Elite panic

Last updated

"Elite panic" is a term coined by Rutgers University researchers Caron Chess and Lee Clarke to describe the behavior of members of the elite during disaster events, [1] typically characterized by a fear of civil disorder and the shifting of focus away from disaster relief towards implementing measures of "command and control". [2]

Contents

Further research from Scott Bonn suggests that a cozy, mutually beneficial relationship between the news media and political elites plays a significant role in moral panic processes. He draws on prior studies to conclude that the news media and political elites ("especially presidents") work in tandem in the generation of moral panics and societal issues, thus constructing and crafting policy and public concern in relation to their own priorities. [3]

Building on this idea that the media and political elites can manufacture a moral panic, Caron Chess and Lee Clarke, explain that panic persists for both practical and political reasons. [4] Clarke and Chess state that in the face of overwhelming evidence that panic is rare among societies, policymakers still assume it likely based on their production of disaster plans as well as other emergency management preparations. [4] In terms of political reasons, Clarke and Chess describe that a consolidation of authority that arises during panics correlates with institutional interests. That is to say, if it is assumed that a disaster will lead to public panic, then it can be expected that government authorities will communicate to citizens in an encouraging manner, possess and sometimes withhold crucial information, and consolidate as many resources as they can. [4] Clarke and Chess cite disaster sociologist Kathleen Tierney when concluding that these three circumstances all promote further power to the highest reaches of these government organizations. [4]

Characteristics

Disaster sociologist Kathleen Tierney describes "elite panic" as being based in: [5]

"Elite panic" during a disaster event can take on a number of forms, chiefly that of a phobia of civil disorder among the lower classes and enforcing the protection of private property. [6] It can manifest itself through restrictions on freedom of movement, limiting the spread of information and excessive devotion to law enforcement, in some cases "undermin[ing] the public's capacity for resilient behaviors." [7] After a disaster event, it can also be used to justify scapegoating individuals and quickly pushing through political reforms. [6]

According to Tierney, "elite panic" is often fueled by the effect that responses to disaster events can have on the careers of political leaders, citing the political fallout in the wake of Hurricane Andrew in Florida as well as the boon to Rudy Giuliani's image following the September 11 attacks. [6]

James Hawdon, director of the Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention at Virginia Tech concluded that, in times of crisis, a disciplinary rhetoric from a president can heighten public concern about an issue and can result in a moral panic. [8]

To add further context, sociologist Frank Furedi argues that it has never been easier for the State to manufacture a moral panic. He explains that the interrelations between societies in conjunction with the abundance of media access has created a novel phenomenon where governments can foster specific social, religious, or political outcomes. [9]

Examples

Philip L. Fradkin detailed cases of "elite panic" during the Great Chicago Fire, the 1900 Galveston hurricane and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. [10] After the San Francisco earthquake, Mayor Eugene Schmitz authorized the use of deadly force against "anyone engaged in looting" [11] – chiefly poor and working class victims of the earthquake. While residents of Chinese descent evacuated the disaster areas, and were segregated from white victims of the earthquake, Chinatown was itself looted by soldiers and members of the city's upper classes. [12]

Following the 1964 Alaska earthquake, the Anchorage Police Department suspended search and rescue efforts and hastily deputized a number of people as officers in order to act as protection from what they believed would be an inevitable increase in criminal activity, despite Anchorage residents largely engaging in emergency management. [7]

When the National Institute of Standards and Technology investigated the behavior of occupants of the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks, they documented a notable absence of "public panic". [13] Only a month after the attacks, the Patriot Act was passed. [14] Kathleen Tierney described the post-9/11 era as being "an almost continuous state of elite panic", the long-term societal consequences of which are still being analyzed. [15]

During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, evidence of "elite panic" included the extensive media coverage of and political focus on reported looting and violence, the authorization of deadly force in response to reported property crime and the circulation of rumors about the behavior of New Orleans' lower class and residents of color. [6] Mayor Ray Nagin appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and claimed "hooligans [were] killing people, raping people" in the Louisiana Superdome. [7] President George W. Bush subsequently dispatched the United States Army to the city, where they prevented residents from leaving disaster areas. [16] On September 1, 2005, Governor Kathleen Blanco called off search and rescue efforts and diverted the attention of emergency services towards looting, warning that residents of New Orleans caught looting would be shot by veterans of the Iraq War. [12] Michael D. Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was later held responsible for the crisis, despite official guidelines stating that leadership during times of crisis fell to the United States Secretary of Homeland Security, who at the time was Michael Chertoff. [12]

