Man Intent on Killing Large Number of People Drives Around Striped Sticks
Police say, "It couldn't be done!"
In what could almost be called a predictable turn of events, yet another “mass casualty incident” has taken place, this time in New Orleans.
As we speak, officials are busy contradicting each other as to whether or not this should be described as a “terrorist attack”, which is important so that other agencies nationwide can scramble to put ineffectual safety measures in place that will make the masses feel better without inconveniencing them in any way.
The fact that security screenings at airports work as well as they do is almost a miracle (other than that woman who walked through an employee boarding line and made it to Paris without a ticket, we won’t talk about that).
Americans have actually accepted that they need to get to the airport early and take off their shoes, an almost unheard of act of kowtowing to authority for the good of all.
Of course, vengeance is their’n when they continue to walk around the cabin barefoot and prop their stinky-ass, unwashed trotters up on somebody else’s armrest or wedge them between the seats in front of them like that space is some kind of foot glory hole.
Like, “If I put my feet through here, maybe somebody will rub them.”
Meanwhile, state security agencies remain mired in the 1970s, when “crowd control” meant just that—control—before it morphed into “crowd protection”.
Which you’d think they’d have a better grip on after several decades of this happening.
As much as I hate to say it, and as much as I wish things had turned out much, much, much differently, the fact that anybody got close enough to clip Trump is mindboggling from a security standpoint.
We need to accept that we now live in a state of perpetual war—against organized terrorists, against disorganized terrorists, against people who are just plain crazy, and more importantly, against people who weren’t initially crazy, but who were made that way by fear, stress, a lack of support (both social and economic), and the internet.
For an example of the latter category, you don’t have to look any further than this article by Elizabeth Weil in New York Magazine, which describes how two sisters in Colorado decided to go “off the grid” and ended up dead, together with the son they were attempting to “save” from society by leaving it.
You can’t cure crazy, but you can slow it down.
Lightweight portable barriers at events are meant to guide and constrict foot traffic. They’re not going to protect anybody from anything, least of all a vehicle weighing several tons driven by somebody who doesn’t expect to get out of this alive.
And who, by the way, can just drive around them.
What does protect people from a car driven by a madman?
Advantages of Concrete Barriers
Concrete barriers offer several benefits over other crowd control solutions:
Durability: Withstand heavy impacts and adverse weather conditions
Weight: Provide stability without additional anchoring
Versatility: Can be used for various purposes, from traffic control to security
Customization: Can be modified with fencing or signage for specific needs
I probably sound like a lobbyist for Big Concrete, but the security mindset in America (and other European nations) is decades behind where it needs to be.
Do we need bomb-sniffing dogs at every large-scale event?
Yes.
Do we need counterterrorist measures at every large-scale event?
Yes. (Talk to the NYPD about this).
Do we need a much wider perimeter of street closures and blockades than are currently being implemented?
Yes. (Sorry for the inconvenience, but you could probably use the exercise.)
Is this going to cost a lot of money?
Yes. (Bearing in mind that Elon Musk has a net worth of over $400 billion, but I’m pretty sure he’s not going to help protect the little people, which is everybody except him.)
And no, I am not a security expert, so please don’t start screaming “This is just your opinion!” because yes, dumbass, it’s clearly just my opinion and if the majority of Americans read at a greater than fifth-grade level, the internet would be a much nicer place.
In my opinion, people think every mass killing event and every horrific tragedy is a one-off that couldn’t possibly happen again because how can such horrible things continue to happen?
And besides, they think, “It didn’t impact me, personally.”
Even though considered a “mass casualty incident”, it happened to a relatively small number of people in another city, or in another state, or in another country. And the farther away it gets geographically, no matter how horrific or tragic, the less impact it has.
So in the words of Scarlett O’Hara:
