Prisoner X

We know the story of the Man in the Iron Mask. The king of France has and unknown, mysterious, but apparently incredibly dangerous enemy. The man is so threatening to the royal family that the man's identity must be kept a secret. First he loses his freedom. Without trial, he's thrown in jail. Then he's bandied about from prison to prison until he ends up in the most isolated tower in France. Then he loses his name. Then he loses his face. In a final attempt to strip this prisoner of any identifying features, to stomp out the last dying embers of his dignity, the king orders that this mysterious prisoner to hide his face behind a mask for the rest of his life. The material from which the mask was constructed is debatable. It was popularized in many novels and movies as a clanging iron monstrosity, but it could have been something as simple and effective as a sleek silk hood.

Of course, we need not worry about anything so inhumane and undignified happening in the modern world, certainly not in the "civilized" Western World, even when the most nefarious criminals are considered.

When I first heard about Prisoner X I was amused. The story made sense, given Israel's history of zealous militarism. But the best conspiracy theories generally do. In fact, it seems only the ludicrous and far fetched conspiracy theories make the most sense. However, the theory of Prisoner X falls stumbles where most of these theories do. It involves a government full of fallible human beings and a prison system full of fallible human beings and a media full of prying jackals and the only things we hear about any Prisoner X comes from a few whispers echoing in the darkest caves of the Internet.

Besides, Israel, though a bit - you know - aggressive, wouldn't do something so - you know - aggressive. It's already under scrutiny for its treatment of Palestinians. Do you think it, an important ally of the United States and a major player in the United Nations, would commit one of the more nefarious instances of human rights abuse? Just throw a guy in isolation for his entire life? Take away his name, remove all human contact from his life and let him rot? And they did all of this because he was accused of sharing state secrets?

At least the United States had the decency to murder the Rosenbergs when they committed treason.

Wait. That's not any better.

Here lies the importance of the Prisoner X story. Governments, especially hysterical governments, especially paranoid, intensely nationalistic governments are willing to go to any length in order to protect themselves, in order to do what they think is right. Louis XIV was willing to throw someone in prison for the rest of his life in order to protect his claim to the throne. Queen Elizabeth I did the same to her sister. Stalin murdered the entirety of the Red Army's officer corps in order to ensure they were replaced by loyal communists. But despots do not have exclusive ownership of despotic rule. Democracies can join in on the fun as well, if they want. The United States is willing to torture, imprison or bomb any or everything in order to win its "War on Terror." And it has no problem putting people to death for committing something as arbitrary as treason, fraternizing with the enemy.

Similarly, Israel has no problem eliminating due process, wiping a man of his identity and locking him in an isolated chamber for the rest of his life.

One false step and the government that vowed to be your protector turns into a hunter. You stop being a human being, something with rights and thoughts and a consciousness, and you end up just as a problem. You say you're in a democracy or that you have rights and constitutional protections, but it's too late. You're not a citizen, you're an enemy, an enemy of the State. You get no trial, you get no name. You get a beige prison cell.

And to think of all the work we've put in to move past this barbarity. And we still have such a long way to go before actual civilization can be achieved.

Nobody is safe, not when the selfish needs of the State come into play.