"The Homeland". I fucking hate that phrase!

[SeattleGirl]

Was just listening to the news, and some Repuke was going on about the FISA bill, saying that it needed to be extended, with the immunity in place, "because we have to protect the homeland."

The homeland. I feel sick every time I hear that phrase. It brings visions of jack-booted thugs to mind. It brings the London of "V for Vendetta" to mind. It brings Nazi Germany to mind.

It is a sick term coined by sick people, who have nothing to offer but fear itself, and they are doing their best to keep it churned up.

I got news for these fear mongers. I don't live in "the homeland." I live in the United States of America, and bad as things are right now, I am not buying your crap. I never bought your crap. You cannot scare me into falling for your message of fear. When I hear you talk, I am not scared; I'm furious!

Why don't you take your fear-mongering, go find an island somewhere, arm yourself to the teeth with guns, and shoot each other? Leave the rest of us alone, and leave this country alone. You've done enough damage.

And, stop calling it The Homeland.

[Xenotime]

1. You can tell it's some * phrase.

[SeattleGirl]

4. I'm not sure he came up with it, but it wouldn't surprise me if he did.

He and Cheney think that if they make us wet our pants, we'll follow them everywhere.

[bdamomma]

106. well his grand daddy was in cahoots with the Nazi party.

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. There is a long list of Bush or GOPisms that bother me - yes, Homeland - also weapons of mass

destruction, nukular, islamofascists, evil-dooers...values or family values. this only scratches the surface - but there is a fingernail on the chalkboard reaction that I have to pretty much anything that spews from the mouths of Bush and his minions.

[SeattleGirl]

6. I hate all those too; for some reason, "the homeland" really

sets my teeth on edge. They are trying to make us into something we aren't. And yes, they've made a lot of strides toward doing just that, which IS scary.

Whether it's Clinton or Obama who gets the nomination, that person had better win the GE, because enough is enough.

[Jawja]

90. Probably because

it sounds so much like "The Fatherland" of Nazi Germany.....

[eallen]

23. "Enhanced interrogation." Almost a transliteration of verschärfte Vernehmung.

When I think of that, I get pissed at every Democrat in the House that Bush was not impeached years ago.

:mad:

[SeattleGirl]

29. But apparently, according to some, it's not the same techniques

as were used in the Spanish Inquisition. Spin, spin, spin. If they say it enough, it must be true, right? DAMN THEM TO HELL!

[Journeyman]

3. Excellent article here on why you hate the phrase so much. . .

from December 2001. . .

http://www.spectacle.org/1201/bartlett.html

[SeattleGirl]

9. Thank you, Journeyman.

Appreciate it.

[Stinky The Clown]

5. NaziSpeak

Yeah, whoever objects to the word ... get over it. The term is right out of Hitler's playbook.

NAZI!

[SeattleGirl]

10. Yes, it is. It's too bad that Bush has no conscious, or he'd be

ashamed that that word ever came out of his mouth.

But he doesn't, and he isn't, and it fucking pisses me off.

[Parche]

7. I feel Your pain Neighbor to the North!!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=2870428&mesg_id=2870428

:hi: :hug: :hug: :hug:

[SeattleGirl]

11. Great minds do think alike, Parche.

Thanks. :hug:

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

8. The first time I heard Homeland in regard to the US, my skin crawled and it still

crawls everytime I hear it.

[SeattleGirl]

15. So does mine.

That word should be banned (thought I don't really believe in banning words, books, etc. but I'd make an exception for that one.)

[uppityperson]

12. Me too. It brings up S.Africa and nazi feelings indeed.

[SeattleGirl]

16. Dark images fill my mind hearing that phrase.

I just watched "V for Vendetta" again last night, and all I kept thinking was, "This is America right now." :cry:

[hootinholler]

13. Remember when it was the Heartland?

I do, it was only 7 years ago. The Heartland, a caring place you want to be out in. Contrast with Homeland, where you shelter from the 'evils' of the world and bar the doors and windows before cowering in the basement as the storm breaks.

I refuse! I will not cower! Let lightning strike!

