Launching this Sept 11th

August 20, 2002 12:26 PM

Launching this Sept 11th (ok, the 10th, but still): the DEA Museum will open a "powerful new exhibit that traces the historic and contemporary connections between global drug trafficking and terrorism." Good idea. Tasteful timing.
posted by engelr (42 comments total)

They gotta up the rhetoric to compete for funding now. Frankly, this disgusts me.
posted by mogwai at 12:29 PM on August 20, 2002

is it sponsored by Viagra?
posted by stifford at 12:31 PM on August 20, 2002

Maybe there will also be an exhibit that will show how decriminalizing drugs, educating people & allowing home/small-scale production would allow true freedon & pull the rug from under those pesky terrorists & their income streams? Maybe??
posted by i_cola at 12:32 PM on August 20, 2002

For the record, they will not be opening an exhibit that traces the historic and contemporary connections between global oil trafficking and terrorism any time soon.
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:33 PM on August 20, 2002

stifford: I'm thinking Viagra had a part in your choice of moniker. ;-)
posted by i_cola at 12:33 PM on August 20, 2002

nah, it's because I used to fall asleep in homeroom at school while wearing jogging pants... ; )

I was going to say Celebrex, but boner-pills are funnier...
posted by stifford at 12:37 PM on August 20, 2002

ACK!!!

I wonder if they'll have the exhibit where the dirty hippies on acid put their baby in the oven. Gasssssssp!
posted by Dr_Octavius at 12:38 PM on August 20, 2002

Will George W. be there to cut the ribbon as a former drug user/terrorist supporter?
posted by Ty Webb at 12:39 PM on August 20, 2002

As a matter of fact, I am currently working on an exhibit of my own to demonstrate how supporting my agenda is necessary to avenge the deaths of innocent people.
posted by jjg at 12:40 PM on August 20, 2002

Will anyone agree with me that this is one government agency which ought to be disassembled, and salt thrown on the ground where its foundation once lay (as a purely symbolic gesture)?
posted by insomnyuk at 12:46 PM on August 20, 2002

Only drug dealers oppose tax-cuts!!!
posted by Dr_Octavius at 12:46 PM on August 20, 2002

Actually, better yet, why don't we turn the DEA itself into a museum, chronicling the stupidity of politicians...
posted by insomnyuk at 12:47 PM on August 20, 2002

insomnyuk: If you wanted to throw some other "powdery white substance" on the ground instead of salt, that might be a more symbolic gesture.
posted by grum@work at 12:48 PM on August 20, 2002

I assume there's a section on the CIA and the Contras?
posted by ToothpickVic at 12:53 PM on August 20, 2002

grum: brilliant idea :)
posted by insomnyuk at 12:53 PM on August 20, 2002

I can't wait to drop acid and visit this museum.
posted by Ty Webb at 12:55 PM on August 20, 2002

Been there, done that already Ty.

(oh wait its not open yet)

Scratch that it must have just been my basement.
posted by Dr_Octavius at 12:58 PM on August 20, 2002

I once toured the U.S. Capitol building on shrooms. As a political science major I felt it was my duty.
posted by Ty Webb at 1:03 PM on August 20, 2002

Makes me wonder if this kind of History will actually be portrayed there. Doubtful.
posted by jessnoel at 1:08 PM on August 20, 2002

What am I thinking? Didn't Acid originate from the US government. Will they have that included in the tour?
posted by Dr_Octavius at 1:13 PM on August 20, 2002

Insomnyuk, just as long as the taxpayers don't have to buy the salt! :)

Every day I get high is a day I don't kill someone. Therefore I am reducing terror. You're welcome.
posted by hackly_fracture at 1:39 PM on August 20, 2002

Well, if the exhibit is as poorly designed as either their website or the sketch of the exhibit, at least the ugliness of it all should effectively repel any visitors who wander in. Cold comfort, fer sure. And more proof that droogs make ya more creative.
posted by DenOfSizer at 1:51 PM on August 20, 2002

It's no secret that diamonds, oil and plenty of other products are used to fund terrorists. Is there an honest feeling around here that drugs do NOT fund terrorist groups?
posted by jonah at 1:55 PM on August 20, 2002

An excerpt from my letter to the staff there:

Just when I thought it couldn't get any more tasteless, it does. And on September 10th? Shame on you for taking advantage of this tragic event to advance your own wasteful political agenda.

The connection between terrorism and drugs is a direct result of the DEA's activities. To claim that the DEA is out to stop either one is to engage in the silliest form of bureaucratic circular reasoning.

By the way, your page mentions "Illegal Drugs in America: A Modern History...From opium dens in the mid-1800's to the international drug mafias of today." Opium was not illegal in the mid-1800s, it was merely taxed by the US Customs service. Later, you mention "milestones and accomplishments that DEA and its predecessor agencies have made in this global conflict." I challenge you to name one single accomplishment of the DEA besides wasting tens of billions of dollars a year.

