“My faith in airport security has never been the same since I noticed that the man confiscating the shaving foam in my hand luggage (while leaving me with the razor) had the word HATE tatooed on his knuckles.”
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Samizdata quote of the dayNovember 14th, 2007 |
 35 comments to Samizdata quote of the day |
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That security measures do not really mean security has been pointed out many times – by people being sent with lots of nasty seeming things on their person or in their cases. Normally these nasty things are not discovered.
So the “security” measures in fact just mean that people are delayed and messed about – they do not mean that you will not be blown up.
This was brought home to me by my (sadly only) visit to the Isle of Man.
I choose to go by ship to avoid the absurd security measures that I feared going by aircraft would mean – but I got all the nonsense anyway (with hidesight I would have gone by aircraft).
Gone are the days when you could just arrive, buy a ticket or have your ticket checked, and get on board – now it takes ages (lots of “security” measures).
As I was delayed and messed about I thought of all the ways I could smuggle nasty things aboard (if the Isle of Man ferry was a major target), there were many ways.
As for “hate”.
Tatoo or not – of course security people hate the people they deal with.
You try getting up at some stupid time of day (depending on whether you are the day or night shift) and working in a stupid “dead end” (no pun intented) job – and do that for YEARS (the destruction of the sleep cycle means you are always tired – and will remain so even if you leave).
Of course you hate the people you are deal with – all security people come to hate the public (it goes with the job).
As for I.D. cards and so on – after a while the card could say “M. Mouse” (and have a photograph of him) and you will not notice.
“But the lives of the public are at stake”.
After someone has been in this line of work for a long period of time they do not tend to care if they themsleves are blown up (indeed they would half welcome it) – let alone anyone else.
“Bottom line” if people want to be protected against terrorists they are going to have to watch out themselves – look out for themselves and other people.
Trusting paid security people to look after you all is foolish.
Paul, I am no fan of the security farce myself but I think you exaggerate a little with regards to the hatefulness and level of death wishing contained within security staff. It’s true that there are many bad eggs in that game, and I’ve met my share, but some are fair people. I’ve always found the security people in Brussels’s airport to be pleasant enough and if truth be told I find their system as non intrusive as you could hope for in this strange period we seem to be going through.
I see Mr. Brown has called for train passengers at big stations to now have their luggage scanned, while hinting that airport security will be relaxed a little. Can you see the logic in this? I’m trying to but so far….
I was not being nasty or pretending to be better than other folk WalterBoswell.
What do you think my main source of income from the mid 1980’s to 2005 was? Of course these days it would be unlawful for me to work as a guard – due to licensing.
Although I did other jobs (at times), I know about guarding and security guards.
And if you had met me you would have thought me nice and pleasent as well – as I wished you good morning and smiled.
Contrary to the myth guards are rarely dumb and are often well educated (not the same thing of course) – but each one knows that he has lost the game of life.
My experience of the TSA in particular is that they are almost as misanthropic as the terrorists they are trying to stop. I’m not surprised, X-raying shoes for a living can’t be fun.
I think it interesting that in almost all the cases of “men of middle eastern appearance” being turfed off planes and the like it has invariably been the passengers or crew that smelt a rat.
Train passengers at big stations? Well, then the terrorists will get on board at little stations. In anycase it’s commuter lines that they target. I suspect Brown has been tipped the wink that something might be going down. The 2000 Islamists on the watch list can’t all just be playing Scrabble can they?
There is frankly bugger all we can do but be vigilant. The total security thing is just never going to work. The real battle here is one of ideas and W and Blair shot themselves in the foot on like day one with all that “Religion of Peace” nonsense. Fortunately I think we may be turning the corner… And I mean “we” the general public, not our lords and masters who seem willfully to not want to bring up the ideological issues here.
It’s strange what wakes people up. 3000 dead in Lower Manhatten and the usual suspects are spinning it that this was somehow America’s fault. Here’s an odd idea. I actually suspect some of the truly demented on the left have thunk themselves into a re-chronology of the GWoT and probably think 9/11 was revenge for America invading Afghanistan. I would like to understand the troofer mentality. I really would.
Anyways, I suspect the MoToon intifada woke more people up than 9/11 to the truth about Islam because whilst there was a certain Satanic glamour to 9/11 the MoToon intifada showed that Islamists are just bonkers and that is never quite as beguiling as pure evil… That is why I suspect mockery is more powerful than condemnation.
We (at least here in the US) have a migration away of good people in roles of public service. So even for our police force we have less savory people in positions of Enforcement. One only has to imagine the layer closer to the bottom of barrel that take these jobs at airports. It’s not like someone with a (relatively) good job decides to chuck it in and go into airport inspection/security.
