Related to Boston bombing, an article

[lupinus]

My core biyatch here, guys, is that the government CAN already tell businesses what security they can/can't have.

It's called the airport.


It seems that government sets security standards for what security MUST be present, and never seems to give a frak about the freedom of the rest of us to be left alone from the groping.  Moar s'kuritee is always the rally cry.

There's currently no consumer protection against over-zealous security.

Except, you weren't talking about the airport.

You were talking about parking garages and grocery stores and private security.

[AZRedhawk44]

Except, you weren't talking about the airport.

You were talking about parking garages and grocery stores and private security.

Gropers always want more to grope.  TSA begets VIPR begets sports venue groping begets mall groping begets high school groping begets middle school groping begets....

[Hawkmoon]

I agree with the article's point that "we" are naive. Even in domestic incidents like the school shootings, the society as a whole does this eyes-glazed-over denial routine where "things like this don't happen" or "aren't supposed to happen". The consequence is total lack of effective action, because preparing for the fact that these things obviously DO happen would require acknowledging and coming to grips with that FACT that people do go out and deliberately kill people who don't deserve it. It might also require people to consider the issues of guilt and blame. As long as these are 'isolated incidents' and due to 'mental illness' then we don't have to face the reality that some people are evil and are motivated to kill other, innocent people.

The Sandy Hook massacre illustrated this perfectly. Immediately after the shooting, it was reported that Sandy Hook Elementary school had just this [school] year installed a new security system that was "designed to prevent this type of incident." That system, of course, was the locked front entrance door and the buzzer. And, to prove the naivete theorem, it clearly never occurred to anyone in Newtown that an evil-doer might not just walk away if not buzzed in, but might actually just shoot of the glass doors or sidelights and reach through the opening to unlatch the door.

To compound the idiocy, AFTER Sandy Hook I have read articles citing multiple school distracts that are praising themselves for deciding to install the same type of system that failed so spectacularly at Sandy Hook.

There's a young man who shoots fairly regularly at the range where I shoot. He happens to work as a locksmith. We have discussed school security in the wake of sandy Hook. His work takes him to schools all over the county. He reports that getting into any school is just not a problem. Either a teacher leaves a door propped open to sneak outside for a smoke, or the back door to the kitchen or the shop area is left unsecured, or -- he just knocks on a back door and somebody opens it, no questions asked.

Yeppers, I would say that as a society we are naive. (That sounds much nicer than "stupid.")

[roo_ster]

The Sandy Hook massacre illustrated this perfectly. Immediately after the shooting, it was reported that Sandy Hook Elementary school had just this [school] year installed a new security system that was "designed to prevent this type of incident." That system, of course, was the locked front entrance door and the buzzer. And, to prove the naivete theorem, it clearly never occurred to anyone in Newtown that an evil-doer might not just walk away if not buzzed in, but might actually just shoot of the glass doors or sidelights and reach through the opening to unlatch the door.

My kids' school (private) principal had a guy from the local Big City PD SWAT Team do a security run-through and list suggestions.  He seems like a decent guy, but has a bad case of "Why don't you leave this to the professionals, Ma'am?"

The suggestions amount to a slight hardening of the campus against petty thieves not willing to do damage to enter.  None of his suggestions would do anything to stop or slow down a motivated mass-murderer.

I didn't have the heart to stand beside the fellowship hall / cafeteria, pick up a flag stone, and make like I tossed it at the 3' wide, 8' tall windows at ground level, and then mime walking forward and making the gun symbol with my hand.  Because if I were a bad guy, lunch time is show time.

Of course Big City SWAT dude wrote that armed teachers or parents were a liability.  If he were referring to Big City PD officers, he'd be right.  I have seen them "train."