-Hoot

[SeattleGirl]

18. Exactly!

I, too, refuse to cower! I swear to God, I think nothing would make Bush and Cheney happier than if we DID have another terrorist attack.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

14. Department of US Security - let's change the logos and the shields

[SeattleGirl]

20. I absolutely agree.

Department of Homeland Security is just fucking ugly, and it needs to be changed.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

24. can we have a new logo when Barack/Hillary are in power?

[SeattleGirl]

30. I sure as hell hope so.

And, we should also have a Department of Peace; I always loved that idea of Kucinich's, and think it should be created under the next administration.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

91. YES!!!!!!!!!

I'm sure other countries like Sweden, New Zealand would like to participate too? Every country should have a department of peace! Utopia I guess?

[SeattleGirl]

96. The emphasis in this world has been on war for far too long.

I'd love to see us, and other countries as well, focus more on peace. It won't make war go away completely, but I'd love to see it anyway. PEACE.

[bleever]

17. I, too, fucking hate it.

It's the kind of language you would expect from leaders who had been parasitized by aliens.

Hmmm...

[SeattleGirl]

21. I think you're on to something there, bleev.

Evil fucking bastards.

[Arctic Dave]

19. Me too.

You can see this phrase is a total shout out to their heros. Nazi Germany. No stretch of the imagination to see that.

[SeattleGirl]

22. I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a secret Nazi worship room

somewhere in the White House where they all gather to sing praises to their heroes. :puke:

[angrycarpenter]

25. I think it also has the sense that

America is a material thing like a house or a piece of land. America used to be an ideal of freedom and democracy. It was never perfect but it produced the best and brightest for a couple of hundred years.

Now we are a bunch of fat fearful consumers. Our personal courage lies mainly in a having a gun or an expensive security system. Our pioneer spirit consists of wanting to explore walmart.

We, as a country, need to remember that America is more than just a big pile of goods and services. Where are the men who said we will go to the moon and then made it happen? Where are the citizens who had dreams of a bright future and the will to make it happen?

[SeattleGirl]

32. Great way to put it, ac

Those people have been marginalized, told to shut up, threatened, etc.

God, I am so SICK of what is going on now. Whether Clinton or Obama gets elected (and it better be them and NOT McCain!), they have some changes to make immediately. And they'd better do it!

[bluesmail]

26. perhaps you hate it because

It is a Nazi term which replaced Fatherland, or other way around.

[SeattleGirl]

33. That is one of the biggest reasons I hate it.

A lot of people don't know, or don't remember, that Hitler didn't just turn Germany into Nazi Germany overnight. He used many of the tactics that the Bushies are using now, and language is a huge part of it. And language DOES matter.

[BanzaiBonnie]

27. You go SeattleGirl

I feel exactly the same way. And WHen Bush says "homeland" I almost puke.

[SeattleGirl]

34. I want to throw something at the TV when I hear him say that, which

is why I rarely, if ever, watch him.

[madrchsod]

28. i like the heartland....

[SeattleGirl]

35. Definitely a better term.

Another thing that pisses me off so much is that the DHS is being used against US, not so much against "the terrists".

[live love laugh]

31. So do I for the same reasons as you. n/t

[iamthebandfanman]

36. always hated the term

definitely has always reminded me of the nazi's everytime i hear it.

[SeattleGirl]

37. And I think Bush deliberately picked it so he could fill our heads

with all kinds of ugly shit with just one word.

[iamthebandfanman]

39. doesnt take much

for him to make one word sound ugly, no matter what word it is ;)

[SeattleGirl]

42. I've noticed that.

And I think he takes great pleasure in doing so.

[autorank]

38. Anybondy know where it came from, started "Homeland"? K*R

I've been alive for a while, paying attention more often than not... I've never heard the term used.

I've heard "Heartland" - which annoys me too, but never "Homeland."

I heard it first after 911, on the television news shows. I know that Lieberman's "Homeland
Security Bill" was in the hopper before 911 but I don't know if it was called that.

If the bill had that name, though, that's where it came from I bet.

I could be all wet on this too;) Maybe it's been used for ever and I didn't notice.

It's got too much of a "Third Reich" ring to it to be from the WWII generation, that I know for
sure. They would not have stood for that for long.

