Little Brother - Terrorism

Well... Tonight I'm going to try and tackle a big one. Terrorism is a major theme in the book. It is what makes the story keep on going, like a motor. The only reason that Marcus does all that he does is because the government thinks that he might be a terrorist. This all started on the day the bridge was bombed. Marcus and his friends happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and the DHS picks them up, turning them into terrorist suspects. After this they are never truly free again until they rescue Darryl and confront the DHS.


Terrorism
-noun
       The use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes.
       (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/terrorism)


To me, Terrorism is a political maneuver, evoking fear in others to get what you want. Nowadays, terrorism is most often associated with the Middle East. Though this is stereotypical and prejudiced, the typical image conjured when thinking of a terrorist is a Middle Eastern man. In Little Brother, most of the suspects seem to be young teenagers. I believe that all of them are like Marcus and his friends, simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Though they could all potentially be the terrorists, I don't think any of them actually are.


When they are first captured, Marcus thinks that his captors are the terrorists. In his head, Marcus retells how he had never really thought about terrorists as they had never directly affected him. I believe that after this whole experience, Marcus will be more aware of terrorism and its causes and effects. In confinement, he remarks that these people did not fit the stereotypical image of a terrorist. Instead, they look like normal everyday Americans. They also act pretty much normal when they aren't interacting with prisoners. Even with all this information, Marcus continues to believe they are terrorists up until he sees the unquestionable proof, a U.S. Military uniform. 


This is where the line of terrorism becomes blurry. Where should we draw the line between terrorism and "just doing what's necessary"? Marcus makes a great point in class about all their security measures actually helping the terrorists. Their main goal is to create fear, so it doesn't sense to make the people even more scared by having all these cameras and surveillance around. Marcus argues that they are helping the terrorists by showing that they succeeded in created fear. Charles argues that they are being protected from terrorists by all the cameras and such. Marcus counters by saying that if a terrorist were to walk into the school and do something, like blow themselves up, the cameras and all their fancy security could do absolutely nothing to stop it. Charles never has a chance to counter that and the discussion is cut short. I think they both actually have good points. The point of the the heightened security is to protect the students. It would also make many feel safer, which is good. But, Marcus does have a point as it shows the extent of their fear (pretty far). This is exactly what the terrorists want. Also, the cameras really would do nothing to prevent a spontaneous terrorist attack. So, what's the point of the extra security?


After they are released, Marcus, Van, and Jolu spend some time analyzing the terrorist attack. Being treated as a terrorist for a few days gives Marcus enough insight to think more like them. So, he is able to further understand what their motives are and what their reactions would be. I think that this could have set the stage for Marcus to have become a true terrorist himself. Even though what he is doing could be considered terrorism by some, he could have become one of the full-out bombing and shooting terrorists because he now understands them. I think it's scary to think that anti-terrorism measures could actually bring rise to more terrorism. Even though all these things are meant to prevent future terrorist attacks, they could ultimately be promoting it. Now that's a scary thought.


-Lina >.<