The Shock Doctrine
It Happened Here: Readers Tell Their Own Stories of The Shock Doctrine
Many readers have generously shared their own stories of the Shock Doctrine with Naomi, and some are kindly allowing us to post their stories on Naomi's website. Contact us if you have a personal Shock Doctrine story to share.
As a new territory under Canadian jurisdiction, Nunavut is a new opportunity for 'Shock' theorist. Although Nunavut may seem new, the shock and irresponsibility is certainly not new. I had tried to learn as much about my own history and the treatment that Inuit have gone through. Inuit history reveals since contact from European/North American culture, the shock treatment has been subjected to Inuit since the arrival of whaling in the Eastern Arctic in the 1800's. Not only was cultural shock overwhelming, also the idea of having to buy and own property was devastating to a sharing-culture.
The 1970's and 60's brought new attention the Canadian Arctic. Mining companies came and went, prospecting the future of Canadian Arctic's wealth. During this time as well, the Inuit, having gone through residential schools and vocational schools were versed enough in English culture and language, to start understanding the effects of a foreign way of distributing wealth. The idea of organizing was established during these times. The birth of Inuit organizations such at Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated(NTI) have given modern Inuit the ability to contribute to Canadian society.
Or so I thought. The further I got through the book the more I understood what the process was and what effects the economic shock emitted to a unsespecting culture. The signing of the Nunavut Land Claim Agreement(NLCA) was a tremendous time for Inuit. A new territory was created and a new future seemed so promising. 30 years of negotiations. 30 years of Inuit despair for the families. 30 years of hoping to convince the government that we as a distinct society deserve the right to distribute our own wealth. From wildlife management to environmental protection bodies, the NLCA was to be a beacon of hope to indigenous people.
Through 30 years of of negotiations at the end to be outmaneuvered. Just as Nelson Mandela and his team. The NLCA gave me, as its "beneficiary" the right to be part of the decision as long as the minister of DIAND had the right to veto any recommendations the Inuit have gave, either the selection of a board member or a wildlife management bill. The royalties that we are to receive from mining companies is minimal. The proper implementation of the NLCA is a struggle to such an extent that NTI has taken the Federal gov't to court over the battle of who is responsible to pay for training and education of Inuit.
The NCLA may seem like a good start for Inuit to participate and transfer power from Ottawa. The federal government took advantage of Inuit low-literacy and ignorance/misunderstanding of the capitalist economy. And through their sly maneuvering of the benefits that Inuit were supposed to receive, we have been demoted to the lowest ladder in Canada along with the First Nations. We are the "South Africans" of Canada's Arctic.
-Tommy A., Nunavut, October 25, 2007
"Minister Amato proposed a decree to Prime Minister Prodi’s Counsel of Ministers in shocked Italy and it passed with the majority of votes, including those from the Rifondazione, Comunisti Italiani and Verdi/green parties.
"This decree establishes new laws for many things, for example new laws against writers and people who clean car windshields (usually Roma). This pact also introduces the beginning of a DNA bank for all people having problems with justice... because "Italians were shocked about the violence of that rape" the pact has seen a "new entry": a law that local city governments have the power to expel all foreigners from Italy, including European Community citizens. They are not concerned that this explicitly violates the "equality" and "freedom of movement" of European Union citizens.
"So our leaders have this power to directly expel, in time of "shock and fear," people from the east and from Romania. Today this decree was first used the mayor of Milan who ordered the expulsion of 4 men, all originally from Romania.
"It is impressive how the media is using this terrible tragedy, how the talk/political TV shows and the newspapers are using this case to talk about how all people from Romania, and migrants in general, are animals, that they are people who have to be tolerated only when useful and when we need care for our "grandmas and grandpas," and than they have to be "sent back home."
"The newspaper, La Repubblica, published an editorial that more or less wrote how "it is good news that the Italian former radical left parties have overcome the old ideas by voting for Amato's Security Decree and not viewing the ideas of security/safety as a left or right ideal, but as an ideal important for all people, and an ideal more and more important in this time of an unstable melting pot world."
-Cantiere's crew & Ulia & Luca, Cantiere Center, Milan, November 4, 2007
You can read more about the decree from The Independent
"Soon, the helicopters overhead and the armed national guardsman at the subway stations and the increasingly horrifying fear scenarios would become routine. We were by no means a passive, easily led bunch but the shock of that time left so many senseless -- temporarily. Long enough, sadly, for sweeping changes to blindside the nation. My students, already the victims of a pervasive racial apartheid endemic to the New York City school system, who would see their school shuttered by the state at the end of that year, felt justifiably outraged. Their outrage, however, was misdirected: these young men and women, many from Brooklyn's poorest sections of Red Hook, Sunset Park, East New York, Brownsville, bought into the axis of evil rhetoric and signed up to serve their country.
"Fortuitously, on election day 2004, my partner was offered a job in Montreal and we relocated with our daughter and have made it our permanent home. So many of our friends and colleauges were envious and given the chance, would have followed. I still weep for the students whose lives have been lost to make disaster capitalists richer."
- Vanessa, now in Montreal, September 6, 2007
Contact us if you have a personal Shock Doctrine story to share.
Nunavut, Canada
I am an Inuk (Inuit) from Nunavut, Canada. I had just finished reading
The Shock Doctrine. I thought it was a powerful book that has made me think deeply about Nunavut's economy and future.As a new territory under Canadian jurisdiction, Nunavut is a new opportunity for 'Shock' theorist. Although Nunavut may seem new, the shock and irresponsibility is certainly not new. I had tried to learn as much about my own history and the treatment that Inuit have gone through. Inuit history reveals since contact from European/North American culture, the shock treatment has been subjected to Inuit since the arrival of whaling in the Eastern Arctic in the 1800's. Not only was cultural shock overwhelming, also the idea of having to buy and own property was devastating to a sharing-culture.