If you're going to waste my tax dollars on this trash, at least get your facts correct.
posted by charlesv at 2:01 PM on August 20, 2002

Jonah, I have an honest feeling (i.e. based on the truth) that the DEA has been supporting terrorists for decades. Oh, sorry, they don't call them terrorists until they stop following our orders... they call them "freedom fighters," and give them guns, military training, and money to shoot people we don't like. But yes, when they subsequently start exporting drugs or, even worse, won't give the U.S. government what it wants, they magically transform into "terrorists."
posted by zekinskia at 2:07 PM on August 20, 2002

Would the timing be more appropriate if it were September 9th?

How many days away from September 11th do you have to get before you will think that the timing is appropriate? Is a week OK? 3 days? A month?
posted by websavvy at 2:10 PM on August 20, 2002

Is there an honest feeling around here that drugs do NOT fund terrorist groups?

By criminalizing drugs and restricting their supply, the government has effectively made cocaine worth more than gold. Of course criminals profit from drugs, everyone knows that, but blame ought to be placed accordingly. If drugs were legal, it would be impossible for FARC or Al Qaeda to profit off of them.
posted by insomnyuk at 2:11 PM on August 20, 2002

Didn't Acid originate from the US government?

While the CIA did perform testing with LSD, it was discovered and synthesized by a biological chemist named Albert Hofmann. His book on the topic. He wrote a very dry book on the topic.
posted by skyline at 2:15 PM on August 20, 2002

Most people here seem to think that "soft" drugs should be legalized. As long as there are "hard" drugs that are illegal, criminals will make money trafficking those. So, in my book, this means legalizing some drugs won't help much. Or do people here want to legalize all drugs, including heroin?
posted by Triplanetary at 2:28 PM on August 20, 2002

I'm quite certain that the Nazis had tons of "evidence" clearly showing the link between Jews and all the problems of the German people.

I guess we now know what happened with the people and resources which were allotted to the "Office of Strategic (mis)Information" -- they were just transferred to the DEA's "Office of Truth". Orwell must be giggling in his grave.
posted by clevershark at 2:34 PM on August 20, 2002

I for one think all drugs should be unregulated, and legal. However, even if you just legalized marijuana it would probably cut into some of their profits.
posted by insomnyuk at 2:40 PM on August 20, 2002

Would the timing be more appropriate if it were September 9th?

How many days away from September 11th do you have to get before you will think that the timing is appropriate? Is a week OK? 3 days? A month?

Websavvy: Capitalizing upon the deaths of thousands to advance a political agenda via a museum exhitibit is always inappropriate. I suppose it might be less inappropriate 3 days or a month away, but it would still be inappropriate.
posted by charlesv at 2:46 PM on August 20, 2002

However, even if you just legalized marijuana it would probably cut into some of their profits.

Yeah, but then all the squares would start smoking it...
posted by Ty Webb at 3:14 PM on August 20, 2002

We drove two hundred miles to come here and do our part to fight terrorism. See kids this junk fuels terrorism.

What about gas, dad?

Err, look over here a needle!
posted by skallas at 4:05 PM on August 20, 2002

Yeah, if my tax dollars are going into a terrorism-related exhibit, I want it to be in the Museum of Petroterrorism.

Maybe there can be a Bush wing.
posted by AlexSteffen at 5:09 PM on August 20, 2002

And what the HELL is that on the DEA logo? It looks like some sort of giant mutant bat swooping down out of the sky.

Maybe the kind found outside of Barstow.
posted by AlexSteffen at 5:12 PM on August 20, 2002

why in the world does the DEA have a museum??????????????
posted by ggggarret at 6:30 PM on August 20, 2002

It's the end of the fiscal year, maybe they needed to round out their budget?
posted by insomnyuk at 8:15 PM on August 20, 2002

Start your own exhibit at the gas station.
posted by skallas at 10:41 PM on August 20, 2002

posted by blackholebrain at 11:13 PM on August 20, 2002

Oooo, the holiday ornaments are pretty sweet, too. Nothing says Christmas like over-hyped federal agancies.
posted by Hackworth at 9:25 AM on August 21, 2002

Does anyone feel the eyes of Big Brother upon them or hear the sounds of the Three Minutes Hate when they think of this exhibit? Well, you should.

Here is a clear example of history being rewritten for the purposes of supporting current governmental action. Really, it's not even rewriting history... it's creating history. Unlike Oceania's work to switch Eurasia and East Asia in all existing records, our government is creating a physical and lasting shrine to a social meme just recently created.

Now that the supposed link between terrorism and drug trafficking has been floated, it's necessary that there be some physical proof of its validity, hence the exhibit.

Controlling the public mind is a must in a democracy, after all.
posted by Hammerikaner at 5:04 PM on August 21, 2002