[SeattleGirl]

40. It apparently has not been used much at all in the past.

Someone just posted a link to an article about the use of Homeland upthread. Here it is again. Good article.

http://www.spectacle.org/1201/bartlett.html

[autorank]

44. Many thanks for that and this thread.

:wtf: is this Homeland biz anyway. Lots of people wondering that.

You "framed" the issue effectively;)

[SeattleGirl]

47. You're welcome.

I'm in the middle of reading it, and it's very interesting.

[ngant17]

41. Homeland Security

is about our own "Reichstag Fire", and the mass-murder of civilians on 911, and the inability of the Dept. of Defense to defend us on our home turf. It's about the inability of the US military to protect itself from its own evil haunts within the Pentagon.

It's about the promotion of the military generals who were the ones who should have been court-martialed in the first place. It's about treason by government officials.

It's about the demented people who really engineered the destruction of our US Constition.

It's about the people who have the blood of 1 million innocent Iraqi civilians on their hands.

Yeah, I also get sick in my stomach everytime I hear someone say those words.

Time to create a Dept. of Peace and Heartland Security!

[SeattleGirl]

45. If Bush were a kid, I'd want to wash his mouth out with soap for

the things he says. Preferable LAVA.

[Caretha]

118. I want to use lye to wash out his mouth

I was bewildered the first time I heard the term "homeland". I thought WTF, where did that come from? This is the *damned United States of America you asshole! Now when I hear it, it's like rubbing salt in an open wound.

I had a retired Col. in the navy come in the office the other day, his son is a marine and just got back from Iraq, and you can bet they were/are Repugs because 90% are in my neck of the woods. He made a few comments about the sorry state of the economy. I couldn't keep my big mouth shut, so I gave him a piece of my mind about who-in-the-hell was responsible for that and responsible for the FUBAR in Iraq. I ended it with a rant about if I heard the term homeland again in reference to the United States, I was going to throw straight up!

Funny, I could tell he mostly/secretly agreed with me.

[provis99]

43. "Homeland"... yeah right. Probably a direct Bush translation of "Heimat"

the word Hitler used when referring to Greater Germany. Heimat's a difficult concept to translate, but its most literal translation is "homeland". Nice use of the Nazi metaphors, Bush you idiot.

[SeattleGirl]

48. And he would deny it, of course.

:grr:

[billyoc]

46. Oh, I know, I feel like I've been trapped in a Hogan's Heroes rerun for 7 years. nt

[SeattleGirl]

49. Except that Hogan's Heroes was funny. n/t

[billyoc]

54. Yeah, come to think of it, nobody ever died, either. nt

[HCE SuiGeneris]

50. That it is in use today speaks volumes.

A very righteous rant!

K & R

[Harry Monroe]

51. I always wondered about that odious and sinister name

Why not the "Department of Domestic Security"?? What idiot came up with "Homeland". I always think of Nazi Germany or the Klingon Empire Homeworld.

[SeattleGirl]

62. I really like that name, Domestic Security.

Non-threatening and it doesn't smell of Nazi-speak.

[AlCzervik]

52. "Fatherland" thats what springs to mind, what next, changing bush over to "Chancellor"?

[and-justice-for-all]

55. Vatter Reich!!

Das ist mein blut, Das ist mein reich!!

[SeattleGirl]

64. Good God, I hope not!

Though he is turning himself into a dictator, that's for sure.

[Extend a Hand]

53. EVERY time I hear that word

I cringe. I hate it with a purple passion.

[SeattleGirl]

65. I sometimes start yelling, "Shut up! Shut up!" when I hear it.

Just drives me bat crap crazy!

[quakerboy]

56. Thank you

For speaking my mind. The first time I heard that phrase used, I thought it was someone trying to be funny. The second was when I realized we were really in trouble.

[SeattleGirl]

66. One of the many signs of the trouble we're in.

Welcome to DU, btw.

[cascadiance]

57. I keep on thinking of Babylon 5's Operation "Night Watch" when I hear that word...

One thing that still amazes me is that Bush and Rove were such big fans of Babylon 5, as documented in this usenet post some years back by show creator J M Straszinski. I love his comment at the end of this post:

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated/msg/c320273baf21a72c

"Upon hearing this, I went to lie down for a spell, but I fully expect to be back on my feet by Spring, latest."

