Jonathan Kay: Don't insult 9/11 'Truthers' by comparing them to brain-dead 'Birthers'

Jonathan Kay: Don't insult 9/11 'Truthers' by comparing them to brain-dead 'Birthers'
Posted: July 31, 2009, 2:27 PM by Jonathan Kay

Ever wonder what happened to all those right-wing loonies who sent you email in 2008 insisting that Barack Obama was a Muslim? Turns out they now have greater ambitions: They're trying to convince the world that Obama isn't even a "natural born citizen of the United States," and so is ineligible to be President.

Amazingly, these debunked conspiracy theorists not only have created a large Internet-based movement in recent months, they've also managed to convince some Republican members of Congress that there is real doubt about the legitimacy of Barack Obama's presidency.

The movement has been dubbed the "Birthers" — a play on the word "Truthers," who believe that the September 11 terrorist attacks were an inside job perpetrated (or known about) by warmongering elements within the U.S. government and/or military.

Like the Birthers, the Truthers are widely dismissed in the mainstream media as conspiracy theorists. But lumping the two groups together is actually insulting to the Truthers — for at least three reasons.

1. Birther theories are completely nuts — even compared to the most way-out factions of the 9/11 Truth Movement. Most people dismiss the notion that the U.S. government would slaughter thousands of its own citizens as a pretext to invade Central Asia and the Middle East. But there is nothing to say that such an evil plot isn't theoretically possible. Other governments — from the Soviet Union to Nazi Germany — have staged equally evil "false flag" attacks to stir up popular opinion against an outside enemy. Even America's own military plotted a somewhat similar fake terrorist attack as a pretext to attack Cuba in 1962. In the case of the Birthers, by contrast, the underlying conspiracy theory doesn't even make sense: We are supposed to believe that Barack Obama's pregnant mother, living in Hawaii at the time, flew halfway around the world — by herself — so she could give birth to Barack in a Third World Kenyan hospital … and then flew back to Hawaii and conspired with Honolulu's Kapi'olani Medical Center to place bogus local birth announcements in not one, but two local newspapers — after which she hacked local birth-records offices to create a fake birth paper trail … and for what? To install her child as President of the United States … in 47 years.

2. Birthers tend to be racist. As some readers may know, I am writing a book about the 9/11 Truth movement, to be published in 2010. When I embarked on my research, I assumed that a lot of the folks I'd be interviewing would be anti-Semites and general hatemongers. But in fact, I haven't met one person who answers to that description. Most Truthers actually bend over backwards to distance themselves from anyone in the movement who sounds a note of old-fashioned bigotry. (The idea that 4,000 Jews had advance warning of the 9/11 attacks — and similar notions involving Jewish complicity in the attacks — tend to be characteristic of 9/11 conspiracy theorists in Muslim countries, where anti-Semitism is common.) Birthers, on the other hand, tend to be thinly disguised hatemongers and xenophobes who just can't get their head around the idea that the United States has a Black president. The idea that Obama is somehow a bogus or counterfeit American acts as a psychological proxy for their underlying bigtory.

3. Birthers are crude political partisans. I've met plenty of Truthers from both sides of the political spectrum — from Alex Jones on the hard right to Canada's own Michel Chossudovsky on the left. Some are libertarians, others are Marxists. Some are Democrats. Other are Republicans. In the case of the Birther movement, on the other hand, I am yet to hear of anyone who isn't a hardcore GOP partisan — which is why the Birther movement, unlike the Truther movement, is having major political repercussions in Washington: It's popularity in some GOP circles, and the willingness of various GOP figures to encourage it, has become a disgrace to the party. It's encouraging the notion that the American right is descending into looniness.

And here's one more amazing difference: Despite the fact that Birther theories are bizarre and hateful in a way that transcends anything produced by the Truther camp, it is the Birthers — not the Truthers — who have gained the attention of the mainstream media. Birthers even have a prime-time CNN champion in the form of once-respected-journalist-turned-xenophobic-weirdo Lou Dobbs.The Truthers, on the other hand, have no one: Not a single mainstream, national-level journalistic talking head gives them the time of day.

The birther phenomenon goes to show what has become of America's increasingly shrill and tribalized media and political culture: So long as an idea stirs up the lunatic base of one party or the other, it is guaranteed to find traction. Obama a Muslim? An Israel hater? A racist who despises "whites" and "white culture"? Sure, why not? All of the above!

