Future Words
August 7, 2002 | 12:00am
In President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s second State of the Nation Address, she announced that she is now taking on the job of anti-crime and anti-terrorism czarina. She openly declared terrorists, kidnappers, and drug and gambling lords as "the enemies of the state." President Arroyo also shared her determination "to build a strong republic by breaking the back of terrorism and criminality."
The dark side of terror and crime has always been fertile ground for the generation of new words and phrases. Faith Popcorn and Adam Hanft capture this new language in their collaborative work, The Dictionary of the Future. The book captures the words, terms and trends that define the way we will live, work and talk. Here’s a sampling of imaginative, colorful, and gaudy words inspired by the patois of legal prohibition and law enforcement work.
President Arroyo’s crime and terror busters could possibly learn a few things from here.
Ayahuasco: A hallucinogenic plant, long used in religious ceremonies in Brazil, which is becoming part of the American drug culture. Similarly, salvia divinorum, a native Mexican plant that is chewed or smoked for the same effects, will gain popularity. Like the consumer marketplace, the drug marketplace thrives on new products. Watch out for varieties that might come from our part of the world. And can somebody check my laundrywoman’s nganga, please?
Bactetoria: The panic that ensues from the fear or reality of a terrorist attack using bacteria or viruses.
Brain Fingerprinting: A procedure for determining if someone is telling the truth, which could very well become the new standard, replacing the unreliable polygraph. Developed by Dr. Lawrence Farrell, brain fingerprinting is based on the fact that neurological responses do not lie. A series of electronic sensors read the subject’s "brain fingerprint" as he or she responds to images flashed on screen. Preliminary tests, conducted with US federal agencies, have found it to be 100 percent accurate. Why not use this test on Rod Strunk and Philip Medel to determine their innocence or guilt in the Nida Blanca murder case?
Capture Net: Why chase a suspect down a dark alley when you can rely on a yellow, tennis ball-sized projectile filled with compressed string? Shot from a gun of sorts, the device opens into a 16-foot net that doesn’t harm the suspect, and at the same time, doesn’t put any cardiovascular stress on the police. It came out of a research done by the US National Institute of Justice, a little-known federal agency that funds research on public safety. Look for more innovations like this to emerge from them. After all, there isn’t anything new in our respective barangays since the gun, the nightstick, and our personal favorite, the low-speed chase?
Distance Terrorism: Terrorists attacks once had to be perpetrated in person, but the Internet has changed all that. Today, cyber-terrorists are capable of creating enormous damage without ever leaving their homes and from anywhere in the world. Christopher Kozlow, a counter-terrorism expert and author of the authoritative book Jane’s Counter Terrorism, warns of terrorism that can, for example, "cause large loss of life by remotely altering medication formulas at pharmaceutical manufacturing plants." He also notes that terrorists can "destroy an entire suburban block by remotely changing the pressure in natural gas lines, resulting in valve failure and escaping gas." Distance terrorism, which can make certain that the population of a nation will not be able to eat, drink or "move" will never be too far from our minds as we move into an uncertain and dangerous period.
Forwarded: The act damaging someone’s reputation by forwarding hurtful information via e-mail, whether they’re police files or credit reports. The Internet makes it easy to collect this dossier of dirt, which can be used in romantic entanglements or to discredit a competitor. Language like "he lost the contract because he was forwarded," and "If you don’t watch out, I’ll forward you" will soon ring throughout the land.
Fusarium Oxysporum:Forget the drug-sniffing dogs and the police sweeps. The real way to wipe out cocaine, marijuana and heroin is by biological warfare. A fungus known as fusarium oxysporum is being tested as a devastatingly effective and environmentally safe way to destroy the growing fields. In other words, it’s a bioherbicide. It could be the drug lord’s worst nightmare, and a narrative made for the movies: Evil drug chief battles bioherbalist. Calling Imus Production! This could be an excellent plot for a next box-office hit.
Hactivists: Hacker activists who seek to bring down the Internet, or an individual web site as a means of protest, or just for the techno-kicks of it. Members of the Hongkong Blondes, a covert group, claim to have hacked into Chinese military computers and shut down a communication satellite. Hactivists hack past firewalls to mess with code, implant viruses and make as much trouble as possible. With hactivists in an ongoing battle of cyberupmanship with computer security experts, hactivism is an increasingly dangerous form of non-violent, surgical terrorism.
