Scapegoats of September 11th: Hate Crimes & State Crimes in the War on Terror

by Michael F. Welch

From its largest cities to deep within its heartland, from its heavily trafficked airways to its meandering country byways, America has become a nation racked by anxiety about terrorism and national security. In response to the fears prompted by the tragedy of September 11th, the country has changed in countless ways. Airline security has tightened, mail service is closely examined, and restrictions on civil liberties are more readily imposed by the government and accepted by a wary public.

The altered American landscape, however, includes more than security measures and ID cards. The country's desperate quest for security is visible in many less obvious, yet more insidious ways. In Scapegoats of September 11th, criminologist Michael Welch argues that the "war on terror" is a political charade that delivers illusory comfort, stokes fear, and produces scapegoats used as emotional relief. Regrettably, much of the outrage that resulted from 9/11 has been targeted at those not involved in the attacks on the Pentagon or the Twin Towers. As this book explains, those people have become the scapegoats of September 11th. Welch takes on the uneasy task of sorting out the various manifestations of displaced aggression, most notably the hate crimes and state crimes that have become embarrassing hallmarks both at home and abroad.

Drawing on topics such as ethnic profiling, the Abu Ghraib scandal, Guantanamo Bay, and the controversial Patriot Act, Welch looks at the significance of knowledge, language, and emotion in a post-9/11 world. In the face of popular and political cheerleading in the war on terror, this book presents a careful and sober assessment, reminding us that sound counterterrorism policies must rise above, rather than participate in, the propagation of bigotry and victimization.

Genres: Politics, Terrorism, Nonfiction

238 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Andres Cordoba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ultimately, the book set out what it aimed to do and is mainly held back from excellence by being a bit too reserved for my tastes in its comparative nature. I'm not awfully sure what delineates certain chapters from others, but they felt coherent during a read through. The book begins with a quick recap on the war on terror and bungling up to that point, as well as brief coverage of human rights abuses committed in its name both at home and abroad. The next chapter set a bit of a framework of scapegoatism, which unfortunately to me didn't really rise to thesis level prominence or even thorough explanation at any point. The book then does a rather solid job at documenting, several modern state and hate crimes being committed, though again, the hate crimes fail to be adequately covered compared to the excesses of the Bush administration. The best and final chapters, though a bit separated from the thesis then flow in analyzing the false claims of effectiveness, documenting specific violations protected by the Patriot Act and general government policy, and - in its only prophetic instance - issuing warnings and ways to curb the 'culture of denial' likely to be formed, where Americans would come to accept denials of their civil rights as appropriate.