Homeland Security to Run TV Ads To Scare Your Kids

[proudbluestater]

I've posted the link to the entire article below. It was originally in the Baltimore Sun. I'm not sure whether you have to sign up to access the site or not. It's worth a read, though.I sign up at most sites just to get a variety of news articles.

I think this is an attempt to "lead by fear" once again. Once the lowly citizens are sufficiently scared, the regime will announce Patriot Act II, the Sequel.

This is just one more reason why I no longer watch any "commerical" tv except the Daily Show.


"Effective ads, or too scary?
Terror: TV spots from Homeland Security play the 'guilt card' to get parents' attention.

By Stephen Kiehl and Abigail Tucker
Sun Staff
Originally published November 24, 2004
A little girl with big brown eyes sits at the kitchen table eating cereal. Milk dribbling down her chin, she asks innocently, "So, Mom, what if something happened? Should I stay where I am and wait for you or go to Grandma's house since it's closest? Is there a place we all meet? What should I do?"

The ad, soon to appear on television, is part of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security campaign to encourage families to develop plans in case of a terrorist attack.

The attention-grabbing campaign, unveiled this week, uses sweet young children and haunting music to strike an emotional chord - but perhaps an overly dark one, some fear.

"I'm concerned that it will lead to a bogeyman mentality," said Ned Gaylin, professor emeritus of family studies at the University of Maryland, College Park. "We talk to kids about not talking to strangers. We don't tell them they could rape you. We don't tell them they could put a gun in your mouth.

"You want to give kids the truth. You don't necessarily want to give them the whole truth."

Previous public service campaigns by the Homeland Security Department featured Secretary Tom Ridge talking about being prepared - hardly gripping television.

Hoping to draw more notice, the department enlisted BBDO Worldwide - known for such touching campaigns as GE's "We Bring Good Things to Life" - to create a new series of ads."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/custom/attack/bal-te.to.ads24nov24,1,2798775.story?coll=bal-attack-headlines

[Nikepallas]

1. I think I saw a form of it and I wanted to PUKE

:puke:

[Straight Shooter]

2. Do they have any effin' idea what this will do to the minds of children?

We could have seen this coming a mile away, when bush and laura did that horrid commercial, "I can't imagine the agony of a parent who has to decide what child to pick up first."

Fear-based policies. I hate these people, I really hate them.

[JohnOneillsMemory]

4. They've targeted children's minds. The psych evaluation in public schools

will scoop up the frightened into drug therapies in the horribly named New Freedom Initiative.

[wtmusic]

5. There are quite a few of those parents in Iraq

Laura should ask them.

[TaleWgnDg]

3. Good grief! This brings back memories of me as a kid . . .

standing up in public elementary school beside my school desk being handed an open bible, and being required to read aloud from same . . . yup. Mandated bible reading in public schools.

Then shortly thereafter or on some other day, going through the Cold War drill . . . "duck and cover!" Which was the public school drill of "protection" from the bomb: upon seeing the *flash* of bright light, go immediately under your school desk, roll into a fetal ball and cover your face w/ arms.

Yup. "Duck and Cover" So much for scaring the beejeezuz out of an entire generation of kids . . . the "baby boomers" and those born during WW2 . . . http://www.cddc.vt.edu/host/atomic/civildef/duckncvr.htm

Which was more scary? I don't really know to this day.


edited to add url hyperlink

[signmike]

7. I remember the Duck&Cover drills,

and our classrooms had one wall solid glass floor to ceiling. Aside from being told, and believing, that the exercise would protect us and all would be fine after the blast and we would continue with our schoolwork -- I couldn't help but wonder what it was going to be like with all that glass coming in at us.
Years later I saw "The Atomic Cafe" which has a lot of that old footage in it - now I'm REALLY scared - do they EVER tell us the truth? About anything at all? Ever?

I remember the air raid sirens going off every once in a while - we never got a heads up on those -- any one could have been real -- we learned to ignore them. And sometimes the radio station would shut off, total silence for a minute or two, or a steady beep. Then a voice would come on..."If this had been a real alert..."

Well, if it had been real we'd have all been crispy critters by then.

[TaleWgnDg]

11. As an adult, tis my wish to be in the epicenter . . .

frig that "survival" crapola!! heh.

[Turn CO Blue]

6. Brother! Do you remember when we were kids

and there were air raid sirens every Saturday? When we had to get under our desks for tornado drills every few months?

I'm not interested in Dumbland Security teaching my kids to look behind every tree and to worry that the sky is falling.

I'm sure these ads will be followed closely by a Bush speech reminding us to not concern ourselves about the terrists (remember, we are winnin' the war on terra) and we should go about our business, and spend, spend, spend.

They love sending mexxed missages to get us all confused.

[NYC]

8. There's a communist under every bed.

Some of you are old enough to remember that.

[timtom]

12. Are you kidding?

I woke up in the middle of the night (more than once) just KNOWING that Russia had dispatched bombers to bomb my small hometown. I was really scared on those occasions.

[bhikkhu]

9. Cancel Your Cable!

If I hadn't canceled mine two years ago, I'd be doing it now. You don't even realize what a bunch of crap is soaking into your brain until you do without it for awhile, and its only getting worse.

[DeepModem Mom]

10. kick

[ithacan]

13. tell your kids the truth

tell them EXACTLY why Bush is running these ads.

That there actually is little to no real possibility, but that like many bad leaders in the world, Bush must make people afraid.

That these ads are nothing but a cynical political ploy to make people afraid.

it is SO important for kids to know this. And it can be explained to kids as soon as they're old enough to understand the ads themselves.

This is absolutely despicable!