Koban: An innovative policing approach that began in Japan and is rapidly beginning to enter the US mainstream. Kobans are mini-police stations that are set deep inside neighborhoods, where law enforcers actually live. They are largely credited with helping maintain Japan’s low crime rate. Kobans are used for neighborhood meetings, and are intended to be a safe haven for youngsters and the elderly. They are also workstations for social and educational services with literacy programs for children and adults. Many believe that kobans will take off as an exciting and effective new form of community policing and will attract a new generation of police officers that are thrilled by the challenge. Voters will start to demand them and politicians will start advocating them. The use of Kobans will be a most welcome idea in the Philippines considering the rise of all sorts of crimes in our communities. Ask Sonny Parson.
Ketaset: The emerging party and street drug of choice. Designed to be an anesthetic, Ketaset causes hallucinations in high doses and, according to Time magazine, "fussy dissociation" in lower ones. Recognizing its dangers, the US Drug Enforcement Agency has put strict rules on the sale of the drug but it is flowing into the country illegally. It is predicted to be the next Ecstacy. Oh no! Will we see a movement from E to K in Manila’s social and entertainment scene?
Lolo: One of the drugs of choice of Brazil’s thousands of street children, it is a combination, according to The Economist, of "shop-lifted solvents and medications, snorted with the aid of a perfume spray." Sadly, Lolo, along with other drugs from Latin and South America, will make the journey somewhere else, and become the cool alternative for young people, creating an unfolding series of public health problems.
Non-Cons: As DNA testing reveals that hundreds of people have been wrongly imprisoned, we will need language to describe those innocent people who have been released from jail. They are not ex-cons, and they are clearly not ordinary citizens. They are "non-cons," which credits them for their pain and suffering while removing any stigma.
Scarevoyants: Those who warn of upcoming cultural, environmental, and political dangers. While scarevoyants are not always right, they have plenty to work with – for example, the 60 unknown viral agents in the world that could cause the next AIDS epidemic, as was noted in the last chapter of AIDS in the World, ominously headed "The Next Epidemic."
Stop-Coms: Protesters are just beginning to learn how to use the Internet. To see the future, log onto www.stop drlaura.com and see what is in store.
Terror Entrepreneurs: The increasing ability of low-cost weapons systems, and our vulnerability to technology attacks – both physical and virtual – will create a new kind of freelance terror entrepreneur. Unaffiliated with governments or even radical groups, these terror entrepreneurs will usually be acting out of extremely narrow and focused motivations. As the US Terrorist Research Center has stated, "Access to weapons and methods of increasing lethality, or methods targeting digital information systems, could result in terrorist cells that are smaller, even familial, and thus harder to infiltrate, track or counter."
The Dictionary of the Future is available at Goodwill Bookstores.
For comments/questions, e-mail bongo@vasia.com or bongo@campaignsandgrey.net.
The dark side of terror and crime has always been fertile ground for the generation of new words and phrases. Faith Popcorn and Adam Hanft capture this new language in their collaborative work, The Dictionary of the Future. The book captures the words, terms and trends that define the way we will live, work and talk. Here’s a sampling of imaginative, colorful, and gaudy words inspired by the patois of legal prohibition and law enforcement work.
President Arroyo’s crime and terror busters could possibly learn a few things from here.
Ayahuasco: A hallucinogenic plant, long used in religious ceremonies in Brazil, which is becoming part of the American drug culture. Similarly, salvia divinorum, a native Mexican plant that is chewed or smoked for the same effects, will gain popularity. Like the consumer marketplace, the drug marketplace thrives on new products. Watch out for varieties that might come from our part of the world. And can somebody check my laundrywoman’s nganga, please?
Bactetoria: The panic that ensues from the fear or reality of a terrorist attack using bacteria or viruses.
Brain Fingerprinting: A procedure for determining if someone is telling the truth, which could very well become the new standard, replacing the unreliable polygraph. Developed by Dr. Lawrence Farrell, brain fingerprinting is based on the fact that neurological responses do not lie. A series of electronic sensors read the subject’s "brain fingerprint" as he or she responds to images flashed on screen. Preliminary tests, conducted with US federal agencies, have found it to be 100 percent accurate. Why not use this test on Rod Strunk and Philip Medel to determine their innocence or guilt in the Nida Blanca murder case?
Capture Net: Why chase a suspect down a dark alley when you can rely on a yellow, tennis ball-sized projectile filled with compressed string? Shot from a gun of sorts, the device opens into a 16-foot net that doesn’t harm the suspect, and at the same time, doesn’t put any cardiovascular stress on the police. It came out of a research done by the US National Institute of Justice, a little-known federal agency that funds research on public safety. Look for more innovations like this to emerge from them. After all, there isn’t anything new in our respective barangays since the gun, the nightstick, and our personal favorite, the low-speed chase?
