Today on Radar: Gersh Kuntzman goes undercover as a Saudi sheik to test the subway search system. "Would the cops target people who look Arab, or would they target people for no reason whatsoever? In other words, is the policy racist or unconstitutional? And isn’t there some way it can be both?"
More on the random bag searches that serve no purpose except to supposedly make us "feel safer," a rationale EoK rightly mocks as security-as-therapy. True to form, the SCLM is lining up to support the measure -- as long as, get this, the police can guarantee that they're conducting searches with no regard for probable cause at all, and that the searches continue in perpetuity. You know you're in trouble when the Times is urging the government to restrict civil liberties even more.
Fortunately there's a growing grass-roots opposition. It may not accomplish much, but it does have the most witheringly sarcastic FAQ I've seen in a long time. ("Q: Why should I worry about being searched if I have nothing to hide? A: Congratulations on having nothing to hide - how exciting for you...") (And speaking of which, it didn't take long for that mission creep to creep in, as Jersey cops looking for bombs arrested a 21-year-old for illegal possession of fireworks. If the searches accomplish nothing else, at least they'll help the precinct meet its quotas).
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Is there really anyone out there who thinks random searches at the turnstiles will make New York subways any safer? One expert points out, "If someone had something and they were actually caught with an explosive, they're just as likely to blow themselves up as anything." But why even do that when you can simply decline to allow the cops to search your bag (which, they claim, will be allowed) and walk to the next station. And if you're dead set (ha ha) on blowing up the station you were turned away from, you can even take the train back one stop, walk up to the cop who denied you entrance, flip him the bird, and light yourself up. Hell, you could just walk to a different entrance to the same station. What are the odds you'll be stopped again? I mean, seriously, if you're already at the point where you're willing to kill yourself, how is the possibility of a random search going to act as a deterent?
So what's being accomplished? Well, there's the "perception of safety," thing. Frankly I'd rather have the police worry about actual safety. As it is, now they're just diverting resources from the task of authentically stopping crime and terrorism. And anyway, I for one, don't feel more safe when my bag is searched. I feel paranoid. And yes, I know Michael Moore would argue this is the whole point.
Continue reading "Attention terrorists: read this if you want to blow up the New York subway" »
