Friday, August 18, 2006
National Security Porn
by Tom Bozzo
I witnessed a couple of security fatigue datapoints while waiting for my flight to Detroit. A sample of passengers from the flight were being interviewed by a data collector working for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority on a variety of topics related to the National Airport experience, and one of the survey questions asked subjects whether the security return was worth the incremental hassle of the last week. Two women in a row (one African-American, fortysomething-ish, arrived by Metrorail; one white, thirty-ish, arrived by taxi) answered "somewhat" on a scale where "none" was the only less-worth-it response category. So A+ to the Rude Pundit for this remarkably non-rude observation:
What is it? Why it's Saint George, the man who has made air travel so safe that you can't carry a cup of coffee brewed inside a "secured" area onboard an airplane, leading the multitudes out of Ground Zero under the approving light of Heaven. I can only imagine what the airport's bills for vomit-removal are. Click through for more detail... if you dare!
We have just enough influence here that I'm loath to use the "p" word in the post title and risk unleashing a flood of unsavory Web searchers. But I'm at somewhat of a loss for another term that adequately describes the orange alert airport experience, with its barrage of announcements at least mentioning the Department of Homeland Security if not counseling compliance with its directives.
I witnessed a couple of security fatigue datapoints while waiting for my flight to Detroit. A sample of passengers from the flight were being interviewed by a data collector working for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority on a variety of topics related to the National Airport experience, and one of the survey questions asked subjects whether the security return was worth the incremental hassle of the last week. Two women in a row (one African-American, fortysomething-ish, arrived by Metrorail; one white, thirty-ish, arrived by taxi) answered "somewhat" on a scale where "none" was the only less-worth-it response category. So A+ to the Rude Pundit for this remarkably non-rude observation:
See, the Rove-cultivated Republican playbook is still fear and terror, but it doesn't play anymore because it's been played out. What happened yesterday at America's airports? Sure, there were long-ass delays, aggravations, and more. But any major freak-outs? Nope: everyone just sort of sighed, dumped out their mouthwash, and cursed. And that's because we've gotten used to this. So the reaction of the citizenry now to terror alerts and colorifically raised warning levels is, "Yeah, we know. What else ya got?" People actually took the Bush administration's words to heart: we have gone about our daily lives, just incorporating the "life in the time of terror" adjustment to our routines. Republicans have been framing everything for the last five years based on one big event. It ain't gonna work anymore. The 9/11 justification is gonna be met with comical eye rolls around the country.Speaking of comical eye-rolls, I'd nearly forgotten about one lovely bit of 9/11 kitsch, hidden in an alcove off a now lightly used corridor between the old National Airport terminal and the newer barn from which NWA operates. This time, I had the digicam (packed to get pictures of friends' kids for Suzanne) along...
What is it? Why it's Saint George, the man who has made air travel so safe that you can't carry a cup of coffee brewed inside a "secured" area onboard an airplane, leading the multitudes out of Ground Zero under the approving light of Heaven. I can only imagine what the airport's bills for vomit-removal are. Click through for more detail... if you dare!
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Ugh. Though I note they are all walking away from the Statue of Liberty, which almost looks as if it was taken from that Charlton Heston movie about interspecies contempt.
Gag. I notice that all the suit wearing men are wearing red power ties in the piece of, um, art. Weird.
Ken: The line between strange iconography and poor draftsmanship in the background is a fine one -- why is the Washington Monument shown at all? Why is Liberty facing as she is? Some questions are better left unanswered, though.
Suz: Thanks for the link.
JR: The funny thing is that Bush wasn't wearing a tie at all when he gave his famous speech at Ground Zero.
PS: In some provinces, this might be regarded as evidence against the proposition of divine existence.
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Suz: Thanks for the link.
JR: The funny thing is that Bush wasn't wearing a tie at all when he gave his famous speech at Ground Zero.
PS: In some provinces, this might be regarded as evidence against the proposition of divine existence.
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