It seems like with the amazing crap we keep finding out about these days, we have to go through the same routine ourselves quite often!

[SeattleGirl]

68. Now that's flat creepy.

:scared:

[lonestarnot]

58. Another stinking couple of words when I can't fucking stand either!

[Subdivisions]

59. You just earned the two hearts I've been holding on to :)

I completely agree and I get nightmarish visions in my head everytime I hear that spoken by someone and when it's a government official, I fear that oficial and not the mystical terrorists he/she is referring to.

Here's that jackboot vision:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KW8DRSvEoQ

[SeattleGirl]

70. I agree. Bush, Cheney and the rest of the fear-mongers are the

ones putting us in the most imminent danger, not the terrorists.

And thank you so much for the hearts. :)

[Subdivisions]

77. You're very welcome ;) n/t

[dusmcj]

60. it's supposed to make you think of your mother, like 'connected', 'trust' and 'under control' nt

[SeattleGirl]

71. My mother was a wonderful, loving, caring person.

The word "homeland" does not make me think of her, that's for sure.

[dusmcj]

88. that's the cultural difference

this is the conflict between MacArthur, whose mother rented an apartment across the street from his so she could 'advise' him as he was coming up the ranks, versus normal free folk. What does 'homeland' make you think of ? Warmth, security, the certain in the face of the unsure dark night. Behave yourself, make conservative choices, accept the status quo and take the line of least resistance by playing within its rules rather than kicking it, or rather its mediocre representatives, in their asses, and you'll end up being mommy's fat, rich, safe little boy or girl.

If you didn't have one of those, thank her for it, and then move on with new perspective.

(Not meaning to sound too snide. For one thing, fascists and other reactionaries have always used appeals to the public's sense of security within familial structures as a means of regimenting society. From the Nazis with their breeding programs and heavily constrained roles for women, to Romania's Ceauscescu (sp?) and his rodent wife with their demand that the public think of them as their mother and father, simple-minded vermin have always reached for the public's susceptibility to the duality of fear vs. security to manipulate and control it. Be happy you know better, and go forth and wage war.)

[SeattleGirl]

89. I'm very thankful that I had the kind of mother that I had.

And she knew it. She also raised me to be independent, and to stand up and fight. She raised me right, that's for sure.

I really hate the thought of a country being my "parent". I think it's a twisted way to view the country where one lives.

[theHandpuppet]

61. Thank you!!

K&R

[SeattleGirl]

72. You're welcome!

[MediaBabe]

63. Yeah! What you said!

I've hated that phrase since the first time I heard it uttered and for the very same reasons you cited. It's NAZI from the word go.

[SeattleGirl]

73. And the jack booted thugs (Blackwater) are already marching

down the streets of this country.

[meow2u3]

67. Europeans living here call their countries their "homelands"

Americans should do likewise.

New DU Rule: The only Americans allowed to call the United States of America their "homeland" are the ones living abroad.

[tabasco]

69. They do?

Can you name one?

[SeattleGirl]

74. I didn't know that. n/t

[trusty elf]

112. Well, I live abroad

and I will never use such a sickeningly artificial and sinister term for the U.S.

I would really like to know what cretin at the Department of Orwellian Shrubbery came up with it.

[cascadiance]

75. Here's another reason I switched to buying gas ONLY from Costco now!

I used to go to 7-11 down the street too when they sold Citgo gas, but no more.

Anyway, there was a cheap gas station that was the place I used to go here in Mira Mesa. But then not too long after 9/11, they switched their name to be the following:



Did wonders to get me started on my "Buy Blue" spending strategies!

[SeattleGirl]

78. Homeland Petroleum????

Oh my God!

[cascadiance]

80. That's what I said the first time I saw it!

I said to myself, I hope I have enough gas to get to another gas station. I'm NOT shopping here now!

[SeattleGirl]

81. That is just so sick.

Bet all the people with yellow ribbons on the backs of their vehicles just flock to the place.

