We are here to protect you

[spatch]

Citizens of Davis Square: This is the MBTA. Do not be alarmed. We come in peace.

It has come to our attention that you may think that we are growing lax in our ever-vigilant quest to ensure safety, peace and prevent terrorists from blowing up our one true symbol of freedom: those creepy mime statues in Seven Hills Park and across the street in the square proper. To remedy this situation, you will all be relieved and reassured to know that we have set up a Freedom Checkpoint this morning on the fare collection level of the Davis Square T Stop.

Freedom Officers will be onhand, sitting at the special table we have set up for this purpose and also standing in front of the Charlie gates, conducting completely random and in no way arbitrary Freedom Searches of your personal possessions. This is for your own safety. It is for your own good. We cannot afford to let another domestic terrorist slip through our fingers, just like the last time when... the last time when... well, if we had let one slip through our fingers, you can bet we wouldn't let it happen again!

When approached by one of our friendly, official-looking Freedom Officers, dressed in black and toting impressive amounts of Peacekeeping Gear, please adhere to the following guidelines:

1. Do not be alarmed. This instills panic among your fellow passengers and makes you look like a suspect.
2. Say "Yes, sir" and "No, sir" to the nice officers. Using impolite language makes you look like a suspect.
3. Obligingly offer your bag, your purse, and any other personal containers you may have for inspection and explosives swabbing. What with the large amounts of explosives being shuttled through Davis Square Station on a daily basis, it is imperative we confiscate as much of it as possible. Not being obligingly compliant makes you look like a suspect.
4. Do not complain that setting a Freedom Checkpoint up at a subway station in the middle of morning rush is a waste of time, or that it's nothing but security theater. Disparaging our efforts to make sure you are safe for yourself and others is spitting in the faces of Uncle Sam, Lady Liberty, and a bald eagle, and will make you look like a suspect. And besides, being late for work is a small sacrifice to pay for national security.
5. Expect that with full compliance, a precedent will be set for more random bag searches at various checkpoints in the future, so print out a list of these guidelines and take them with you everywhere. Failure to remember that we are doing this will make you look like a suspect.
6. Don't even think about taking photographs of anything or anyone on MBTA property. Only suspects take pictures.

In short, suspects, please be reassured that we at the MBTA respect you and your freedoms highly, and it is only for your safety and security that we consider you all guilty until proven innocent. Maybe someday we will crack down on actual crimes committed on MBTA property, from the guy who sells you a copy of Spare Change only to give you a free copy of the Metro in return to the kids who make furtive drug deals underneath the staircases when they think nobody is watching, but until then, we consider you, the commuters, the monthly passholders, the riding populace, to be the suspects. You scum. We'll get you if it's the last thing we do.

And remember, if you are truly innocent, well, then you have nothing to hide... but we'll be the judge of that.


Yours,

Jack Boots
Freedom Officer at Large

Comments

Re: It's their property.

[tfarrell.livejournal.com]

Bullshit! The MBTA is a government agency. Your tax dollars and mine support it. We own it. The government does not have the right to force us to "consent" to be searched in order to do business with us on the property we as citizens jointly own.

Re: It's their property.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_mattt/]

You may not like it, but when public safety is perceived to be at risk, you must consent to a search or go elsewhere. Courthouses, the most public of all places, require a search of posessions. Logan Airport, operated by Massport, also requires you to submit to a search of yourself and your vehicle when on the property, not to mention the security screen to reach the gate. I'm not saying it's right. I'm just saying it's legal.

Re: It's their property.

[ron_newman]

Except there is no actual risk to public safety. There is only a desire to induce fear among the population.

Re: Its their property.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_mattt/]

How does one define risk here?
When does one define a situation that is risky?

As I pointed out elsewhere, mass transit has been a target. I think they're just covering their arses. If there were an attack, however unlikely, they would be able to say they had all this protection in place.

Re: Its their property.

[mattdm.livejournal.com]

> As I pointed out elsewhere, mass transit has been a target. I think they're just
> covering their arses. If there were an attack, however unlikely, they would be able to
> say they had all this protection in place.

This is EXACTLY it. It is security theater; the actual security isn't really a concern. They just want to make sure they look like they're doing something. It's a ridiculous waste of money and of everyone's time.

Re: It's their property.

[tfarrell.livejournal.com]

Please allow me to be blunt: public safety is *not* perceived to be at risk, at least, not by the people setting up the security checkpoints inside T stations. These are "random" searches, conducted without probable cause, on only a tiny subset of people passing through the T. Their security value is nil, they're just harassing innocent citizens to create the illusion of security for people like you who are unable to discern the difference so that they can say they did something to inflate their own importance when the budget gets reviewed.

Courthouses conduct a search of *all* people entering the building, which is at least non-discriminatory. Airports similarly search all people entering the security zone, although we could argue about the usefulness of the procedure, and about the manner in which "additional screening" is applied.

If they pull this BS on me, I will refuse to be searched, and while I'm walking to the next T station I'll call the ACLU and the Boston Globe. If you don't do the same, then you are giving up everything that makes you an American.