This is what scares me the most about how our society is shifting. People aren’t bothering to vote, talented people are shying away from running for office, and those employed to enforce laws are slipping in caliber. For years there has been talk that the US is falling into dotage like the Roman Empire, but that was usually used in terms of social rot. I think more in terms of bureaucratic rot. We are making more and more laws and regulations and staffing the process with lesser caliber people. Just as the check is coming due for unfunded transfers, just as theo-greens are ready to ruin whatever part of the economy isn’t ruined by the unfunded transfers, just as our debt-infested “money” system is on the border of crashing, etc etc the inmates seem to be trusted with the keys to the asylum.
By and large I think there has been a HUGE libertarian movement under the radar, but it has existed trying to skirt whatever involvement the State has in one’s life instead of stopping the intrusion altogether. Simply abandoning the process simply allows the virus of Statism to grow unchecked. We are very near the time when a reckoning of 8 decades of Statism comes knocking, and instead of the “thinkers” and tender-hearts who dreamed up the good works, we’re going to have a rougher sort coming to collect the funds.
The very best that TSA has on staff are written about here.(Link)
No, really. I’m not some super-seqret-skwirrel HSLD Jack Bauer type, but in the public safety world, TSA are the kittens who should have been drowned.
For instance, any person who checks into a flight using certain types of ID is set for the “sexual assault” level of screening. Those ID’s: military and police. Mil. travelling in uniform are virtually guaranteed the extra harassment. The reason: they’re used to following nonsensical orders in hopes that it will advance the greater good, and are therefore less likely to complain about being subjected to unnecessary bullshit.
90-year-old women and stroller-aged children also don’t complain, which is why they get the “molestation” level of screening. Unless someone wants to cough with a better explanation. (I remember a “Security Theater” thread a few months back, where someone seemed about to try to offer a real answer to this one)
Isn’t there a more plausible explanation for this than fascination with pure evil? The idea that a small, well organized minority could commit spectacular atrocities while a large number of people, who happen to follow the same religion, are by and large reasonable and peaceful isn’t all that crazy. The MoToons by contrast sparked an international mass movement for censorship, with very few Muslims speaking out for secularism or freedom of speech. I don’t find it surprising that the reaction to the MoToons had a stronger effect.
I think both Paul and Sunfish are onto it. And all my experiences confirms Sunfish’s remarks.
I actively hate these motherfuckers, everywhere I go. I half expect to get arrested every single time I fly, and I’m sometimes almost amazed at what I get away with. I step up to that line with firebolts shooting out my eyes, every single time, and they don’t often fuck with me. When they do, they rapidly realize that they’re not ready to walk through what they’ve stepped in, and I get my way, which is some variant of, “Yeah, that’s what I thought. You’re all worthless punks,” over my shoulder as I head off toward the gate.
Do not try this, kids, unless you’re ready for the whole ride.
I am a trained professional thug-contempter.
rantingkraut,
I think we’re both partly right. You certainly have a very valid point. I guess that, in a way, what I was thinking isn’t too different. Destroying huge buildings with kamikaze tactics has certain perverse glamour, Bond villian, which acting like a complete tit over some cartoons doesn’t.
BTW, I searched and found zilch on the net from anyone who self-described as muslim or wrote for the Islamic press which regarded the Motoons of doom as anything other than a truly evil, racist, attack on their faith* and that “respect” was called for. That’s why I like your point. Many muslims at least said bin Laden’s boys done bad on 9/11. Some didn’t even equivocate. None seemed to appreciate that the Motoon intifada was a typhoon in a thimble over essentially bugger-all.
*Yes, I am fully aware of the conflation of “race” and “faith” there.
Paul, easy on the trigger there. That’s not what I was suggesting, if that’s how it came across then you have my unreserved apology.
Contrary to the myth guards are rarely dumb and are often well educated (not the same thing of course) – but each one knows that he has lost the game of life.
lost the game of life? on what basis? what qualifies winning?
It’s all a theatre of the absurd.
The Clunking Fist says he wants airport style baggage checks at mainline railway stations. Does anyone seriously think this will happen? If it did, it would just give a loony after his 72 raisins a nice long queue of people to immolate.
Does any of this make much sense? Not really, but then again it’s not meant to. It’s all about the image conveyed. Remember, it’s all for our own good, and the gentleman in Whitehall really does know best.
Nick M,
To be fair, one of the few who, as far as I know, self-identifies as Muslim and who has spoken out is Denmark’s Naser Khader. He also pointed to predominantly calmer reactions in the mainstream press of Muslim countries:
“My impression from different Arabic media is that the dominant position – perhaps surprising for some – can be summarised as follows: We cannot as Muslims dictate that non-Muslims comply with the allegedly prohibited depiction of the prophet.”
