FRUITCAKE parade
Criticism and humor designed to ridicule and belittle people with honest fears or beliefs is a tactic often used by authoritarian regimes to create fear of disclosure which leads to what social psychologist have dubbed “a spiral of silence,” i.e., a fear to say anything unpopular or illegal, lest they be reported to the authorities as being “anti-government”, or just plain “insane.” Your blog is neither cynical nor humorous, but an attempt to differentiate between "correct " and "incorrect" thinking . Your tactics instill an implicit fear that "incorrect thinkers" will be labeled a “fruit cake”, thus chilling people into simply saying nothing. You accuse those of us that are opposed to using weapons of mass destruction on an important and interactive natural satellite as being "fruitcakes" or "lunatics". You can call it a “probe”, or a “kinetic energy device”, or whatever euphemism you like, but I believe most people would agree that creating a five mile crater while awaiting a 6-12 mile plume off the lunar surface is a WMD. Most people who expressed concerns asked the fundamental question, “by what authority does the United States imagine it can unilaterally use such measures against a target that is shared by the entire world? “ Does that make them a "fruitcake"? The major media release only hours before this act contributed to the legitimate concern and anger of many citizens here and abroad without a chance for discussion. The effect? Once again, we display to the rest of our planet the “in your face” policy of doing whatever and whenever we want, regardless of the wishes of others. I believe it would be a mistake to bank on the political or social apathy you and people like you think exists in this country. Perhaps there are those that even congratulate your effort to ridicule “the long gaggle of “fruitcakes” opposed to this destructive act. History, however, has demonstrated that what you have actually done has effectively radicalized that segment of the population that may well have “non-normative” beliefs about “bombing the moon”. You have also converted some who “previously sat on the fence “and are now more fearful of their government and will now be more vigilant of NASA projects. Moreover, your ridicule may translate to those environmentally conscious, or perhaps those who have religious beliefs such as those of Native Americans, that they are also “fruitcakes”, but then, that is the consequence of ignorance.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