Following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, officials communicated unclear and contradictory information to the public, leading many to believe that the government was minimizing the risk of radiation damage. [7]

During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio urged residents of New York City to "go about their lives", in a statement he later claimed was made in order to "avoid panic". [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

Natural disaster Major adverse event resulting from natural processes of the Earth

A natural disaster is "the negative impact following an actual occurrence of natural hazard in the event that it significantly harms a community". A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property, and typically leaves some economic damage in its wake. The severity of the damage depends on the affected population's resilience and on the infrastructure available. Examples of natural hazards include: avalanche, coastal flooding, cold wave, drought, earthquake, hail, heat wave, hurricane, ice storm, landslide, lightning, riverine flooding, strong wind, tornado, tsunami, volcanic activity, wildfire, winter weather.

Moral panic Fear that some evil threatens society

A moral panic is a widespread feeling of fear, often an irrational one, that some evil person or thing threatens the values, interests, or well-being of a community or society. It is "the process of arousing social concern over an issue", usually perpetuated by moral entrepreneurs and the mass media, and exacerbated by politicians and lawmakers.

Panic Sudden overwhelming sensation of fear and irrational response.

Panic is a sudden sensation of fear, which is so strong as to dominate or prevent reason and logical thinking, replacing it with overwhelming feelings of anxiety and frantic agitation consistent with an animalistic fight-or-flight reaction. Panic may occur singularly in individuals or manifest suddenly in large groups as mass panic.

Kathleen Blanco American politician (1942–2019)

Kathleen Babineaux Blanco was an American politician who served as the 54th Governor of Louisiana from January 2004 to January 2008. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first and, to date, only woman elected as the state's governor.

Frank Furedi Hungarian-Canadian sociologist

Frank Furedi is a Hungarian-Canadian academic and emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Kent. He is well known for his work on sociology of fear, education, therapy culture, paranoid parenting and sociology of knowledge.

A deviancy amplification spiral is a media hype phenomenon defined by media critics as a cycle of increasing numbers of reports on a category of antisocial behaviour or some other undesirable event, leading to a moral panic.

The expression collective behavior was first used by Franklin Henry Giddings and employed later by Robert Park and Ernest Burgess, Herbert Blumer, Ralph H. Turner and Lewis Killian, and Neil Smelser to refer to social processes and events which do not reflect existing social structure, but which emerge in a "spontaneous" way. Use of the term has been expanded to include reference to cells, social animals like birds and fish, and insects including ants. Collective behavior takes many forms but generally violates societal norms. Collective behavior can be tremendously destructive, as with riots or mob violence, silly, as with fads, or anywhere in between. Collective behavior is always driven by group dynamics, encouraging people to engage in acts they might consider unthinkable under typical social circumstances.

Sociology of disaster

Sociology of disaster or sociological disaster research is a sub-field of sociology that explores the social relations amongst both natural and human-made disasters. Its scope includes local, national, and global disasters - highlighting these as distinct events that are connected by people through created displacement, trauma, and loss. These connections, whether that is as a survivor, working in disaster management, or as a perpetrator role, is non-discrete and a complex experience that is sought to be understood through this sub-field. Interdisciplinary in nature, the field is closely linked with environmental sociology and sociocultural anthropology.

Emergency evacuation Urgent removal of people from an area of imminent or ongoing threat

Emergency evacuation is the urgent immediate egress or escape of people away from an area that contains an imminent threat, an ongoing threat or a hazard to lives or property.

Culture of fear Arrangement in which fear of retribution is pervasive

Culture of fear is the concept that people may incite fear in the general public to achieve political or workplace goals through emotional bias; it was developed as a sociological framework by Frank Furedi and has been more recently popularized by the American sociologist Barry Glassner.

Disaster area Region or location that is heavily damaged by a natural or man-made hazard

A disaster area is a region or a locale that has been heavily damaged by either natural, technological or social hazards. Disaster areas affect the population living in the community by dramatic increase in expense, loss of energy, food and services; and finally increase the risk of disease for citizens. An area that has been struck with a natural, technological or sociological hazard that opens the affected area for national or international aid.