[cascadiance]

84. Another reason I'm considering moving up north to Oregon...

... not far from Seattle. Hoping though that's not due to having to move to Microsoft Headquarters though! (I work for Yahoo)

[cascadiance]

85. I'm guessing they're thinking of opening another station in Potrero Hills...

... after Blackwater opens up their big 600+ acre "training" facility there. It would fit! And be just in time before they round people up near the border here when they turn it in to a detention camp.

[Rockholm]

76. I have always hated that word/term.

What the fuck did we call out country before they started with this crap?

[SeattleGirl]

79. Lemme see if I can remember.....

Oh, "our country", "this country", "America", "the United States", and "the USA". Those all had rather nice rings to them, I think.

:)

[cascadiance]

82. The Bush bots will say it was "Die Fatherland" or something like that...

and then insist in Rovian/Orwellian style that they changed it to "Homeland" to be more "friendly" than before.

[SeattleGirl]

83. I wouldn't doubt it.

:grr:

[Igel]

108. Precisely.

Which means that the "Dept. of Homeland Security" would have been ...

"Department of US Security"? "United States Dept. of Security"? "Department of American Security"?

"Department of My Country's Security"?

They all sound like crap. Between the West European 'fatherland' (whether patria, patrie, Vaterland ... if we look at the etymology) and Slavic 'motherland' (rodina), at least Czech vlast' sounds less offensive (on Nazi-sounding grounds).

Personally, Heimat/Homeland doesn't sound all that bad. Perhaps that's because I'm used to pondering questions of the Slavic Urheimat? After all, the Nazis used flags, parades, uniforms, and the like: I've always found images of even US soldiers to smack of Nazi goose-stepping--but it's even worse with Soviet, Russian, Pakistani, and the like, because they come much, much closer to actual goose-stepping.

The problem is the same, though, wrt a swastika. What does it 'mean', a swastika? Does in inherently mean something Nazi? Doesn't that deny that it's actually a symbol? If its meaning is inherent, how do we interpret the instances where it's used in Hindu temples--do we now say that the longer tradition is vitiated by a later tradition in another place? It gets to question of how and why symbols mean what they do, constraints on interpreting symbols, and the like. Semiotics (semasiology, actually, even that's usually just taken to refer to words--words are merely indexical symbols, like swastikas, most flags, and the like--in any event, it's just a chunk of semiotics). People usually have a hard time wrapping their heads aroud the idea of a symbol's not having a meaning, but only 'having a meaning' by virtue of having a meaning imputed to it. People usually are essentialist when it comes to such things because they're too wrapped up in themselves, rather like a child who can't understand that his parents, in a different room and out of sight of the child, cannot possibly understand the question, "What is that?"

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

86. Propaganda and mind control are alive and well

I also don't like the use of the term "ground zero" for the place the Twin Towers used to occupy in New York. It conjures up images of war and the atomic blast at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which is perhaps what the government wanted to plant in the backs of our minds. And I also blame the new merger of journalism and entertainment on our airwaves for spreading these terms and helping them to become considered normal in the public's consciousness. The term homeland sounds too much like "der faderland", but with a more folksy touch.

[SeattleGirl]

87. Maybe they're trying to lull us into thinking they'll serve us

coffee and donuts in our detention cells.

[NMMNG]

92. Hear, hear!

For people who claim to be mighty protectors of America and all it stands for they sure pander to fear an awful lot.

[SeattleGirl]

97. Hi Buffy!

Yeah, they do. And I swear to God, I think Bush gets hard just thinking about scaring people.

[NMMNG]

102. I think you're right

He seems to get that look on his face whenever he starts talking about "terra" or "9/11". :crazy:

[SeattleGirl]

103. And if you notice, he doesn't stumble over his words as much

when the words are war, terra, 9/11, evil-doers, etc.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

93. Get rid of the Eagle

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/06/19/nbarc119.xml

Barclays, the High Street bank, is planning to drop its 317-year-old eagle logo because of concerns that it has Nazi overtones - I suggest we get rid of the Eagle too?

[SeattleGirl]

98. Interesting.

I hadn't thought of that, but I can see where they're coming from.

[timtom]

94. It has always conjured up images of....

Anyone ever see "Young Frankenstein"?

Remember the policeman, played by Kenneth Mars?

Remember his garish uniform?

