Blow to Psyce

2 Pages 560 Words

One person has died after anthrax exposure, compared to more than 5,300 who perished in the hijacking attacks on New York and Washington. But whoever is behind the recent anthrax scares — and there is no known connection with the Sept. 11 attacks — is inducing confusion and psychological distress — a good definition of terrorism.
In an ABCNEWS poll released Tuesday, 65 percent said they were worried about the anthrax situation, with a third saying they were worried a "great deal." And 54 percent said they were worried that they or a loved one might become infected.
In waging psychological warfare, the bioterrorists are manipulating our fears by posing risks of unknown and potentially deadly consequences to a large population of Americans, even if the actual casualties are limited in number, says Stephen Cimbala, a terror expert and Penn State political scientist.
"People are led to expect that disaster may strike randomly and regardless of their ability to prevent it or prepare for it," he said. "Creating this expectation of random vulnerability is the necessary condition for widespread hysteria."
Also necessary for widespread panic is making the privileged feel as vulnerable as the lower rungs of society, Cimbala said.
The pattern of anthrax incidents thus far meets these requirements. At some of the nation's most prominent news organizations, critical in setting the national tone, journalists are on edge with anthrax spores found in their offices and infecting at least four of their colleagues.
And the nation's business has been disrupted to the highest levels, with the U.S. House of Representatives closing down for several days. The chairman of the congressional subcommittee that has studied anthrax for years acknowledges that terrorists appear to be winning another battle here, even if the results are not catastrophic.
"This anthrax is not such a dramatic advance that we are in real danger yet," Rep. Christopher ...