The 1970's and 60's brought new attention the Canadian Arctic. Mining companies came and went, prospecting the future of Canadian Arctic's wealth. During this time as well, the Inuit, having gone through residential schools and vocational schools were versed enough in English culture and language, to start understanding the effects of a foreign way of distributing wealth. The idea of organizing was established during these times. The birth of Inuit organizations such at Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated(NTI) have given modern Inuit the ability to contribute to Canadian society.
Or so I thought. The further I got through the book the more I understood what the process was and what effects the economic shock emitted to a unsespecting culture. The signing of the Nunavut Land Claim Agreement(NLCA) was a tremendous time for Inuit. A new territory was created and a new future seemed so promising. 30 years of negotiations. 30 years of Inuit despair for the families. 30 years of hoping to convince the government that we as a distinct society deserve the right to distribute our own wealth. From wildlife management to environmental protection bodies, the NLCA was to be a beacon of hope to indigenous people.
Through 30 years of of negotiations at the end to be outmaneuvered. Just as Nelson Mandela and his team. The NLCA gave me, as its "beneficiary" the right to be part of the decision as long as the minister of DIAND had the right to veto any recommendations the Inuit have gave, either the selection of a board member or a wildlife management bill. The royalties that we are to receive from mining companies is minimal. The proper implementation of the NLCA is a struggle to such an extent that NTI has taken the Federal gov't to court over the battle of who is responsible to pay for training and education of Inuit.
The NCLA may seem like a good start for Inuit to participate and transfer power from Ottawa. The federal government took advantage of Inuit low-literacy and ignorance/misunderstanding of the capitalist economy. And through their sly maneuvering of the benefits that Inuit were supposed to receive, we have been demoted to the lowest ladder in Canada along with the First Nations. We are the "South Africans" of Canada's Arctic.
-Tommy A., Nunavut, October 25, 2007
Italy's New Security Decree
"Two days ago, the Italian government voted for the so-called "Safety Decree" or "Security Decree" (Pacchetto Sicurezza) as proposed by the Interior Minister, Giuliano Amato. This law was passed one day after the rape of an Italian woman in Rome. The woman was raped and tortured, and she died the next day. Another woman has denounced the man that is alleged to be the killer: a young 24 year old man from Romania."Minister Amato proposed a decree to Prime Minister Prodi’s Counsel of Ministers in shocked Italy and it passed with the majority of votes, including those from the Rifondazione, Comunisti Italiani and Verdi/green parties.
"This decree establishes new laws for many things, for example new laws against writers and people who clean car windshields (usually Roma). This pact also introduces the beginning of a DNA bank for all people having problems with justice... because "Italians were shocked about the violence of that rape" the pact has seen a "new entry": a law that local city governments have the power to expel all foreigners from Italy, including European Community citizens. They are not concerned that this explicitly violates the "equality" and "freedom of movement" of European Union citizens.
"So our leaders have this power to directly expel, in time of "shock and fear," people from the east and from Romania. Today this decree was first used the mayor of Milan who ordered the expulsion of 4 men, all originally from Romania.
"It is impressive how the media is using this terrible tragedy, how the talk/political TV shows and the newspapers are using this case to talk about how all people from Romania, and migrants in general, are animals, that they are people who have to be tolerated only when useful and when we need care for our "grandmas and grandpas," and than they have to be "sent back home."
"The newspaper, La Repubblica, published an editorial that more or less wrote how "it is good news that the Italian former radical left parties have overcome the old ideas by voting for Amato's Security Decree and not viewing the ideas of security/safety as a left or right ideal, but as an ideal important for all people, and an ideal more and more important in this time of an unstable melting pot world."
-Cantiere's crew & Ulia & Luca, Cantiere Center, Milan, November 4, 2007
You can read more about the decree from The Independent
Brooklyn on 9/11
"I saw the twin towers fall from the window of my 2nd period American Literature class in Brooklyn and found myself fielding questions like, "Miss, is it the end of the world?" and buying oreos and bottled water at the Rite Aid to give to kids in the auditorium/trauma center, some of whom had parents who worked in the towers. My colleagues, all inner city school teachers, and I struggled for a voice in those weeks after. As a group, we definitely bent to the left but that day, when the pledge of allegiance came over the PA system, even those who proudly called themselves radicals stopped in their tracks and put a hand over their hearts."Soon, the helicopters overhead and the armed national guardsman at the subway stations and the increasingly horrifying fear scenarios would become routine. We were by no means a passive, easily led bunch but the shock of that time left so many senseless -- temporarily. Long enough, sadly, for sweeping changes to blindside the nation. My students, already the victims of a pervasive racial apartheid endemic to the New York City school system, who would see their school shuttered by the state at the end of that year, felt justifiably outraged. Their outrage, however, was misdirected: these young men and women, many from Brooklyn's poorest sections of Red Hook, Sunset Park, East New York, Brownsville, bought into the axis of evil rhetoric and signed up to serve their country.
"Fortuitously, on election day 2004, my partner was offered a job in Montreal and we relocated with our daughter and have made it our permanent home. So many of our friends and colleauges were envious and given the chance, would have followed. I still weep for the students whose lives have been lost to make disaster capitalists richer."
- Vanessa, now in Montreal, September 6, 2007
