They win; I'm terrorized

[tzikeh]

I have to get this out of my system.

We are currently at "orange" - second only to "red" in terror threat levels. The news media is reporting that there's a glut of information indicating we are going to get hit with an attack to rival or exceed what happened on 9/11, possibly over the holidays. They can tell us that they know this, but have no idea of targets, or methods, or perpetrators.

I would like to point out that, if we'd spent our $87 BILLION dollars and huge deployment of military manpower not on a war in a country that had nothing to do with 9/11, and had absolutely no weapons of mass destruction nor method of delivering them to the United States - in other words, was in no way a threat to U.S. safety - if we'd spent that instead on hunting down and capturing members and supporters of Al Quaida and their leader (remember him?), imagine what we could have accomplished.

When we get hit again, you Iraq-war-supporters think about that.

Comments

[yahtzee63.livejournal.com]

While I agree with absolutely every viewpoint expressed here, on behalf of all of us who are getting on airplanes tomorrow, I have to say, I really, really, really, really, really, really, really wish I hadn't read it.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry. I'll change it to a cut-tag.

[falzalot.livejournal.com]

I'm getting on a plane tomorrow and it didn't bother me any. :-) Well, except that I'm sure it's going to take twice as long to get through security. I'd better bring a few good books.

[thebratqueen.livejournal.com]

A-frikkin-men.

[imation23.livejournal.com]

*sigh* The lack of logic of the US government is amazing. What's even more amazing for me, however, is how easily it's swallowed by so many people.

I can really feel the difference because I've recently lived in both the US and the UK. In England, both the US and UK governments are fair game for jokes, criticism, and derision. Over here, I'm frightened at the levels of intolerance and blinkered conservatism I see every day. Once I casually mentioned to someone who complained about smokestacks, 'It's only going to get worse with Bush's attitudes on conservation.' He gave me a weird look and said, 'Do you really believe that Bush should care about stuff like that when there are more important issues at hand?' I thought I'd stepped into the Twilight Zone.

At school, all the professors dislike the current administration. I think it's very telling that academics almost unanimously disapprove of Bush. Still, when the professors make a joke, only half of the room laughs. The rest look uncomfortable. Yes, I'm all for freedom of thought, but my point is that the government shouldn't be *above* criticism and jokes. Even if you support a certain position, you shouldn't outlaw reasonable attacks on it. Stuff like this terrifies me.

[bethbethbeth.livejournal.com]

I don't think you're seeing only half the room laugh because they're frightened of Bush or anything like that...I think they're not laughing because they support the policies of the Bush Administration, to whatever extent they understand them.

I teach in a university, and I have to say that while my colleagues and I are almost universally opposed to Bush, our *students* - many of whom come from extremely traditional families who recently immigrated to the U.S. - don't share those beliefs. It used to be that you could "trust" the student body at universities to hold views far to the left of their professors, but now the reverse is most definitely true.

It seems to me that it's not so much that the Bush administration is pulling the wool over people's eyes (although I think it's doing that *too*), but rather that the world view of this nation has changed immensely over the past few decades, and not in a good way.

[jackiekjono.livejournal.com]

Most of the academics I know would have to look to the right to find Karl Marx. I doubt the students have changed much.

[imation23.livejournal.com]

Oh, I wasn't implying that they were intimidated by the government or anything. It's the fact that they're unable to take the joke that worries me. It indicates a level of intolerance and...I'm reaching for the right word here...inflexibility which makes me anxious. Whatever viewpoint you support, I think that an inability to see the issue from someone else's point of view is dangerous, and this blinkered attitude is spreading across the country. The fact that I'm seeing it in people my own age is even worse.

[bethbethbeth.livejournal.com]

Ah. Okay, that makes sense.

Of course, as tzikeh's original post reminds me, there's also a increased level of fear in this country that's been encouraged, but clearly not entirely created by the current administration that is probably aiding in the inability of a lot of people to take things as a joke. I do laugh...but I suspect it's usually a pretty nervous kind of laughter, y'know?

[valarltd.livejournal.com]

I refuse to be worried.

