It irks me that the city of New York turned off cellular service in the 4 major tunnels for fear of cell phone-activated bombs.
Don't get me wrong, when I see a jagoff swerving, slamming on his brakes and generally being a bad driver because he's busy trying to convey the subtlties of his last game of Golden Tee on a cell phone, I want to throttle the hell out of him and confiscate the freaking thing. But when we begin cutting our own liberties to keep terrorists at bay, it's throwing the baby out with the bath water.
As much as I hate to use this phrase, we're letting the terrorists win. Americans are changing their way of life out of fear - lending creedence to the term "terrorist." These people love taking us out of our comfort zone.
Let's face it, if they really want to blow up a bomb in one of the tunnels, they will just fill a car with explosives and do the deed. Not one of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 chickened out and surrendered, they're more than willing to die.
Speaking of 9/11, (toss in Lockerbie and any other airplane bombing in history) the reason they choose airplanes is the extra level of fear involved. People are already generally uncomfortable when their feet are off the ground, so it's a chance to exploit it even further.
When over-protective goofballs start shutting off cell service in tunnels, overdoing the security in airports and otherwise causing undue stress on our lifestyle, nobody but the terrorists win.
So turn the cell service back on. For chrissake, there are people who need to discuss important things - like the untimely demise of 3/4 length sleeves among today's savvy, envogue fashion designers.
2 comments:
I wonder if they considered how big a hindrance the lack of communication would be in such an instance (God forbid).
If there isn't any phone service, who can call 911 to report suspicious activity, injuries or deaths?
Your post on this topic is perfect. Just perfect. Ari also makes a very valid point.
(pretty soon I'll have much more time on my hands, but this week has been a real bear. sorry for the sudden disappearance)
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