Many Americans assume that only “bad people” have to worry about draconian anti-terror laws. There have been so many anti-terrorism laws passed since 9/11, as well as Homeland Security memoranda on “potential terrorists” that are not yet laws, that it is hard for Americans to keep up on what kinds of beliefs and behaviors might get us on the government’s “list” of suspected bad guys.
Most of the items on the checklists below come from Washington’s Blog of Feb. 21, 2012. The checklists are in two categories “Behaviors” and “Beliefs,” so that you can see if you might be identified by your government as a potential terrorist. Each attribute on the checklists is embedded with a link to a source.
Since Washington’s Blog compiled the checklists 3 years ago, I’m sure the Obama administration, especially the good folks at Homeland Security, has added more identifying markers to the lists.
The checklists below are a quiz. See how many items on the checklists apply to you!
A. Behaviors
The following actions may get an American citizen living on U.S. soil labeled as a “suspected terrorist” today:
- Speaking out against government policies
- Protesting anything
- Questioning war (even though war reduces our national security; and see this)
- Criticizing the government’s targeting of innocent civilians with drones (although killing innocent civilians with drones is one of the main things which increases terrorism. And see this)
- Asking questions about pollution (even at a public Congressional hearing?)
- Paying cash at an Internet cafe
- Asking questions about Wall Street shenanigans
- Holding gold
- Creating alternative currencies
- Stocking up on more than 7 days of food (even though all Mormons are taught to stockpile food, and most Hawaiians store up on extra food)
- Having bumper stickers saying things like “Know Your Rights Or Lose Them”
- Investigating factory farming
- Infringing a copyright
- Taking pictures or videos
- Talking to police officers
- Wearing a hoodie
- Driving a van
- Writing on a piece of paper
- Belonging to a militia
- Not having a Facebook account may soon be added
B. Beliefs
Holding the following beliefs may also be considered grounds for suspected terrorism:
- Valuing online privacy
- Supporting Ron Paul or being a libertarian
- Liking the Founding Fathers
- Being a Christian, especially if you’re an Evangelical or Catholic
- Being an ultra-orthodox Jew
- Being anti-tax, anti-regulation or for the gold standard
- Being “reverent of individual liberty”
- Being “anti-nuclear”
- “Believe in conspiracy theories”
- “A belief that one’s personal and/or national ‘way of life’ is under attack”
- “Impose strict religious tenets or laws on society (fundamentalists)”
- “Insert religion into the political sphere”
- “Those who seek to politicize religion”
- “Supported political movements for autonomy”
- Being “anti-abortion“ and pro-life
- Being “far right“
- Being a member of the Tea Party
- Being “anti-global”
- “Suspicious of centralized federal authority”
- “Fiercely nationalistic (as opposed to universal and international in orientation)”
- “A belief in the need to be prepared for an attack…by participating in … survivalism”
- Opposing genetically engineered food
- Opposing surveillance
So how did you do?
I checked off 11 items on the A list, and 20 items on the B list. I’m in trouble! LOL
As you might have noticed, the checklists are in complete violation of our rights under the United States Constitution, especially our First Amendment right to freedom of speech. When even Supreme Court Justices and congressmen worry that we are drifting into dictatorship, we should all be concerned.
H/t FOTM’s maziel
~Éowyn