Normalcy bias, or normality bias, is a cognitive bias which leads people to disbelieve or minimize threat warnings. Consequently, individuals underestimate the likelihood of a disaster, when it might affect them, and its potential adverse effects. The normalcy bias causes many people to not adequately prepare for natural disasters, market crashes, and calamities caused by human error. About 70% of people reportedly display normalcy bias during a disaster.

Erich Goode is an American sociologist specializing in the sociology of deviance. He has written a number of books on the field in general, as well as on specific deviant topics. He was a professor at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Hurricane Katrina had many social effects, due the significant loss and disruption of lives it caused. The number of fatalities, direct and indirect, related to Katrina is 1,833 and over 400,000 people were left homeless. The hurricane left hundreds of thousands of people without access to their homes or jobs, it separated people from relatives, and caused both physical and mental distress on those who suffered through the storm and its aftermath, such as Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

A moral entrepreneur is an individual, group, or formal organization that seeks to influence a group to adopt or maintain a norm; altering the boundaries of altruism, deviance, duty or compassion.

Rebecca Solnit Author and essayist from United States

Rebecca Solnit is an American writer. She has written on a variety of subjects, including feminism, the environment, politics, place, and art.

A social panic is a state where a social or community group reacts negatively and in an extreme or irrational manner to unexpected or unforeseen changes in their expected social status quo. According to Folk Devils and Moral Panics by Stanley Cohen, the definition can be broken down to many different sections. The sections, which were identified by Erich Goode and Nachman Ben-Yehuda in 1994, include concern, hostility, consensus, disproportionality, and volatility. Concern, which is not to be mistaken with fear, is about the possible or potential threat. Hostility occurs when an outrage occurs toward the people who were a part of the problem and agencies who are accountable. These people are seen as the enemy since their behavior is viewed as a danger to society. Consensus includes a distributed agreement that an actual threat is going to take place. This is where the media and other sources come in to aid in spreading of the panic. Disproportionality compares people's reactions to the actual seriousness of the condition. Volatility is when there is no longer any more panic.

The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) is an emeritus Homeland Security Centers of Excellence at the University of Maryland, College Park that researches the causes and consequences of terrorism in the United States and around the world. It maintains the Global Terrorism Database, which includes over 200,000 terrorist attacks and which it describes as the "most comprehensive unclassified data base on terrorist events in the world."

Human response to disasters has been recorded throughout human history. In ancient times disasters were often perceived as a result of a deity, divine being, or spiritual creature showing their displeasure over human behavior. This later changed as humans began to see disasters as natural events that caused physical destruction and social chaos to individuals, communities, and societies as opposed to responses to human actions.

Effects of Hurricane Irma in the British Virgin Islands

The effects of Hurricane Irma in the British Virgin Islands were significant in terms of both human and socio-economic impact on the Territory. Hurricane Irma struck the British Virgin Islands as a Category 5 hurricane during the daylight hours of Wednesday, 6 September 2017. It caused widespread destruction, and killed a total of four people. The eye of the hurricane traveled over the three major islands in the group: Virgin Gorda, Tortola and Jost Van Dyke.

References

  1. ↑ Solnit 2010, p. 129.
  2. ↑ Solnit 2010, p. 130.
  3. ↑ Bonn, Scott A. (2011). "How an Elite-Engineered Moral Panic Led to the U.S. War on Iraq". Critical Criminology. 19 (3): 227–249. doi:10.1007/s10612-010-9116-6. S2CID   145587340.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Clarke, Lee; Chess, Caron (2008). "Elites and Panic: More to Fear than Fear Itself". Social Forces. 87 (2): 993–1014. doi:10.1353/sof.0.0155. JSTOR   20430900. S2CID   143112263.
  5. ↑ Solnit 2010, p. 127.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Tierney 2008, p. 131.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Meigs 2020.
  8. ↑ Hawdon, James E. (September 30, 2001). "the role of presidential rhetoric in the creation of a moral panic: reagan, bush, and the war on drugs". Deviant Behavior. 22 (5): 419–445. doi:10.1080/01639620152472813. S2CID   143626506.
  9. ↑ Furedi 2016 p. 267.
  10. ↑ Tierney 2008, pp. 131–132.
  11. ↑ Solnit 2010, pp. 36–37.
  12. 1 2 3 Tierney 2008, p. 132.
  13. ↑ Tierney 2008, pp. 130–131.
  14. ↑ Tierney 2008, p. 133.
  15. ↑ Tierney 2008, p. 136.
  16. ↑ Waldman 2012.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.