It's a deliberate ploy to make us worry, keep us on our toes and raise the paranoia up a notch.

And if this is possibly our last Christmas before being blown to smithereens, let's shop too!

[mei-x.livejournal.com]

Yeah. What you said.

[roga.livejournal.com]

I know you feel, but I wouldn't worry about it too much, much less ruin your holidays in any way - the press usually misrepresent these sort of things and cause panic. Security terms always sound scary, but I doubt there's much of a difference between last week's threat and this week's. And there's always heightened security during the holidays.

Level "orange" (and by the way, the only reason I can think of to color code threat levels is to scare the population) was probably initiated "just in case". Not just in case something happens, but just in case there's a chance of something happening and we may need to prevent it.

When the wind began to blow in the general direction of war last year, the Israeli government had a hard decision to make: as citizens prepared for a possible bio-chemical attack, should an order be issued to open our gas mask kits?

Eventually, and though nobody ever really believed it would happen, including the administration themselves - they gave the order to open the kits, causing the loss of millions of shequels. Once a kit's been opened, it has an expiration date, so, yeah, million of shequels. And everyone was mad, because we knew in our hearts that nothing was going to happen, but at the same time, you can understand that tiny spark of relief we felt when they told us to open the kits after all, just in case.

In any case, don't let it affect you - just enjoy the holidays! Have a merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, easy ramadan and most importantly, a joyous Festivus!

(and if it makes you feel any better, last time I was in an airport security checked my bag down to the liquid in my contact lens case :-))

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

I know you feel, but I wouldn't worry about it too much, much less ruin your holidays in any way - the press usually misrepresent these sort of things and cause panic.

It's a nice thought, and I wish I could believe it. Usually I do. But this is the first time where they've flat-out said they fully expect an attack on the level of the 9/11 attacks.

[roga.livejournal.com]

I don't know what to tell you except that worrying about things like this is completely and utterly pointless, so just put yourself in the frame of mind you were in before you heard it.

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

Dangermouse!!!

Oh and I'm scared. Also paranoid. Since I'm generally both of those things at Christmas, nothing is really that different. Well - the expecting to die thing is new.

[elke-tanzer.livejournal.com]

If any fucker tries anything terror-like on the plane I'll be on, I will happily rip his balls off with my bare hands. Mom said I'd be coming home for Christmas, so I'm getting on the plane. After getting up two and a half hours earlier to get through "security".

'Sides, my layover is in Texas. I'm thinking if I have to be on a plane full of fellow Americans, Texans are second only to Alaskans in their capacity and dedication to defending themselves and those around them.

[elke-tanzer.livejournal.com]

P.S.- I'm considering wearing my Dean shirt tomorrow. More people will see me in the airports in a day that would see me in like, an entire month of my normal life. :-)

Color me non-terrorized

[sherrold.livejournal.com]

It's possible they're right, and I'll be horrified as I'm eating my words. But also very surprised. I honestly don't think they've got the intelligence gathering and interpreting ability to find this out in the first place.

So, honestly -- it could happen. But any of us could be hit by a taxi crossing the street any day, and I think that's as likely.

Sandy

Re: Color me non-terrorized

[merryish.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I was in the air a few days ago, and in airports on both sides as I was coming back, there were repeated announcements that the Department of Homeland Security had raised the threat level to Orange and we should all watch our stuff very carefully (because when it's yellow I'm so blase' about leaving the backpack with my laptop in it in the care of total strangers), etc, etc.

I'm afraid my response was just to roll my eyes. Over the past year or so we've had these things go up and so many times I'm starting to regard it as the level of threat to Bush's approval rating rather than the level of threat to my safety. I'm with you - something could happen, but something could always happen, and I don't at this point buy that the Department of Homeland Security knows anything more about it than I do.

[finabair.livejournal.com]

For the record, I got on a plane on September 15, 2001, and it was the safest I've *ever* felt on one. I'm actually a lot happier when someone in airport security notices there's a potential threat, etc.

And I continue to hope that the incredibly dim bulbs they had working airport security in Philly last time I was through there (years before 2001) have been replaced by now.