Distance Terrorism: Terrorists attacks once had to be perpetrated in person, but the Internet has changed all that. Today, cyber-terrorists are capable of creating enormous damage without ever leaving their homes and from anywhere in the world. Christopher Kozlow, a counter-terrorism expert and author of the authoritative book Jane’s Counter Terrorism, warns of terrorism that can, for example, "cause large loss of life by remotely altering medication formulas at pharmaceutical manufacturing plants." He also notes that terrorists can "destroy an entire suburban block by remotely changing the pressure in natural gas lines, resulting in valve failure and escaping gas." Distance terrorism, which can make certain that the population of a nation will not be able to eat, drink or "move" will never be too far from our minds as we move into an uncertain and dangerous period.
Forwarded: The act damaging someone’s reputation by forwarding hurtful information via e-mail, whether they’re police files or credit reports. The Internet makes it easy to collect this dossier of dirt, which can be used in romantic entanglements or to discredit a competitor. Language like "he lost the contract because he was forwarded," and "If you don’t watch out, I’ll forward you" will soon ring throughout the land.
Fusarium Oxysporum:Forget the drug-sniffing dogs and the police sweeps. The real way to wipe out cocaine, marijuana and heroin is by biological warfare. A fungus known as fusarium oxysporum is being tested as a devastatingly effective and environmentally safe way to destroy the growing fields. In other words, it’s a bioherbicide. It could be the drug lord’s worst nightmare, and a narrative made for the movies: Evil drug chief battles bioherbalist. Calling Imus Production! This could be an excellent plot for a next box-office hit.
Hactivists: Hacker activists who seek to bring down the Internet, or an individual web site as a means of protest, or just for the techno-kicks of it. Members of the Hongkong Blondes, a covert group, claim to have hacked into Chinese military computers and shut down a communication satellite. Hactivists hack past firewalls to mess with code, implant viruses and make as much trouble as possible. With hactivists in an ongoing battle of cyberupmanship with computer security experts, hactivism is an increasingly dangerous form of non-violent, surgical terrorism.
Koban: An innovative policing approach that began in Japan and is rapidly beginning to enter the US mainstream. Kobans are mini-police stations that are set deep inside neighborhoods, where law enforcers actually live. They are largely credited with helping maintain Japan’s low crime rate. Kobans are used for neighborhood meetings, and are intended to be a safe haven for youngsters and the elderly. They are also workstations for social and educational services with literacy programs for children and adults. Many believe that kobans will take off as an exciting and effective new form of community policing and will attract a new generation of police officers that are thrilled by the challenge. Voters will start to demand them and politicians will start advocating them. The use of Kobans will be a most welcome idea in the Philippines considering the rise of all sorts of crimes in our communities. Ask Sonny Parson.
Ketaset: The emerging party and street drug of choice. Designed to be an anesthetic, Ketaset causes hallucinations in high doses and, according to Time magazine, "fussy dissociation" in lower ones. Recognizing its dangers, the US Drug Enforcement Agency has put strict rules on the sale of the drug but it is flowing into the country illegally. It is predicted to be the next Ecstacy. Oh no! Will we see a movement from E to K in Manila’s social and entertainment scene?
Lolo: One of the drugs of choice of Brazil’s thousands of street children, it is a combination, according to The Economist, of "shop-lifted solvents and medications, snorted with the aid of a perfume spray." Sadly, Lolo, along with other drugs from Latin and South America, will make the journey somewhere else, and become the cool alternative for young people, creating an unfolding series of public health problems.
Non-Cons: As DNA testing reveals that hundreds of people have been wrongly imprisoned, we will need language to describe those innocent people who have been released from jail. They are not ex-cons, and they are clearly not ordinary citizens. They are "non-cons," which credits them for their pain and suffering while removing any stigma.
Scarevoyants: Those who warn of upcoming cultural, environmental, and political dangers. While scarevoyants are not always right, they have plenty to work with – for example, the 60 unknown viral agents in the world that could cause the next AIDS epidemic, as was noted in the last chapter of AIDS in the World, ominously headed "The Next Epidemic."
Stop-Coms: Protesters are just beginning to learn how to use the Internet. To see the future, log onto www.stop drlaura.com and see what is in store.
Terror Entrepreneurs: The increasing ability of low-cost weapons systems, and our vulnerability to technology attacks – both physical and virtual – will create a new kind of freelance terror entrepreneur. Unaffiliated with governments or even radical groups, these terror entrepreneurs will usually be acting out of extremely narrow and focused motivations. As the US Terrorist Research Center has stated, "Access to weapons and methods of increasing lethality, or methods targeting digital information systems, could result in terrorist cells that are smaller, even familial, and thus harder to infiltrate, track or counter."
The Dictionary of the Future is available at Goodwill Bookstores.
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