geographers on Sept. 11

LOCAL HORROR/GLOBAL RESPONSE
>
>David Harvey, Talal Asad, Cindi Katz, Neil Smith and Ida Susser*
>
>This is a difficult time for those of us who are deeply critical of US
>military, financial and commercial policies and practices around the
globe.
>There is, we categorically insist, nothing, absolutely nothing, in
those
>policies and practices that would even remotely justify the insane
horror
>unleashed in the United States on September 11th.  We share the sense
of
>shock, outrage, sadness and anger felt in New York and Washington,
around
>the country, and across the globe.
>
>By the same token, there is nothing in these horrendous events to
justify
>the continuation, let alone the intensification of erroneous policies
and
>practices.  The catalogue of flaws that have for so long distressed us
still
>stands.  The callous disregard shown by US financial and commercial
>interests for global poverty and suffering; the militarism that backs
>authoritarian regimes wherever convenient to US interests; the broad
>indifference (widespread throughout the US) to the death and suffering
>inflicted on repressed, marginalized or minority populations around the

>globe; the insensitivity of US-led globalization practices to local
>cultures, interests and traditions; the failure to act to prevent
genocidal
>practices (in Ruanda, for example); the disregard for environmental
>degradation and resource depletion; irresponsibly self-interested
behavior
>with respect to a wide range of international issues such as missile
>defenses, global warming, AIDS and labor rights; the use of
international
>institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank for partisan US
political
>purposes; and the shallow and often hypocritical stances with respect
to
>human rights - none of these practices can be justified by last week's
>events.  We wish to reaffirm our critical postures with respect to all
such
>issues no matter how difficult it may be to articulate them freely in
these
>times.
>
>The sheer horror and insanity of what happened last week is a crushing
>burden on rational thought and reasoned action.  Signs of distinctively

>American brands of zealotry and fanaticism, of ethnic scapegoating, of
>authoritarianism to the detriment of basic freedoms and civil
liberties,
>abound.  Such trends must be resisted.  It is also our fervent hope
that the
>righteous wrath and indignation felt around the country (understandable

>sentiments which we share) might mature into serious reflection on how
to
>make the world a decent habitation for all, how to make real democracy
work
>everywhere, how to make freedom mean something more than freedom of the

>market and how to create a more egalitarian and caring world
characterized
>by justice, tolerance, diversity and love.  This, far more than any
amount
>of saber rattling and military action, is, surely, a far more
constructive
>way to secure a safer and juster world for our children.
>
>*The authors are all Professors at CUNY Graduate Center in Manhattan
>