A much stronger force now opposes you.
As someone who is stridently in favor of free speech I draw the line with activities which seek to move tens of thousands of people to the streets for what plays out in acts of escalating violence by the state against the people. It is bad strategy. It is certainly not fair to the innocent who are swept up with a sense of destiny to take it to the street because of a daily barrage of text reminding them they are important to "the cause". Next week when a few of these people find themselves digging coal within the mine shaft of a Chinese labor camp they may wonder what the hell happened. It will, of course, be too late. A grain of rice will lodge in their emaciated throats before their skeletal frames will be allowed to reintegrate into public life. Starvation works wonders against the best of zealots.
Rebiya Kadeer certainly knows the cost she paid for engaging acts of self-determination. I am able to identify with her passion. It is not fully determined if this fiesty grandmother has had a hand in the current uprising in China. The rumor mill certainly points a crooked finger in her direction. But if she has had a part in goading the regional populace from a status of ordinary citizen to that of low-tech combatant on large scale, I hope someone begins to put the toys away until calm prevails.
I support the actions of any government to block text message access during times of intense national turmoil or crisis. Suck in your breath. I support our government to engage the same. It seems the best means to keep the innocent from being swept up into the prison net. It is a benign active denial tool to move people back to their homes, and away from flashpoints of danger.
Do speak to your children today regarding the pitfalls of text activism. Calling the average citizen to move into an asymmetrical battlespace during this century is going to confront all of us with ethical problems of unimaginable proportions. We do not have an upgraded jurisprudential code to deal with either instigatory text messenger or recipient delegated activist moving on the behest of what is possibly a hidden hand. Our government must consider these things.
Rebiya KadeerTammy Swofford
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