I know about FEMA conspiracies because I created one
I was once targeted by the far-right for creating FEMA "concentration camps"
Hurricane Milton is pummeling Florida in a terrifying ordeal of wind and water, and swirling within its gale are rumors and hoaxes designed to sow chaos, resentment, and grievance. A huge disinformation campaign, coming from the right, is specifically targeting FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, tasked with responding to national disasters. I’m not surprised. I started my own FEMA conspiracy several years ago and know exactly how the agency has come to be a source of paranoia on the right. All the more so when we’re looking at a tight election in just a few weeks.
Today’s accusations against FEMA are about the agency’s response to both Hurricanes Milton and Helene. They include false claims that FEMA spent all its money helping Ukraine so there’s none left for Americans; that FEMA spent all its money helping migrants illegally enter the United States so there’s none left for Americans; that FEMA will only compensate people $750; that FEMA is seizing or blockading donations and humanitarian supplies; that FEMA is turning away Trump voters; and my personal favorite, that Biden-Harris are in cahoots with the Jews to control the weather to direct the hurricanes at Trump voters.
Neither was the claim that I tried to force Americans into FEMA concentration camps.
A little over a decade ago I was the Legislative Director for Congressman Alcee L. Hastings in Washington, DC. I wrote speeches, advised on policy and voting, intensively studied a variety of national and foreign affairs, and wrote legislation for the Congressman to bring before his colleagues for their consideration and vote. And did I mention that Hastings was from Florida (he died in office in 2021)?
The Congressman had a question: where is someone supposed to go when a hurricane has wiped out not just their house, but their entire town? When absolutely everything is gone? He had an idea which he tasked me with developing into legislation: the federal government, through FEMA, should provide long-term gathering places for people displaced by natural disasters, more than just the temporary relief centers in places like school gyms and stadiums.
Closed military bases no longer in use presented an excellent opportunity. Most military bases are optimized for large populations and compiling mountains of supplies: runways, train stations, direct routes to major highways, barracks, huge kitchens, school buildings, hospital facilities, and giant warehouses. When such bases are closed, it often devastates the local economy. Re-designating them as disaster relief centers seemed like an elegant humanitarian and economic solution.
We drafted legislation that would give FEMA the authority to coordinate with other major humanitarian relief organizations, like the Red Cross, to re-open closed military bases in the event of a major natural disaster that caused long-term displacements. The government could gather huge numbers of people into these bases, where they would find all their humanitarian needs in one place, could live for prolonged periods of time, and could even send their children to school. We finalized the bill and “introduced” it into the congressional process.
Then the rumors started.
I became aware that something was amiss when my office received phone calls from people who listened to fringe right-wing radio stations (this was before social media amplified this stuff in seconds). They demanded to know why the Congressman (a Democrat) was creating “concentration camps.” Things soon became more outlandish, with people spreading rumors about things that weren’t in the bill: that disaster victims would be forced into these “camps” against their will; that the bill contained descriptions of the barbed-wire enclosures that would keep people from leaving; that the bill required Americans to “give up their guns”; that the bill referenced Nazi diagrams of places like Dachau and Auschwitz to design these facilities; that FEMA was authorized to summarily execute those who “refused to obey,” and on and on. Crazy stuff. Never mind that the text of the bill — only a few pages long — was freely and easily available.
Things really exploded when Jesse Ventura, former wrestler and ex-governor of Minnesota who became a conspiracy-obsessed personality, did a TV episode “exposing” these FEMA “concentration camps.” That unleashed waves of phone calls, complaints, accusations, and hysterics.
Holocaust survivors called my office in tears. Had I ever heard about the Holocaust? Had I ever met a Jew before? I must be a Nazi. Luckily, most were assuaged when I assured them that I was Jewish, my grandparents are survivors, and there is absolutely not a single word in the bill forcing anyone to do anything.
The death threats were inevitable amidst the whipped-up hysteria. Against me, against the Congressman, against then-President Obama. Luckily they were few and far between, and a couple of these well-wishers, when visited by the Secret Service, expressed contrition.
But by then it was too late. “FEMA concentration camps” became settled fact on the far right. The narrative became that Democrats were Nazis using the cover of a natural disaster to take away people’s rights, abolish the Second Amendment, imprison political opponents, and, ultimately, mass murder those they didn’t like (meaning white Republicans). FEMA’s concentration camps became baked into right-wing conspiracies about the government, liberals, the Democratic Party, minorities, and much else. It all seems quaint nowadays. At the time I was quite bemused at having instigated one of the most pervasive far-right conspiracy theories. It was like a badge of honor.
In a few years I was dethroned by the far more numerous and insidious conspiracies of Trump and his far-right provocateurs, who made their plots part of the mainstream discourse. You’re probably familiar with the “deep state,” Obama’s birth certificate, the Big Lie of the stolen election, and the notion of Democrats as a satanic cult of pedophiles, amongst many others. In this worldview, FEMA becomes the exemplary “deep state” organization, a seemingly-esoteric government agency that can’t possibly be loyally caring out its humanitarian mission, but must instead be engaged in nefarious efforts to undermine “real” Americans.
These conspiracies are, like the FEMA concentration camps, not designed to reveal the truth, but to enrich and empower a small group of people. The goal is to create chaos, propagate doubt, and generate anger, resistance, and resentment that can be turned into political gains and financial profits. Intentional disinformation gets in the way of real help to real people in real need.
Our FEMA bill went nowhere, a political hot potato that was quietly shelved in committee so as not to draw further ire. I’m looking at the millions of victims of Hurricanes Irene and Milton, and thinking that they could have had a place to rest and regroup without worrying about shelter, food, medicine, and what to do with their kids.
As long as these conspiracies work for the people perpetuating them, they will continue to fester in our society, doing real harm. So, Jesse Ventura gets his ratings, right-wing media gets its listeners, Marjorie Taylor-Greene gets her attention, and Donald Trump gets his votes. And the rest of us? What do we get?
Book me for a briefing
Does your community need someone to explain what is going on in Israel and around the Jewish world? I do presentations and small-group teachings, synagogues to nonprofits to private living rooms, adults to high school students, in-person and virtual.
Inquire at jewoughtaknowpodcast@gmail.com.
Please support this podcast!
Huge thanks to all the recent fans donating, leaving positive reviews, and telling everyone they know about Jew Oughta Know! Please consider a donation to keep this project going. You can donate at the Jew Oughta Know website. Please note that donations are not tax deductible.
Picture of the Day
For the first time since 1973, Israel is at war on Yom Kippur. Chief Sephardic Rabbi David Yosef reminded Orthodox IDF soldiers that army regulations prohibit them from fasting while on active duty. They are to eat and drink as normal. This is in keeping with halacha, Jewish law, which recognizes the supremacy of pikuach nefesh — the imperative to save a life even when it means violating the commandments.
Photo: Jason Harris
Calling it Bergen Vista was ill advised
JC