(http://www.khader.dk/flx/in_english/commentary_i_feel_insulted/(Link))
One reason why many may find this surprising is probably that the MSM in Europe, or in the UK at any rate, have paid so little attention to it.
I don’t know precisely how many secular Muslims there are in the UK, but if I were one of them, I would think twice before drawing any attention to me. This is perhaps one of the most damaging aspects of the UK’s multicultural establishment: the enthusiasm they have shown in pandering to theocratic outfits like the MCB while showing next to no public support for secularism.
PS: Having had another look on the web, I have found the following two sites: 1. “British Muslims for Secular Democracy(Link)”. I had heard of them before, but the mere fact that they have a censorship advocate(Link) like Yasmin Alibhai Brown(Link) among their trustees, gives me little reason for hope. 2. “Secular Muslim Cafe(Link)”, which seems to be a fairly recent secular Muslim forum. According to their mission statement, they are dedicated to modernising Islam rather than debating its relationship to secular politics.
rantingkraut,
Point taken but what exactly is a secular muslim? If you mean someone who is muslim, treats their faith as personal and wants a secular state then fair enough but…
I’ve heard people refer to “non-religious muslims” or “cultural muslims” and it pans out that what they really mean is people from muslim countries who maintain the culture but not the religion following immigration. That really has nothing to do with Islam anymore than Italian Americans enjoying Puccini, chianti and pasta.
There is no such thing as Islamic culture: There is Morrocan culture, Persian culture, Malaysian culture and unfortunately they are frequently being overwhelmed by the Wahabi anti-culture. It’s cultural vandalism and it’s the same folks really pushing for sharia globally.
Nick M,
By secular Muslim I mean someone who treats his religion as a private matter. I have met a number of Muslims (mainly from Turkey and Bosnia) who did just that: they were taking their religion quite seriously, prayed regularly etc. and yet wouldn’t dream of imposing their beliefs on others. As for ‘Muslim Culture’ and Wahabism: I fully agree.
Rantigkraut: they are not secular, just non-proselytizing.
Doesn’t ‘to proselytize’ mean ‘to seek to convert somebody’? Being secular is something I would take to mean that you accept a separation of religious norms and institutions from the institutions of the state and the general laws of society. Secularism thus would imply that you don’t use the state’s coercive power to impose your religion on others while you may still attempt to convert them, relying on persuasion alone.
In principle, it should therefore be possible to be a proselytizing religious fanatic and a secularist at the same time. Jehovah’s witnesses actively try to convert people and keep out of politics as a matter of principle.
Actually you have my apology WalterBoswell.
I would like to pretend that I am so short tempered because I am having to hold it back at council meetings and other such (this would come as a surprise to people who attend such meetings – but actually I am holding back), but I was rather nasty even before I was elected.
As for security staff.
Well at the main airport in L.A. the government screeners missed the nasty stuff 75% of the time according to the latest study.
Actually I am surprised they spotted things 25% of the time.
Actually, my understanding of the word “secular” is different, and has to do with personal believes and conduct. and yes, it is entirely possible to be a “proselytizing religious fanatic”, and the same time to adhere to the separation of religion from the state.
In any case, I apologize if this sounds like a semantic nit picking – it was not meant to be:-)
I don’t think it is Alisa.
Alisa,
I don’t think it is nit picking either: this was clearly a useful clarification. It is semantics at its best though. 🙂
It’s no secret that security and police are made up primarily of ex-schoolyards bullies who took the job because it’s the only way they can still maintain power over others when they finished school.
If anything, they are less trustworthy than the general population.
Remember – they ACTIVELY SOUGHT OUT a position where they could order you around.
Actually, here in Israel they are some of the nicest people.
I just shared an excruciating experience with quite a few thousand people at the Atlanta airport. Apparently, some special-detachment federal ninjas were able to emulate thirsty people and sneak bottles of water onto planes this week.
The resulting half or quarter-mile lines at security had the effect no air marshal could have created. Had there been a hijacker on my plane, I am quite certain he would not only have been killed, but eaten.
I felt downright alarmed about the bottle of shampoo I remembered I had in my shaving kit carry on.
The dispute between Alisa and Nick M:
I am going to sound like Bill Clinton but “it depends what you mean”.
For example the word “fanatic” implies Nick M’s conclusion – i.e. in English “fanatic” sometimes implies very nasty person who does very nasty things (it depends on what is meant by “fanatic” – oh dear I am going to say “it depends what you mean by IS” soon).
However, if one means “very religous person” such people can also be strong defenders of religious tolerance.
Nor is this is recent:
For example the strongly religous Roman Emperor Valentarian was certainly not a nice guy (for example he had draft dodgers burned alive) – but he held that government (including his own) should not decide relgious matters and that each opinion should be tolerated by the forces of the law.