Homeland, indeed!

Feh!

[SeattleGirl]

99. I do remember that.

:scared:

[blues90]

95. They call this the home land as if

No other country is home to their people , especially the countries they destroy .

[SeattleGirl]

100. Another excellent point.

They totally objectify "others" so as to marginalize them, and objectify them. Makes it easier to kill them. :grr:

[B Calm]

101. Everything about the republican party has a NAZI ring too it.

[SeattleGirl]

104. Yep, especially with the current crop in office now.

[bdamomma]

105. We are not a "homeland" we are the United States of America

let those neo con thugs take that saying and shove it.

[SeattleGirl]

107. Amen, alyce!

[file83]

109. President of the Homeland - Homeland Congress - Homeland Air Force

If those all sound wrong, then what the hell makes those assholes think "Homeland Security" sounds okay?

Loved your rant SeattleGirl!!

[JohnyCanuck]

132. Hey, don't go giving them ideas! n/t

[diane in sf]

110. Homeland--It's always sounded very nazi/propagandistic to me

edit sp

[Quantess]

111. yes it DOES

sound nazi. It's embarrassing.

[GreenTea]

113. Nazi Germany....BushCo one in the same!

[margotb822]

114. Canada

Does that make Canada the Sudenten land and are we going to invade there next?

I need to go to the ski sale, if that's the case (gotta get more snow pants!).

[JohnyCanuck]

133. Just after the "Homeland" bullshit term

came into prominent use in the US, I saw a Canadian reporter on one of our news programs (I am pretty sure it was on the CBC) discussing security issues, terrorism etc in which context he made a reference to "our own (i.e. Canada's) homeland security." Well I almost flew off my chair to get to the computer and send an email to the CBC telling them in no uncertain terms that I NEVER, NEVER wanted to hear their reporters using that disgusting, Orwellian, Fascist sounding term, which was obviously a product of the American Republican/neocon propaganda and war machine, in reference to anything Canadian.

I hope I was just one of thousands that gave them a kick in the ass for that. As far as I know there have been no further instances of reporters in the Candian mainstream media that used the term "homeland security" in reference to Canada.

[mmonk]

115. It's not original or anything, but maybe we can give it new

meaning or add our touch somehow.

[SeattleGirl]

124. Jeebus!

That really freaks me out!

[Perry Logan]

116. I prefer "The Motherland."

[Thepricebreaker]

117. I thought being told what to think and say by other people was a bad thing. n/t

[SeattleGirl]

125. In our world, yes. But in Bush's world?

They want us to think we are so freakin' stupid we CAN'T think for ourselves.

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

119. another word i can't stand is "folks"

bush started using to make him seem like a down home good old boy and now everyone

in the media is using it. everytime i hear it, i think of the german "volks."

[SeattleGirl]

126. Did you see Bill Moyers Journal last night?

One of his guests was talking about that very thing.

[pingzing58]

120. Totally agree. First thing that needs to be changed is a name that invokes the Nazi party.

[SeattleGirl]

127. Someone upthread suggested "Domestic" security.

I liked that idea.

[Marr]

121. The word "homeland" is meant to inspire more of an us/them attitude.

"The United States of America" is just too neutral-- exactly like "fatherland" for the Nazis.

I agree with you on this word-- it's always bothered me. I thought they'd eventually come to their senses and change the name when they first set up the Dept. of Homeland Security. It is, like so much about these people, so obviously fascist that it's almost comical.

[Kitty Herder]

131. I agree. It's an emotional appeal to our sense of home and our

fear of threats to that home.

But in people like us, it inspires disgust because it brings to mind Nazis.

[StarryNite]

122. It's creepy...

:scared:

[earth mom]

123. Me too. It is VILE!!! I HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT with an utter passion!

When people use the word, I question who & what they are. :puke:

[SeattleGirl]

128. The sad thing is, so many people don't question it at all.

It's as if they are thinking, "Well, the government said it, so it has to be right." :puke:

[earth mom]

130. The MINUTE I heard that word out of *'s mouth, I got a chill down my spine.

It freaks the hell out of those of us who know history. :scared:

[dave123williams]

129. I'll second that. This is not the Vaterland.