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Most Sincerely,
Dr. Steven Best
Chair, Department of Philosophy
University of Texas
El Paso, Texas, USA
From 9/11 to 7/7: Police States Capitalize on Tragedy
“Anarchy for the UK
It’s coming sometime and maybe
I give a wrong time stop a traffic line.
Your future dream is a shopping scheme
cause I wanna be anarchy,
It’s in the city.” —Sex Pistols
For legal reasons pertaining to prior hunt sab arrests, Rod Coronado could not leave his home in Tucson, Arizona. Despite letters of appeal, Dr. Jerry Vlasak was excluded for an incidental conference statement 'that since violence has been a part of all past human liberation movements, one could expect the same for the animal liberation movement.’ Blunkett banned Pam Ferdin as well, citing her prior arrest for possession of a “deadly weapon” – a bull hook (used by circus trainers to terrorize elephants in “training” sessions) which was nothing more than a protest prop.
But for some odd reason, the Home Office granted me free passage into England. I had mixed emotions about this. On the one hand, I was proud to represent the militant face of animal rights in the US and delighted to be able to return among some great activists in the UK. On the other hand, I was somewhat embarrassed for not being militant enough to be considered a threat to a repressive state! Then again, perhaps I was nothing more than an alibi, a pawn in a propaganda ploy to give authoritarians the appearance of being fair and reasonable.
So I attended the conference, had an amazing time, and was thrilled to be invited back to speak again in September 2005. My second visit was imperiled, however, by the “7/7” (July 7, 2005) terrorist bombings in London that targeted civilians in buses and in the underground trains. Similar to the US response to 9/11, the UK took advantage of a terrible tragedy to crack down even harder on dissent. The state struck particularly hard against their main target – not the Muslim extremists, but rather the animal rights movement.
After the 7/7 bombings, the new Home Office Secretary, Charles Clarke, announced that the “rules of the game have changed.” The Home Office drafted new “rules of unacceptable speech” that apply to any non-UK citizen alleged to promote, defend, justify, or advocate “violence” or “terrorism” in any way. The new “Exclusion Bill” granted the Home Office the authority to ban any non-UK citizen for “unacceptable speech” in a lecture, printed essay, or website. Blair began arguing that terrorism is a problem not only of those committing terrorist acts, but also those defending them. In the fascist mentality of the UK state, there is no difference between blowing up citizens in buses and trains and defending the actions of the ALF.
But my passage into England in September 2005 went unchallenged, such that I could once again be a featured speaker again at the International Animal Rights Gathering. Knowing full well that I was under surveillance, however, I carefully chose my words for an audience of 300 people packed into an outdoor tent. Trying to bottle up my passion was challenging, but the topic itself – the philosophical and political motivations of the ALF — doomed me.
The day after my talk, the amicable proprietor of my Bed and Breakfast served me the morning news with an ironic smile, asking: “Guess who is in the paper today?” I saw a prominently featured article with the spurious headline, “US Activist says: 'We will Break your laws and destroy your property until we win.” The story was about my allegedly inflammatory lecture, and gave the impression that I had crossed the Atlantic just to thumb my nose at Home Office. Although those are fine words in the headline, they were not mine. A hack reporter from The Daily Telegraph attributed a statement I made about the tactics of the ALF to me, as if delivered a personal ringing endorsement of maximum mayhem.
I knew my fate was sealed. I spoke to 1000 people and a menacing phalanx of cops at an anti-vivisection demonstration at Oxford University and enjoyed the last lazy days I would ever pass at Trafalgar Square and Hyde Park.
Shortly after returning home, I heard from the Home Office. Once again, they threatened to ban me and invited my comment for consideration. I denied saying the infamous quote attributed to me, but I admitted to other statements I thought innocuous.
Meanwhile, the marathon campaign against the Newchurch Farm and its guinea pig breeding operation for vivisection laboratories ended in dramatic victory. The leaders of SNGP graciously invited me to return to England in September to speak at a celebration event. But, quite predictably, the Home Office lowered the boom before I could pose any further “danger” to their disorderly “social order.” My status was about to change from person of suspicion to persona non grata, from domestic terrorist to international terrorist.
We Politely Insist You Fuck Off
Thus, on August 24, 2005 I received the following letter from Home Office Secretary Charles Clarke:
Dear Dr Best:
