The term cyberspace in today's vocabulary is used to refer to the vast network of computers that make up the Internet. The Internet is an all-inclusive word to describe this massive world-wide network of computers, the actual hardware for communicating. People can explore, or "surf" the Internet using one of the numerous web browsers that give access to the net. On the Internet people can examine web pages, sites designed and controlled by an individual, organization, or company, where they can read whatever has been posted there. They can also access Usenet which supports newsgroups, sites where anyone can post and exchange information on almost every conceivable subject. In addition, people can use Telnet to exchange personal messages through e-mail. Although the numbers are increasing daily, on any given day the Internet connects roughly 20 million users in over 50 countries (Hughes, 1994).

Newhagen and Rafaeli (1996) recently pointed out that scholars are currently grappling with why and how the Internet phenomena should be studied. They suggest that the proper areas of study for communication scholars were not the novelty, volume of growth, or head count of the Internet, but the "less ephemeral, more robust concepts (p. 4)."

Newhagen and Rafaeli (1996) pointed out five qualities of the Internet that they believe would be fertile ground for communication research: the aspects of multimedia, hypertextuality, packet switching, synchronicity, and interactivity. They believe some of the qualities had the potential for changing the dynamics of communication. The authors further argue that each of these five qualities "deserves descriptive scrutiny to establish to what extent it is present (p. 6)."

The Internet in many ways is a context unlike any other previously experienced in that it has a text message like printed material, and audio and video messages like radio and television. In addition, it also has interactivity in text and more recently in audio. How all of these dynamics may affect the operation of communication theory is not currently known. As communication via the Internet becomes more and more common, it becomes important to test communication theories and processes in this new medium to determine the communication dynamics of this context. The process of fantasy chaining, as described in SCT, is one example of a communication dynamic that would provide insight into communication interaction in cyberspace.

The primary purpose of this study is to determine whether or not fantasy theme chaining occurs in cyberspace and, if it does, to describe how it is manifested, compared to previous symbolic convergence theory (SCT) studies conducted using face-to-face participants. In addition to describing the chaining phenomena, this study also constructs a rhetorical vision for the U.S. militia movement as it exists on the Internet.

This study describes the effects of physical separation of the members of the group during the chaining process, both in the way the messages are physically expressed in the text and in the content of the messages themselves. Since the physical expression of emotion (facial expressions, blushing, excitement) are a large part of the previous descriptions of the process, it is important to describe how emotion finds expression in cybertext. To the author's knowledge, this description has not previously been documented.

The significance of the study is that it tests whether the theory of symbolic convergence, which as a general communication theory must be operational transculturally, can also be operationalized within the new context of cyberspace. In addition, this study examines the effects this context had on the methodology and interpretation of a rhetorical vision and discusses the Internet as a platform for the formation of shared group consciousness.

From a theoretical viewpoint, the use of the Internet as the means of both gathering information and communicating with a particular group of people for purposes of a scholarly study is a pioneering effort. By using electronic focus groups, rather than face-to-face focus groups, the study proposes to advance the theory of symbolic convergence by determining if fantasy theme chaining occurs in cyberspace. This study will examine if it is possible to use electronic communication to study symbolic meaning without the interference of facial expression, intonation, body language and other non-verbal communication.

The research effort uses the U.S. militia movement in cyberspace as the group to be studied. The author anticipates that the construction of their rhetorical vision might provide insight into the symbolic reality shared by a growing number of disaffected citizens in the United States. The roots of the militia movement reach back to the very beginnings of the United States. With the arrival of the first settlers on the North American shores, the need for armed citizens to band together for the common protection against threats to their safety has been an American tradition. In colonial times, settlers organized militias to protect themselves from the indigenous people, from agents of other European powers who were themselves trying to settle the land, and finally from their own British ruler whom they had come to see as a tyrant.

These militia members were not professional soldiers. They were, for the most part, farmers who in times of crisis picked up their hunting rifles and formed loosely controlled military units to provide for the common defense of their neighbors. The archetype of these men was the Minuteman of the American Revolution. These citizen-soldiers became the traditional, ideal form of American military force. In the United States today, this model continues with a relatively small number of professional soldiers in the standing army and a large group of organized reserve units and National Guard civilian soldiers ready to be called up in a national emergency. This was evidenced by the large number of National Guard and Army Reserve units that had to be called up to serve in the Persian Gulf War in 1991.

In the past decade, however, the growing Patriot movement has spawned a new paramilitary militia that has been growing. These militias are centered around the belief that American citizens need protection from the forces that control the federal government. The growth of this movement has been particularly rapid over the past three years and was largely unknown to most Americans because of its use of alternative media - shortwave radio, video tapes, talk radio, and computer links - until the bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City in April, 1995. The ensuing discussions in the mainstream mass media of the bombing suspect's alleged ties to these groups brought the militias to the forefront of public attention. Many of the beliefs and issue positions portrayed in these media stories have been denied by militia members. A thorough scientific study of the beliefs of these groups has not yet been conducted. This study, by constructing an analysis of fantasy themes and fantasy types based on militia messages, may be a first step in understanding the militia's symbolic reality.

For an overview of where symbolic convergence theory research currently stands, it is necessary to examine its development. The following section will review how the builders of the theory came to understand the necessity of studying symbolic facts in order to fully understand communication.

In 1971 Ernest Bormann began a weekly discussion group of scholars and students at the University of Minnesota to explore fantasy theme analysis. Out of that group came the foundations for symbolic convergence theory (SCT). The development of the theory was inductive, rather than deductive, developing "as a message-centered theory derived from the systematic observation of communication practice (Cragan & Shields, 1996, p. 2)." SCT was an unconventional idea because it placed the locus of meaning in the message itself, rather than in the rhetor who created the message (the Neo-Aristotelian view). It also contradicted McLuhan's view that the medium conveying the message provided the meaning. SCT proposes that a symbolic reality is created by groups of people through messages that carry symbolic meaning around which the individual would converge.

Since the basis of this theory involves the examination of symbolic facts, it is helpful to briefly examine the rational, relational, and symbolic meta-paradigms. These meta-paradigms determine the perspective the research takes and what kind of facts he or she will examine when using the theories of a specific meta-paradigm. Cragan and Shields (1995) argued that communication theories can be examined in any one of these three meta-paradigms because "communication theories focus on the discovery of one or more of three types of social science facts: material, social, or symbolic (p. 18)." To better understand the basic relationships, see Table 2.1 below.

	Rational	Relational	Symbolic
Assumption	Humans are logical, thinking decision makers	Humans have a need for social structure	Humans can create a symbolic reality
Type of fact examined	Material	Social	Symbolic
Examples in the paradigm	Compliance of theories Information theory	Role gaining Uncertainty Reduction	SCT emergence Dramatism Narrative

Table 2.1 depicts the three meta-paradigms used for examining social science facts, showing the basic assumption of each paradigm along with the type of facts that are studied in that paradigm. It also shows examples of theories that operate within each paradigm.

In the rational paradigm, material facts, or those facts perceived by the five bodily senses, are examined. Talks, recordings, speeches, and scripts are examples of material facts in communication. An example of a theory that examines these kinds of facts is information theory.

Social facts are those that are societally created and constituted, such as roles, institutions, and organizations. These facts are primarily studied and carefully defined by the discipline of sociology (Dunkheim, 1938). Societal facts for communication might include communication networks, work team roles, and group roles (Cragan & Shields, 1995).

For the past 60 years scholars have worked to prove that symbolic facts also exist. Mead (1938) argued that communication was necessary for symbolic interaction. Berger and Luckman (1966) discussed the idea of the social construction of reality and Flew (1985) extended this idea. Sociologists continue to argue that words are generated out of a social context and are merely symbols of a social reality that already exists (Dance, 1967). Role emergence would be a theory used to examine these kinds of social facts.

Bormann (1972), however, contended that "in many vital instances the words, that is, the rhetoric, are the social reality, and to try to distinguish one symbolic reality from another is a fallacy widespread in historical and sociological scholarship which the rhetorical critic can do much to dispel (p.21)." Bormann abandoned the idea of social construction of reality based on the evidence in Bales' (1970) work with small groups. Bales had observed that small groups with no previous history as a group used fantasy chaining to develop a common culture. Bormann (1986) suggested that, in place of social construction of reality, scholars should investigate the symbolic construction of reality through messages. He argued that symbolic convergence creates a symbolic culture that allows empathic communication and that it is symbolic "because it deals with the human tendency to interpret signs, signals, current experience, and human action, and invest them with meaning (p.221).

Over the past 20 years the line of research initiated by Bormann has established the basic assumptions upon which SCT is based:

1. Meaning, emotion, and motive for action are in the manifest content of the message. This contrasts with other perspectives that hold that meaning is found in the medium conveying the message or in the receivers of the message.

2. Reality is symbolically created. SCT holds that through messages, conversations, and discussion people build a shared group consciousness that helps them to explain the world around them.

3. Fantasy theme chaining creates symbolic convergence that is symbolic in form. Individuals reconfigure, embellish, and retell narratives that catch fire with others in the group to create a shared symbolic reality.

4. Fantasy theme analysis is the basic method for capturing symbolic reality. It allows the researcher to discover, capture, and analyze the successful fantasy themes that make up a rhetorical vision.

5. Fantasy themes occur in and chain out from all discourse, including spoken, written, and mediated communication.

6. At least three master analogues - righteous, social, and pragmatic - compete as alternate explanations of symbolic reality (Bormann, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985a, 1985b, 1990; Bormann, Cragan & Shields, 1994; Cragan & Shields, 1995). In essence, people who participate in different or competing visions will view the same event in different ways.

The significant theoretical question about the theory that is addressed in this study deals with fantasy theme chaining as it occurs in the context of cyberspace. Up to this point in the literature, the process of chaining has been described by Bales (1970) and Bormann (1972).

While during small group studies, Bales (1970) observed:

Interest in some image or topic of conversation seems to catch on and to bring new people rapidly into the conversation. Interaction usually speeds up, a pitch of excitement is heard in the voices, often there is some conflict or an edge of hostility. The volume of sound goes up as the group begins the chain association...Restless and agitated movements increase as people try to find a way to get into the conversation. New images and reported effects may be rapidly injected, but apparently somehow on the same theme, psychologically (p. 139).

A small group of people with individual psychodynamics meet to discuss a common preoccupation or problem. A member dramatizes a theme that catches the group and causes it to chain out because it hits a common psychodynamic chord or a hidden agenda item or their common difficulties vis-a-vis the natural environment, the socio-political systems, or the economic structures. The group grows excited, involved, more dramas chain out to create a common symbolic reality filled with heroes and villains. If the group's fantasy themes contain motives to 'go public' and gain converts to their position, they often begin artistically to create messages for the mass media, for public speeches, and so forth (p.19).

Published studies of SCT to date have described fantasy theme chaining in the small group context with the members of the group in face-to-face contact. However, the growing importance of computers and the Internet for human communication is changing the way people interact with each other, and communication scholars are attempting to understand how this new context affects the current understanding of symbolic communication theories. Research Questions

In a effort to further the understanding of how symbolic convergence theory operates in the context of cyberspace, three research questions are formulated to drive this study. A basic concept of SCT is that symbolic language shared by a group creates a shared group consciousness. Previous research has shown that the process of creating group consciousness, called chaining, occurs in groups of people interacting in face-to-face situations. This chaining process has not previously been observed and described as it occurs on the Internet. This, therefore, is the necessary first step.

RQ1: Does the process of chaining occur on the Internet?

According to SCT, if fantasy theme chaining occurs in cyberspace, then rhetorical visions may also occur in cyberspace. The fantasy themes that chain out "serve to sustain the members' sense of community, to impel them strongly to action, and to provide them with a social reality filled with heroes, villains, emotions, and attitudes (Bormann, 1981, p.18)."

These composite dramas which catch up the participants are what Bormann (1981) defined as rhetorical visions. He believed they were powerful because they give voice to what the listener already knows, feels, or accepts, and they allow the listener to use this rhetorical vision to make sense of the world around him. This study constructs a rhetorical vision for the U.S. militia movement as it exists in cyberspace.

The militia movement was well suited as a subject for this study because militia members have formed a worldview that is significantly different from the mainstream, and they rely heavily on the Internet to communicate with each other. If fantasy theme chaining occurs among militia members in cyberspace, then it is likely that their rhetorical vision can also be identified.

RQ2: What is the rhetorical vision of the U.S. militia movement in cyberspace?

Given the potential for fantasy theme chaining and rhetorical visions in cyberspace, the communication implications for the Internet are numerous. Previous communication studies have examined the Internet in a mechanistic way as a channel of communication (December, 1996), as a mass medium (Morris & Ogan, 1996), as a delivery system for artistic expression (McLaughlin, 1996), and as a medium for interpersonal communication (Parks & Floyd, 1996).

Newhagen and Rafaeli (1996), however, have gone beyond the mechanistic approach to study the Internet by identifying interactivity as one of the five defining qualities of communication on the Internet. They describe interactivity as the "extent to which communication reflects back upon itself, feeds on, and responds to the past (p. 6)." They argue that these characteristics of interactivity account for the allure of IRC (Internet Relay Chat), the technology used as the platform for conducting the focus groups in this study. This project, therefore, examines the Internet as a platform for the formation of group consciousness, a shared reality based on the symbolic meanings in messages.

RQ3 : Does the Internet serve as a platform for creating, maintaining, and sustaining of group consciousness?

In summary, this study examines fantasy theme chaining and rhetorical vision formation in cyberspace and addresses the question of the Internet as a platform for symbolic interactivity. The following chapter will outline the methodology used to capture and analyze the symbolic facts that SCT examines.

Research Question #1 asked if the process of fantasy theme chaining occurs on the Internet. Steps 1 and 2 of the methodology outlined for SCT in Chapter 3 addresses this question. The intent of Step 1 of the methodology was to examine the messages of the militia as they appeared on the Internet: what they say about themselves, not what others say about them. In these messages are found the fantasy themes, symbolic cues, fantasy types, and sagas, the four basic concepts of SCT (Cragan & Shields, 1995). To determine what militia members were saying about themselves over 1,000 separate documents, including essays, postings to computer bulletin boards, and conversations on Usenet newsgroups, were downloaded from the Internet from December, 1994, to July, 1996. Some of the major sources for these documents included the newsgroup misc.activism.militia; home pages of the Militia of Montana, the Michigan Militia, the Republic of Texas, and others; and web sites such as Patriots Against the New World Order, the Militia Archive, and the Journal for Patriotic Justice.

As the documents were downloaded, they were separated by subject category. The majority of documents could be classified into the following broad fantasy themes:

1. Political Action vs Violent Change

2. Fear of the Government (ATF, FBI, IRS, and others)

3. Necessity for Military Training for Militias

4. Conspiracy Theories

5. Proper Place of Religion in America

6. Race Relations and White Separatism

7. Guns and 2nd Amendment Issues

8. Mainstream Media Bias

9. Loss of Individual Rights

10. Other Miscellaneous Issues

An examination of the fantasy themes and the sagas found in militia documents also provided clues to the five structural elements in SCT - the hero, the villain, the plot line, the scenes, and the sanctioning agent. These elements would be vital in determining fantasy types. The most common fantasy themes also served as the eventual basis for the questions used in the on-line focus groups that made up Step 2 of the methodology.

The areas of disagreement evident in the content of the documents indicated that there were competing fantasy types within the militia. One important factor that was important to remember during this research is that the Internet in its present form is a completely unmediated channel of communication. When using it as a source for documents for analysis for SCT the researcher must be careful to cross check fantasy themes in several ways since anyone can post anything he or she wants to a web site or newsgroup without the message passing through any editorial filters. Unlike other mass media, such as radio, television, or newspapers, the Internet has no editor or consensus process for its messages. The possibility exists that the poster of the message is the only person in the world who hold that opinion. For purposes of this research, it would be necessary to cross check the controversial opinions found in militia documents by including them in focus group questions to see which ideas would chain out with militia respondents.

Although fantasy themes in these documents were diverse, militia members believed that there were some common areas of agreement within the groups. One poster to the misc.activism.militia acknowledged the diversity of the group but felt that there was enough common ground among members to be successful in pressing the militia's cause. He outlined some common fantasy themes when he wrote (Joe, Misc.activism.militia, April 11, 1996):

As patriots, we have surprisingly little in common, other than we are patriots. We are diverse geographically, racially, ethnically, politically, and in every other conceivable way. The one thing on which most of us agree is the defense of life, liberty and property, as well as opposition to the unlawful and unconstitutional activities of the federal and other levels of government. In working together to address these grievances, we have been successful not only in slowing our nation's descent into totalitarianism, but in winning levels of popular support for our cause that could scarcely have been believed by anyone just a single short year ago.

The focus group questions addressed the issues where there seemed to be the greatest diversity of opinion in their documents. See Appendix A for a complete list of the questions. These questions were designed in the form of statements from various militia documents. Focus group members were asked to give their opinion or thoughts on these statements. Based on the analysis of a large number of documents, some of the statements seemed likely to meet with general agreement within a focus group, while others were chosen deliberately to test statements which were thought not likely to chain out with a focus group.

Statements the focus group members were asked to respond to were intended to confirm a consensus within the groups about the five structural elements of SCT. It is vital to pinpoint the hero, the villain, plotline, scene, and sanctioning agent in the militia's narrative in order to separate the fantasy types. This effort proved to be more complex than it appeared during the document analysis, as revealed by the results of the focus groups.

Once the focus group questions were designed, the second step of SCT methodology ensued. First, it was necessary to recruit focus group participants from various militia sites who were willing to spend the time and the money to participate in a focus group. Money becomes a factor in on-line focus groups since most people who do not have access to the Internet through a university or business must pay by the hour for their time through their local server.

Notices were placed on the militia newsgroup saying that discussion groups were going to be held on an Internet Relay Chat channel at 7 pm CST on specific Thursday nights. People who wanted to participate in the University of Houston study were advised to e-mail the author for further instructions about accessing the channel.

A number of considerations went into planning for the focus groups. The 7 pm CST time was chosen so that Pacific coast participants could join the channel after leaving work at 5 pm PST and East coast participants would not be kept up too late since the focus groups averaged about 3 hours in duration. Thursday nights were chosen because the Undernet network of computers used for chatting is historically less crowded on that night of the week, and participants would find it easier to sign on.

It was discovered during a test focus group that many Internet users were not familiar with using IRC and needed personalized instruction on how to access the channel. It was necessary to question each person who wanted to participate to determine his or her competence with IRC and send instructions detailed enough to guarantee success in using the channel.

Another challenge that had to be met was for the researcher conducting the focus group to be able to chat and at the same time keep a complete transcript of what each member of the group was saying. Several software clients are available for this purpose. For this study Homer, a MacIntosh client that allows the person controlling the channel to record on disk the complete transcript of the session, was used. The complete transcript of each session was then available for storage or for printing hard copies.

Even though a test focus group had been run, an unanticipated event occurred with the first focus group. On the first designated Thursday, the author signed on to Undernet at about 6:30 pm CST to find that one of the militia discussion group members, an experienced Internet user, had already created a channel named #uhstudy, the name that all the participants had been notified to join. This was a potential problem, since the person who first creates the channel controls it and can "bump" people off the channel if he or she chooses to do so. This militia member warily refused the researcher's polite request to relinquish control of the channel, but apparently decided that the session was going to be a nonjudgmental discussion of issues and no problems resulted. For following sessions, the researcher signed on and created the channel before 6 pm for the 7 pm session to insure control.

A total of four sessions were held involving 12 militia members. The groups were kept to three or four at a time because of the nature of IRC technology. When people sign on to IRC they try to chose the server closest to their location. If its channels are busy, the participant must try another and another until accepted. The server that accepts him or her may be thousands of miles away and may have to connect him or her through several other computers to deliver each individual message sent to the person with whom he or she is chatting. For that reason there is almost always a certain amount of "lag time" in the chatting conversations. If the conversation is a three-way one, one person's response to a question may appear on the screen after another person has moved to another subject. With several people conversing, it can be somewhat confusing trying to sort out the conversation. For this reason it was necessary to limit the number of participants in each focus group session to no more than four.

This "lag time" is an important factor to understand when investigating the chaining process as it occurs on the Internet. One of the characteristics of chaining as described by Bormann (1972) and others is the immediacy of response and agreement among members of the group when chaining occurs. As the on-line focus groups began, the researcher had to note the "normal" response time from each participant for that session that was the result of how that participant was connected to the net. When the person typed his or her responses deliberately and thoughtfully, the lines of type appeared on the screens of fellow participants a few lines at a time. When he or she typed quickly, several lines would appear altogether in a block on the screen. When several people were typing quickly to contribute to a conversation, the blocks of type appeared suddenly on the screen and instead of the lines of type slowly scrolling up the screen, the screen filled up with sudden jerky movements and sometimes disappeared off the top of the screen before they could be read.

Research Question 1 was concerned with whether chaining occurs on the Internet. In these electronic focus groups evidence of chaining as it is described in SCT literature (Bormann, 1972; Cragan & Shields, 1995) did occur. Descriptions in the literature cite a rise in volume of voices, a speeding up of the conversation, agreement and restating of the idea, and expressions of emotion as evidence that chaining is occurring. The following example from the transcript of Focus Group 1 showed all of these elements in response a question about whether militia members should try to take over the nominating process of the major political parties in order to get candidates sympathetic to their cause elected:

#1: Absolutely, that's what grassroots activism is all about... and we are grassroots :-).

#2: I would agree that that's the best way to try. I'm not sure they'll let us get away with it though.

#1: To borrow a phrase "I AM THE MILITIA AND I VOTE!"

#3: Ah ha, (name of #1)!

#4: Voting has proved to be very valuable lately. :-)

#2: I LIKE IT. "I'M THE MILITIA AND I VOTE!" YES!!!!

The description of the rhetorical vision of the militia was constructed using two procedures. One was a qualitative method based on the examination of militia documents and the contents of the focus group conversations. The other was a quantitative method based on a factor analysis of the answers militia members gave to a survey instrument. The qualitative procedure yielded rich antedotal material from which symbolic cues, sagas, evidence of artistry, and other structural elements and concepts of SCT were obtained. The analysis of this material producted a picture of three fantasy types in their pure form. However, in reality, fantasy types are rarely pure. To provide reality links, it was necessary to analyze survey responses for comparison to the qualitative analysis. Factor analysis was chosen as the statistical tool for analyzing the quantitative data because it groups responses into factors based on communality. This process is philosophically sympathetic to SCT's concept of the sharing of fantasy themes within the fantasy type.

In the sections below the purer fantasy types discovered in the qualitative analysis will be outlined, followed by the results of the quantitative analysis using factor analysis.

The focus groups confirmed what the document analysis had suggested - that there were several fantasy types existing among individuals who called themselves militia members. By asking questions aimed at getting the focus group participants to explain, for example, who they saw as the villains in their narrative and who or what they thought gave authority and legitimacy to their viewpoint, it was possible to broadly classify individuals into one of three fantasy types. These categories are broad generalizations, and more research will be required to verify and further define them. However, for the purposes of this overview, the three fantasy types were named the Protector/Enforcer, the Concerned Activist, and the Separatist. (See Table 4.1 for outline of characteristics of each type.)

The five structural elements of SCT - hero, villain, plotline, scenes, and sanctioning agent - were used to differentiate these fantasy types. For example, indications of who the heros and villains were in militia narratives were found in the document review. These elements were included in focus group questions to see if chaining occurred on these specific elements. These same heroes and villains were again tested on the survey instrument.

All three fantasy types showed examples of artistry in phrasing symbolic cues, sentences or slogans that were understood by the group and conveyed meaning within the group. These phrases were designed to be memorable to those hearing the concepts they represented for the first time. Examples of these artistic cues are found in the following section. This section provides a more detailed description of each fantasy type.

The Protector/Enforcer fantasy type saw militia members as protecting and enforcing all the rights of the citizen as originally guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution. Documents and focus group discussion revealed that a major concern of this type is how these rights have been eroded. They believe this has occurred through court decisions, executive orders, and other government regulations which were often viewed by this fantasy type as illegal infringements. This type believes the militia, as an organization of patriots, to be the last line of defense against the growing tyranny of the government. A slogan commonly used by this group was included on the survey instrument. This symbolic cue is "The Second Amendment is the reset button of the Constitution." This reference to the Second Amendment is a shared symbolic belief that armed revolution might be necessary to bring the country back to the strict interpretation of the Constitution that they favored.

Citing the U.S. Constitution as the source of their authority, the Protector/Enforcers feel a duty to monitor, and if necessary, agitate against the activities of a corrupt government, and to educate and inform other citizens about its activities, particularly the unlawful usurping of individual rights. A common SCT symbolic cue for this type is a common reference to the three "boxes" necessary to maintain freedom - "the jury box, the ballot box, and the ammo box."

The second fantasy type, the Concerned Activist, has more beliefs about relationships with the community. This type is also concerned about the power of the government but fear that the consequences of the government's actions will result in civil unrest, riots, or civil war. They see these conditions as threatening the stability and security of the community. This fantasy type often speak of the threat of crime and the government's inability or refusal to deal with the problems surrounding crime. This type sees erosion of Second Amendment rights as a threat to their ability to protect their family and community.

The Concerned Activists also see the Constitution as the source of the militia's legitimacy. They, however, are more likely to see the militia's role as one of political activism and grassroots organizing for political influence. Their documents show a belief that community should be regulated by local laws enforced by local officials, without the interference of federal law enforcement. This is often manifested in support for local law enforcement authorities such as the county sheriff. This type is evidenced in the survey instrument as believing the role of the militia to be one of training and preparing for times of civil emergency.

The Separatist fantasy type is less likely to trust any established institution, particularly the media, politicians and university professors, and often exhibits a kind of "siege" mindset. An SCT symbolic cue they often discuss is the necessity of stockpiling the "Three B's" - beans, bullets, and bandages. Their major concern is to be left alone by the government, to enjoy freedom from government laws and regulations. This type's concept of a militia is a group of individuals banding together to survive against a tyrannical government controlled by people with wealth and power. They see their authority as their God-given right to individual freedom guaranteed by the Constitution, sometimes putting their religious ideology above the Constitution as a source of authority. Because of their natural suspicion of the government, this type is the least likely to be communicating on the Internet since it is a forum readily accessible to monitoring. For that reason this type probably is underrepresented in the quantitative portion of this study. An examination of publications such as the magazine American Survivalist indicates that, although they use the term militia, many of this type may identify more with the survivalist movement than with the more mainstream militia groups, particularly the Constitutionalist groups.

Based on questions asked in the focus groups, all three fantasy types shared similar beliefs on a number of SCT "here and now" issues. All were opposed to gun control. All distrusted the mainstream media. All were cynical about the major political parties and distrusted mainstream political figures.

There were, however, some distinct differences in beliefs among the three fantasy types, and at least one important marker variable within a single type. In focus groups individuals who exhibited Protector/Enforcer fantasy type characteristics often used ridicule and humor to show that they did not agree with some beliefs held by the Separatists types.

The document review revealed that the Separatist fantasy types often discussed various conspiracy theories. One theory widely discussed among them was a United Nations plan to invade the United States with foreign troops in black helicopters to establish a New World Order. In one focus group the author had just asked for opinions about the United Nations when a power outage knocked one of the focus group members off the net. The following conversation illustrated these militia members' use of humor to show that they did not participate in this Separatist viewpoint:

#1 (signing back on): Power failure here. Connected again.

#2: It was a UN plot, (name). That darned Butrous Butrous!

#3: I think the UN couldn't find its way out of a pay toilet with a map and compass.

#2: It's that pesky UN again, jerking (name) around.

#4: I think the UN is too incompetent to invade Somalia, let alone the U.S.

This difference of opinion between Protector types and Concerned Activists as to purpose also showed itself in the focus group discussions. The following conversation occurred during on of the on-line focus groups and illustrates the differences in the two viewpoints:

#1: We recently put up a radio tower, with a repeater, and are training with a county emergency response team in order that we may be helpful in the next emergency, say if Janet Reno needs CPR or some such.

#2: I think I agree to the extent that a situation got beyond what an individual or family could handle...there's this thing called individual responsibility, too, you know.

#3: Absolutely, (name). Mr. AK came in handy to those equipped during the L.A. riots. (Note: Mr. AK is a reference to the AK-47 military assault rifle.)

#2: I'd imagine so.

#1: Wasn't it odd that it was the Koreans who most effectively represented the American spirit of defending themselves against terrorist aggression?

#4: Ours doesn't have anything to do with riots or civil unrest. Until or unless we should be asked that would strictly be a job for our police/sheriff. Personal arms protecting yourself or neighbors however is something else again. That, however, is not an organized militia thing.

Table 4.1 outlines the five structural elements of each type as determined by the qualitative analysis. These three fantasy types should be seen as competing analogues within the rhetorical vision of the militia in cyberspace. The heroes in the narrative of each type was the individual citizen militia member who had become aware of the activities of the villain and was prepared to stand up against it. The plot lines of the narratives were also similar. The villain was in the process of taking away the freedom and rights of citizens and would continue to do so until complete tyranny was established, or until the hero rose up to stop its progress.

The narratives shared many of the same "here and now" issues, including public education, gun ownership, the power of the courts, tax laws, and corrupt political parties. On specific issues, however, the distinction between fantasy types based on sanctioning agents became clear.

While the focus groups for this study were being held, a standoff between the Montana Freemen and federal authorities began.

The FBI attempted to arrest several members of the Freemen organization on charges of defrauding banks and individuals through the use of worthless money orders, checks, and other financial instruments.

A major debate ensued on the misc.activism.militia newsgroup, showing a predictable division between the Protector/Enforcer fantasy type and the Separatists.

According to news accounts, the Freemen did not recognize the U.S. government as having authority over them. The Separatist fantasy type agreed with them and called for militia members to rally to their aid. One posting to the newsgroup represented this viewpoint (Mike, Misc.activism.militia, March 31, 1996):

Dammit man, this is the end. Tyranny is at hand. There is no democratic solution for the whole nation - the people are completely enveloped in the ideals of this evil regime. We must take drastic measures to preserve our freedom. We must gather and form a new government, as the Freemen have tried to do.

We at the Tri States Militia find it insulting and offensive that people who call themselves members of the patriotic community have combined their "patriotic" activities with a clear attempt to defraud banking institutions and individual citizens through the use of phoney money and/or money orders coupled with force and threats. Our goals must remain clear and pure. If we allow individuals attempting to associate themselves with Constitutional militias to contaminate our cause with the tactics of common hucksters, shills, conmen, and mobsters, then our noble cause is sure to fail. The Constitutional militias will NOT go to war to defend "bad check writers." It must be made clear that the militias will not serve as bully boys nor as the enforcement wing of any of the fringe political groups at the edge of the patriot community. Neither will the militias be their shield from apprehension and prosecution when they break the law.

Although they saw the actions of the Freemen in defrauding people as against the law, the Protector/Enforcer fantasy type was in favor of closely watching federal officials to see that none of the Freemen's rights under the Constitution were violated while they were being taken into custody. The Tri States Militia posting above insisted that all law enforcement agencies involved use the utmost restraint in bringing this tense situation to a peaceful conclusion. This fantasy type could be expected to continue to monitor the Freemen case to insure that they receive a lawful trial under the authority of the Constitution. This example showed the importance of the sanctioning agent as a structural term of the theory to differentiate the fantasy types. It also illustrated the utility of SCT to predict and understand reactions to "here and now" issues.

In order to determine the position on the purity continua of the three fantasy fantasy types revealed by the qualitative portion of SCT methodology, it was necessary to use the quantitative methods, or reality links, of SCT. This was accomplished using the survey instrument whose development and administration was described in Chapter 2. The purpose of this third leg of SCT's triangulation is to confirm that the fantasy types revealed in the qualitative analysis actually exist in the real world and to what degree of purity.

Two statistical tools were used to examine the survey data - factor analysis for grouping the fantasy types and frequency variables for analyzing the demographic data. R-technique factor analysis was chosen to examine the fantasy types because this type of factor analysis examines the intercoorelations within sets of variables collected at the same time from a number of individuals. It aligns these relationships using weighted linear combinations called factor scores. The groupings of factor scores were then compared against the fantasy types described in the qualitative data. The limitation to this type of analysis in this study was the relatively small number (61) of questionnaires being examined. The following section will discuss the results of both the frequency and factor analyses.

Quantitative analysis, using frequency variables, of the demographic questions on the survey instrument (Q31 - Q39) provided a profile of the respondents who participated in the study. The respondents were over 90% male and, for the most part, Caucasian college graduates between 36 and 55 years old. Over half were military veterans. Almost half had incomes in the $30,000 to $60,000 range. Over 80% spent more than 6 hours per week on the Internet, with 23% on-line over 15 hours per week. Results indicate that they have become more politically involved over the past several years with 82% voting in the 1992 presidential election, rising to 85% voting in the 1994 Congressional election, and 85.2% intending to vote in the 1996 election. Although they were about 75% white, there were over 8% African-American and 11% who identified themselves as Other. There were 3.3% Native-Americans, but only 1.1% Hispanics. There were no Asians.

The results of the factor analysis revealed three primary factors and two secondary factors. In this study factor scores below .3 were considered not significant and were truncated. Each of the primary factors represents one fantasy type as it exists in reality and can be quantitatively measured (See Table 4.2).

The first factor type (see Table 4.3) compares favorably with the Concerned Activist type from the qualitative analysis. It gives a high priority to neighbors and community and endorces peaceful activities, such as education and political activism, as the proper route to governmental change. This reflects the social analogue described by SCT.

The second factor type (see Table 4.4) exhibits many of the traits of the Separatist type from the qualitative analysis, including its pragmatic analogue. This factor shows a comparatively higher priority given to the issues of distrust of media and government and to the ownership of guns. The rejection of Q30 about the bombing in Oklahoma City by an extremist reflects this type's belief that the bombing may have actually been the work of government agents, not extremists.

The third factor type (see Table 4.5) compares with the righteous analogue Protector/Enforcer in the qualitative analysis, including the high priority given to upholding the Constitution and the implication that the use of force might be acceptable if necessary to guarantee citizens' rights. This was the only one of the three groups that specifically rejected the idea that nonviolent political action had always been the American way of affecting change.

The three types identified by factor analysis showed distinct differences in beliefs. The Concerned Activist was the only type who favored peaceful grassroots activism, who always used their vote to make a difference in government, and who believed that the militia's purpose was to help out in community emergencies. They alone rejected the idea of getting no information other than that necessary to survive against the government, and they were the only group to accept the idea that an anti-government extremist could have been responsible for the Oklahoma City bombing.

The Separatist group, on the other hand, rejected this idea consistent with the qualitative data which suggested that this group believes that government agents may have been responsible for the bombing in order to blame it on the militia. The statement about the bombing did not appear on the factor of the Protector/Enforcer. This is also consistent with the qualitative data that indicates their position is to withhold judgment and monitor the legal system for compliance with the Constitution as the case takes its course through the courts with the trial of the suspect now in custody.

The Separatist type was distinct from the other two using factor analysis in that it alone gave a high priority to government corruption, and to distrust of information obtained from anyone other than friends and family. The Protector/Enforcer was the only group to give high priority to the concept of a militia as a paramilitary group whose purpose is to prepare to defend themselves against government persecution.

They were also the only group to specifically reject the idea of forming a militia political party.

The two secondary factors (see Table 4.6) represent a fundamental disagreement within the sample of respondents. The issue is whether the militia should be involved in political activism. The Type I factor favored political involvement while the Type II factor opposed it.The factor analysis shows that the Concerned Activists rejected Q27 and Q30, both of which fell into the Type II group opposing political involvement. This confirms the Concerned Activist's interest in political involvement. The Protector/Enforcer types rejected Q25 which falls into the Type I group favoring political involvement, confirming this group's distinctness from the Concerned Activists. The Separatists did not give priority to any of the political involvement statements in Table 4.5, except to agree that militias are about the Constitution, not about politics.

In summary, the results of the qualitative analysis revealed three fantasy types in a theoretically pure form.

These types were then included in a survey instrument and tested across a larger group for generalizability to the sample of respondents. The results of the quantitative analysis confirmed and further refined these types in their more realistic forms in terms of the specific statements on the survey instruments.

Research Question #3 asked if the Internet can serve as a platform for creating, sustaining, and maintaining group consciousness. According to SCT literature (Bormann, 1972; Cragan & Shields, 1995), if chaining can be observed and described and a rhetorical vision constructed, then a shared symbolic reality exists. Considering that there is no national, unified organization of militias and that they are geographically scattered, the Internet has taken the place of face-to-face meetings which would be expensive for large numbers of people to attend. It has also replaced the printed newsletter which is too slow for the rapid response to government action that they value. The Internet with its e-mail capabilities is also more convenient and less expensive than telephones or fax machines. Even though the Internet is not available to every member of a militia, it has become the preferred channel of communication of those to whom it is available.

One militia member (mrjohn, email correspondence, June 8, 1996) described the factors that made the Internet useful for networking with other militia members and for persuading others outside the movement to accept their vision:

Foremost of those factors, in my opinion, is the ability to reach a vast number of like-minded individuals. The Internet then provides a convenient, rapid, and cost effective means to network those individuals. Often overlooked, but equally important, is that the Internet allows, even invites, communication with people who oppose the views of the militia. Some of those people may be "converted" while others will steadfastly maintain their original views. Thus, ideas can be shared, debated, and ultimately accepted or rejected. This is the First Amendment at work!

This militia member went on to describe the Internet's role in creating, maintaining, and sustaining a shared group consciousness among militia members, as he saw it, when he wrote:

...the Internet helps to build a sense of community. Perhaps in the long run this will turn out to be the Net's most valuable contribution to the movement. There are tens of millions of people in this country who are completely alienated from the liberal-dominated, media-controlled elements of society. Many of them are angry, bitter, and feeling very isolated. Here they find that they are NOT alone, and that there are others who are also seeking alternative solutions. In the end, what may in fact save us from having to fight other civil war will be the motivation derived by these folks from the electronic community they've found here. Certainly, that's something to hope for, in any case."

In summary, the results of this study showed that fantasy themes can be identified, tested for chaining, and that reality links for these themes can be found within the context of the Internet. Fantasy themes were discovered in Internet documents and were incorporated into focus group questions which were discussed by militia members during on-line focus groups. Evidence of fantasy theme chaining was observed during these focus groups. These chaining themes were tested in an on-line survey instrument to validate the qualitative analysis and to give demographic reality links to the study. The next section will discuss the conclusions that can be drawn from this study.

The three research questions that drove this study were aimed at confirming whether or not SCT could be observed and described in the context of cyberspace. Research Question #1 -does fantasy theme chaining occur on the Internet - can be answered positively. By using the criteria for chaining outlined in SCT literature and applying these elements to their equivalents in cyberspace, it is possible to observe chaining and describe how it occurs in the text on the IRC portion of the Internet.

SCT literature (Bormann, 1972; Cragan & Shields, 1995) observed that when chaining occurred in small groups, people speeded up their conversations, often interrupting each other; the volume of their voices rose; excitement and emotion were expressed; and ideas were repeated, restated, and expanded. In the context of IRC, the speeding up of conversation within the group was indicated by the relatively shorter "lag time" before the text of the messages appeared on the screen (See Chapter 4 for details). Instead of appearing on the screen at relatively regularly timed intervals (the normal lag time for that particular IRC connection), the text appeared suddenly in blocks that jumped up on the screen with a jerky motion, rather than scroll at the smoother pace of normal conversation. This implied that a number of participants were suddenly caught up in an idea and began typing and entering their thoughts rapidly. This was the IRC equivalent of everyone in a group speaking at once and interrupting each other. Within the message of these texts were found the restatement of, agreement with, and expansion of the fantasy themes that the literature described as the chaining process.

The rise in the volume and excitement level of the exchanges were observed in the text by:

(1) the increased use of exclamatory punctuation,

(2) the use of ALL CAPITOL LETTERS to indicate shouting, and

(3) the use of underlining for emphasis.

(1) :-) (a smile, meaning "take as a joke", happiness, satisfaction, and agreement)

(2) :-( (a frown, meaning "I disagree", "I disapprove", or "this is bad")

(3) :-D (a laugh, used to express or react to humor, or to ridicule)

(4) :'-( (crying, used to express grief, sadness, or unhappiness)

1. Some militia members have said that militia units are groups of people who have come together to cooperate in protecting themselves. Would that be your basic definition oa a milita group?

2. Do you see militias as having a major role in disseminating information about government corruption in place of the mainstream media.

3. Some have said militia units are made up of both men and women of all races, religions, and ethnic backgrounds. Is that the prevailing philosophy in militias?

4. Some suggest that everyone has a Natural Right to self defense, and that part of that right is to own whatever weapons the individual, not the government, deems necessary for self-defense. What is your opinion?

5. Is this a God-given right or a right under the Constitution?

6. Some write that the 2nd Amendment provides a way for the people to control the government, not the other way around. Opinion?

7. One wrote that things are wrong in this country, and we have tried through all available means to change them to no avail. Do you agree that this is the current status of things in the U.S.?

8. What means do you think are still available to militia members?

9. That same person continued by saying "so we plan and prepare for the worst, when the government and its forces come to take us away." Do you agree or disagree?

10. Some say militias are "the final option...the court of last resort...in the end they may be all that stands between us and socialism." Opinion?

11. There is a lot on the Internet about an impending invasion by the U.N. in order to impose a New World Order. It seems that not everyone believes this. Opinion?

12. How do account for the considerable discussion about Specialist Michael New on militia channels? Are there factors at work in this case other than the New World Order and the U.N.?

13. Some say militias should be independent of local authorities since they may have to challange or bypass them if they abuse their power or neglect their duties. Opinion?

14. Does this include the court system?

15. Some say that it is necessary to be trained and equipped...and armed...to handle emergencies in case of riots or civil unrest. Is this a militia goal?

16. Some say that dealing with election fraud is a proper role for militias, since local, state, and federal officials could block investigation of election rigging. They don't trust electron vote tabulation. Opinion?

17. Some say militias should be prepared to ENFORCE compliance with the Constitution. Opinion? How would this be done?

18. Some say that to accomplish the goal of returning to the Constitution, it will be necessary for militias to "take over both major political parties beginning at the local level by focusing on the nomination process." Opinion?

19. Some groups are said to be running "stealth" candidates. Is this an appropriate tactic?

20. Concerning the Oklahoma City bombing, some say militias should consider this another Reichstag Fire, staged by parties within the government for political effect. Opinion?

21. Some say irresponsible radicals in the militia movement may commit acts of terrorism and cause the government to move against all militia groups, making a defensive war by militias a reality. Is this a commonly held scenario?

22. Some describe the government as "distant, taking people's money, telling them what they can own and what they can do with what they own, and using any force necessary to make people obey." Opinion?

23. Some militia members oppose environmental laws that restrict use of certain types of property. Opinion?

24. Some say that "the entire government is not to blame, only certain elites who want power over others at all costs and without restraints. Opinion?

Please read the following statements carefully. Some of them you may agree with, and there will be some with which you may not agree. Please mark the number from 1 to 9 that BEST represents how you feel about the statement, with 1 representing "strongly agree" and with 9 representing " strongly disagree".

(Numbers deleted for purposes of this listing)

1. Militia groups, according to the Constitution, are to be composed of all able-bodied citizens from 18 to 45 years old with a few specifically cited exceptions.

2. Militias are groups of neighbors who have organized and trained in order to be ready to help each other in times of emergency.

3. Militias are paramilitary groups who are prepared to defend themselves from government persecution.

4. The Constitution guarantees me the inherent right to own any weapon I deem necessary for protection.

5. Citizens should own guns in order to be able to come to the aid of their neighbors in times of civil unrest.

6. Owning a gun is just a common sense precaution.

7. Every citizen has a duty to make sure the government does not exceed its authority.

8. Nonviolent political action has always been the American way of affecting change.

9. Violence against the government may be the only way to affect real change.

10. Peaceful activities, such as educating the public about government corruption, are the most effective ways to affect change.

11. I love my country, but I fear my government.

12. Ruby Ridge shows how the government treats people who disagree with it.

13. The Oklahoma City bombing may be an example of over-reaction to government tyranny by some extremist.

14. The Second Amendment is the Republic's reset button.

15. The purpose of a militia group is to preserve and protect the citizen's rights guarenteed by the Constitution.

16. The purpose of a militia group is to prepare and train for community emergencies.

17. The purpose of a militia group is to help the individual survive against government forces.

18. The governmental system, and most people within it, are corrupt beyond redemption.

19. Even good people in government get intoxicated with power and forget their legitimate role as defined by the Constitution.

20. The enemy is anyone who seeks to pass or uphold laws that subvert the Constitution.

21. As a militia member, I always use my vote to make a difference in government.

22. As a militia member, I do not see voting or other forms of political activism, as necessary to my survival.

23. Grassroots political activism by militia members is the way to change government.

24. Militia members should organize to take over the political processes of the two major political parties.

25. Militia members should form their own political party.

26. Militias are about the Constitution, not about partisan politics.

27. Militia should not get involved with party politics because it would be impossible to break into their power structures.

28. Information in the mainstream media cannot be trusted.

29. The most trustworthy information is what I get from friends and family members.

30. The only information I need is that which tells me how to survive against government forces.

31. My age is: 18-25

26-35

36-45

46-55

56-65

Over 65

32. I am: Male

Female

33. The highest level of education I have attained is:

some high school

high school graduate

some college

college graduate

some grad school

advanced degree

technical/vocation school

34. I served in the U.S. military. Yes No

35. My annual income is: Under $10,000 $10-20,000 $20-30,000 $30-40,000 $40-50,000 $50-60,000 Over $60,000

36. Did you vote in the following elections? Presidental election 1992 Yes No Congressional election 1994 Yes No

37. Do you plan to vote in the Presidential election in 1996?

Yes No

38. How many hours per week do you use the Internet? 1-3 hours 3-6 hours 6-9 hours 9-12 hours 12-15 hours Over 15 hours

39. My ethnic origin is: African-American Native American Hispanic Asian Caucasian Other

40. If you have any comments you would like to express about any of the questions on this survey, please type them in the box below. ??