I have no idea whether Barack Obama will succeed in revolutionizing American health care, curing the U.S. economy, making friends with Iran, or fulfilling any of his other stated goals. But when it comes to driving the American right positively stark-raving bat-crap, mission accomplished.

jkay@nationalpost.com

Even though his book will be a hit piece

at least he acknowledged this much truth about our movement:

"When I embarked on my research, I assumed that a lot of the folks I'd be interviewing would be anti-Semites and general hatemongers. But in fact, I haven't met one person who answers to that description. Most Truthers actually bend over backwards to distance themselves from anyone in the movement who sounds a note of old-fashioned bigotry."

It is unfortunate then....

Jonathan Kay is making the point that the 9/11 Truth Movement has been ignored by the mainstream media due to the fact that we transcend partisan politics and are more concerned with promoting Truth, Justice and the American Way, Since 9/11 Truth is not a partisan issue, it is therefore not a topic of discussion by the political hacks on the right and left. How Unfortunate!

Jonathan Kay writes, "Despite the fact that Birther theories are bizarre and hateful in a way that transcends anything produced by the Truther camp, it is the Birthers — not the Truthers — who have gained the attention of the mainstream media." I remember that I made the same point in a post last week, "After years of hard work, research, internet videos, attempts to reach the public/MSM et cetera, there are fewer prominent truthers than there are birthers. 'Birther' gets 1,270,000 google responses and 'Truther' receives only 159,000."

Hopefully, Jonathan Kay's book will be about the 9/11 Truth Movement, it's origins, it progress, it's controversies, its future, not a hit piece against it hit.

It's a good article,

It's a good article, surprisingly. Too bad it takes birthers to achieve that for Kay.

No backbone.

"Birthers even have a prime-time CNN champion in the form of once-respected-journalist-turned-xenophobic-weirdo Lou Dobbs.The Truthers, on the other hand, have no one: Not a single mainstream, national-level journalistic talking head gives them the time of day."
There is not one iota of evidence to support birther's claims but there are mountains of evidence supporting Truther's claims. So the brave members of the mainstream media can safely mock the birthers and refute their feeble claims, but when faced with the massive unyielding mountain of Truth and evidence about 9/11, they hide behind the safe walls of convention and ignorance. (Mr Kay being one of a few rare exceptions.)
Even Keith Olberman, "Mr brave tough guy" when it comes to discussing torture and lying about the Iraq war, is a pathetically ineffectual and pusillanimous "pretend-seeker of Truth and justice" when it comes to 9/11.

Emailed Mr Kay

Sent him this response.
Mr Kay.
Thank you for the fair and balanced article on 9/11 Truth and the Truthers. Although I don't claim to know the "truth" about 9/11 nor do I wish to become emotionally attached to the "Truth movement," I am more concerned that we as a society need to stop fearing controversial issues and instead face them and fight them out in public venues. Whether or not 9/11 was an inside job will likely never be absolutely determined nor agreed upon by any sort of majority. And as you mentioned in your article, it wouldn't be the first time in history this has happened. Anyone who knows anything about history must realize that deceit and conspiracy and even false flag acts are important parts of every cultural narrative, including even the Bible. Jacob and his mother conspiring to deceive Isaac over the birthright is a well known example. What about the assassination of Julius Caesar? These are accepted and unquestioned parts of our cultural narrative.
My point is that if we as a society shrink from what is controversial we become easy fodder for any propaganda preaching prophet or politician. If 9/11 was a slam dunk, open and shut case with no unanswered questions or unsolved mysteries, there wouldn't be an issue. But considering the mountain of evidence to the contrary and the magnitude of the event and it's consequences, it can't and won't be easily swept under the rug.
In a brave new world we would have a robust debate in the media and the courts and in all levels of government but it seems we are all willing to shrink from controversy, cower before our critics and accept an incomplete and flawed narrative on this event in our history.
I understand you don't agree with the "Truthers" but at least you give them some credibility and respect and that's more than most of your fellow reporters and commentators are willing to do and for that I commend you. I only hope that more will be willing to get past the barrier of denial and fear and bring this debate out in the open. I think it would be a catharsis and might even shake up the establishment and god knows that is needed occasionally throughout history.