jny757_TOK_May2022

TOK exhibition

What are the implications of having, or not having, knowledge?

(Knowledge and politics)

Word count: 947

My chosen prompt for this exhibition is what are the implications of having, or not having,
knowledge, this will be investigated through the theme of politics with objects including a Qanon sign,
photos of Cambodian women executed at S-21 and Robert Mcnamara's documentary.

Object 1: Qanon sign held at capital riot

This placard with the words “Q sent me!” was held

by the so-called Qanon shaman on January 6 at the
capital riot. He was amongst many that held signs
bearing similar messages, all supporters of the
widespread internet conspiracy where Qanon posts
coded messages on platforms like 4chan and 8kun.
These messages are formed in such a way to
encourage followers to discover the ‘truth’
themselves on the alleged satanic and pedophilic
cult that democrats and several celebrities are part of.

The biggest danger with this conspiracy is the format in which it is presented to the people,
the ‘drops’ which Qanon releases, as mentioned previously, are coded and require more background
research enticing followers on a scavenger hunt through the dark sides of the internet. However, more
often than not these followers don’t have knowledge on how to interpret the coded messages which
results in them jumping to conclusions, creating their own truth and then spreading this further on
social platforms. Their lack of knowledge is a serious threat as people see their interpretations and act
on it believing that they are doing the right thing. This results in consequences such as the capital riot
which ended in violence and was a strong hit on the credibility of the republican party, furthermore
calling into question the principles of democracy. The slogan on the placard is a clear indication of
this, as Q did not actually send anyone to the capital but people thought he did. Repeatedly we see this
in politics as citizens lack adequate knowledge on the broader context, misinterpret the words of
politicians and if enough people start to believe in this newly created alternative truth the result can be
a real threat to society.

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Object 2: Photos of Cambodian women executed and tortured at S-21

This collection of photos depicts

Cambodian women who were executed and
tortured by the Khmer Rouge during their
reign of terror from 1975-1979 as they
established the communist party of
Kampuchea. These photos can now be found
at the museum in the old S-21 prison, which I
visited whilst on my trip to Cambodia, where
out of the 12,000+ inmates only 15 survived. The victims included a wide variety of people, as anyone
that posed a threat to Pol Pot as he attempted to set the clock back to year 0, was immediately taken
in. The first victims were those viewed as intellectuals, this included doctors, lawyers, and teachers, as
many of these women were, and even those who wore glasses.

The reason why the educated were considered as the first targets is that their foreign education
posed a threat to Pol Pot's political ambitions. He wanted to create a fully agrarian and egalitarian
society, it was extreme but easy to sell with propaganda to poorer uneducated people in the
countryside. However those considered ‘intellectual’ wouldn’t be as susceptible to the propaganda as
one of the implications of having knowledge is that one is also a critical thinker and therefore does not
blindly follow. Furthermore the educated also had a greater capacity to organise themselves to form a
revolution against the communist regime, they were therefore immediately sought out and sent to the
killing fields or S21 prison, like the women in the photo, before year zero could begin. As dark of a
spot in history the Cambodian genocide is, it raises important questions in regards to politics today.
Does having more knowledge imply that one is less susceptible to government propaganda and
therefore pose a threat to the system? The question could be answered in numerous ways but having
more in depth knowledge of the world and the way it works, as a few Cambodians did have, also
implies that you’re likely to see the bigger picture which is what many governments try to hide.

Object 3: Documentary “The Fog of War”

In The Fog of War, a documentary which we watched in TOK, Robert McNamara, former US
Secretary of Defence, gives his thoughts on his own and the US government's involvement in the cold
war and WW2 in 11 lessons. The focus will be on the 4th lesson, “maximise efficiency”, based on his
role as captain at the Office of Statistical Control. From this post he helped maximise the efficiency of
B-29’s, responsible for the firebombing of Japanese cities.

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Previous to this position he had been a professor of statistical analysis at Harvard, but having this
knowledge implied that it could also be used for other purposes, namely political ones. Upon
reflection McNamara realised the implications that having this knowledge had as he was hired to use
it in ways that he didn’t see as morally right. A clear
conclusion on having knowledge can therefore be drawn from
McNamara's fourth lesson, it always has an ethical
implication associated with it and if that is not regulated by
the owner of the knowledge it can turn something as simple
as statistics into a powerful weapon. This is especially
important to understand in the scope of politics as it is a
domain where knowledge means power and people will use
owners of knowledge to their advantage. Once these people
obtain it, depending on the type of knowledge it is, they may
choose to manipulate it, reveal it to the public, use it for harm
or as a positive tool. This means the owner of the knowledge
will always have to be wary of who they are handing it to and
what ulterior motives they may have, making this another implication of having knowledge.

Image sources:

“The Fog of War.” Seattle Weekly, Seattle Weekly, 9 Oct. 2006,

www.seattleweekly.com/film/the-fog-of-war/.

Jta, and Emily Burack Laura E. Adkins. “Neo-Nazis, QAnon and Camp Auschwitz: A Guide to the
Hate Symbols and Signs on Display at the Capitol Riots.” Haaretz.com, Haaretz, 9 Jan. 2021,
www.haaretz.com/world-news/neo-nazis-qanon-and-camp-auschwitz-a-guide-to-the-hate-symbols-at-t
he-capitol-riot-1.9434983.

Little, Harriet Fitch. “Forty Years after Genocide, Cambodia Finds Complicated Truth Hard to Bear.”
The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 16 Apr. 2015,
www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/16/forty-years-after-genocide-cambodia-finds-complicated-trut
h-hard-to-bear.