To give a more recent example:
The founders of Rhode Island (Roger Williams and so on) were strongly religous (indeed, in the nice sense of the word, they were fanatics) – but they also held very strongly to the principle of religous toleration.
There are many other examples – past and present.
Yobbo,
You, sir, are painfully mis-informed.
I think I moved a little too quickly.
Most of the private security people I know do what they do for the same two reasons as anyone else: The first and the sixteenth.
The cops, well…they’re all racial-profiling teenager-murdering pigs and bastards anyway.
Paul:
The word “Hate” tattooed on one’s knuckles is usually a biker thing. This would not make me feel good, seeing such a tattoo on an airport screener.
John K:
That was tried here a year or so back. TSA decided to screen passengers on a local light-rail train in Indianapolis (I think). They were invited in by the agency that operates the light rail.
They ran into a bit of a problem of passengers wearing guns on the train. You see, Indiana issues concealed weapons licenses to the general public according to a nondiscretionary system. And it’s perfectly legal for a licensee to be armed on the train. And the poor TSA bastards didn’t know what to do. I think they ended up going home and sulking, which from the Federals is usually the least-harmful thing they can do.
Paul, I don’t think that there is a disagreement between Nick and me on the meaning of “fanatic”. Seeing as both he and I are secular agnostics, but are entirely tolerant and respectful towards religious people (as long as they are tolerant and respectful towards us), then I think by “religious fanatic” we both mean “an extremely religious person” This in itself, does not say what that person’s attitude towards others is. But, needless to say, Nick is free to disagree.
I agree with Alisa that we do not disagree. For the record. I have never had any difficulty whatsoever with religious people trying to convert me by persuasion, argument or whatever. I have frequently found their methods to be either bizarre or utterly counter-productive – ranting on a street-corner that YOU’RE ALL GOING TO HELL and all that, for example. Or in the case of the Nottingham University CU head honcho, organizing a 5-aside game and then afterwards, whilst holding the ball, giving a speach which started, “In many ways God is like a football…” No one stayed to discover the theological gems of the rest of the “Sermon at the University Sports Hall. I laugh and joke about such weirdness but I don’t feel any hostility towards it and have never received any back. Regardless of how strong these people’s faith is or how strong their desire to proselytise they are functionally secular because they never offer violence of any form.
This though is something else. Taken at the MoToons jamboree in London.
I agree with both of you. I believe I said something similar days ago.
First time I met the Moonies they were working their way down a bus queue in Cardiff.
It was a fairly long queue, so I had time to clock the patter. They wern’t calling themselves Moonies of course, but the Unification Church.
Hence their main question they asked was “What religion are you?” And their pat answer is you must join us because we unify all the faiths.
Well when they got to me I told them I was a Satanist.
Giving them the evil eye at the same time.
Didn’t phase them at all.!
Naturally I didn’t go. I did have a flatmate that ran off with the Cildren of God though. Mind they had a whole more attractive recrutment package!
RAB:
The Welsh and Satan – it has long been suspected.
Alisa and Nick M.:
I am sorry to have misunderstood.
Sunfish:
Very good.
Sunfish, I don’t understand what you mean by “the first and the sixteenth”. I first though it referred to the US constitution, but the 1st and 16th amendments address religion and income tax respectively, so that can’t be it.
Care to explain?
The word “Hate” tattooed on one’s knuckles is usually a biker thing. This would not make me feel good, seeing such a tattoo on an airport screener.
90% of private security guards in Australia are either past or active members of biker gangs, so I hope you can see where I’m coming from.
BTW, I searched and found zilch on the net from anyone who self-described as muslim or wrote for the Islamic press which regarded the Motoons of doom as anything other than a truly evil, racist, attack on their faith* and that “respect” was called for. That’s why I like your point. Many muslims at least said bin Laden’s boys done bad on 9/11. Some didn’t even equivocate. None seemed to appreciate that the Motoon intifada was a typhoon in a thimble over essentially bugger-all.
Nick M:
Irshad Manji, at muslim-refusenik.com. I actually found the cartoons first on her site.
The first and the sixteenth days of each month. Also known as “pay day.”
With regard to your other point, usually people become cops because they want revenge for being bullied when they were six. Or at least that’s what I keep hearing. It’s a different pathology.
The first and the sixteenth days of each month. Also known as “pay day.”
Well that was exactly my point. Police and Security guard work don’t pay all that well, and are more dangerous than other jobs which pay better.
For example here in Australia you can earn $90,000 driving a truck on a mine site or $45,000 being a police officer.
The main difference between the 2 jobs is only one of them comes with power attached to it.