At unspecified intervals, perhaps out of boredom, the transportation officials responsible for the electronic information signs on major highways post the message “Report Suspicious Activity” followed by a 1-800 number. The message always sends a shiver down my spine. It begs the question as to precisely what is “suspicious” activity. Without such a definition, it opens the gate to informing on individuals whose actions might not be readily apparent to the onlooker but are certainly not illegal. It also allows spiteful individuals nursing a grudge to report the subject of their grudge with the hope of causing them some difficulty.
I am reminded of the stories of a friend, born in Germany before the war. His mother had a Jewish background and his father was a professor of philosophy in what was then Koenigsberg (now the Russian city of Kaliningrad). Because of its political leanings, the family was relocated to Munich, not the best location for the intelligentsia. My friend talks of memories of running down side streets with their Jewish maid in order to elude the Brown Shirts; of his parents having the telephone installed in the entry hall (not common, they normally were located in the living room) to lessen the chance of someone eavesdropping on family conversations; of his parents living in fear that the children might unknowingly repeat something at school that they heard at home, putting everyone at risk.
“Report Suspicious Activity”
His father was able to get the family out of Germany and sent them to the States. His father was not allowed to leave and he spent the war working with the underground of German citizens seeking to smuggle Jews out of Germany.
“Report Suspicious Activity”
Occasionally, you can read a story in the newspaper of someone who has run afoul of law enforcement because someone reported them. A photographer trying to get that special picture of the Jefferson Memorial suddenly found himself being pulled aside and searched and questioned. A woman, observing his efforts, thought him suspicious and told a Park policeman about it. It was, he said, an unnerving experience and a little embarrassing, since onlookers immediately assumed the worst about him. In general, photography can cause you to fall under suspicion, especially if you try for the unusual shot and, in downtown D.C., you can be challenged and, at best, told to move on.
“Report Suspicious Activity”
Two hobbies, trainspotting and planespotting, have fallen under suspicion since 9/11. Although the hobbies are harmless, although some might consider them eccentric, the people involved in them have to hang out around railway lines and airports and they are being looked at with suspicion as possible terrorists who are scoping out a target. Aware of the problem, they try to cooperate with authorities in’whatever way possible. Even so, they are likely to be told to “move on.”
“Report Suspicious Activity”
Often, when asked about the increasing and often intrusive security procedures, especially at airports, people will tell you that they don’t mind. They are willing, apparently, to put up with anything that “keeps them safe” and some are quite vocal about that. They will do anything, they say, to ensure their safety, not realizing by saying so that they have ceded ground to the terrorists. While the comparison might be a stretch, we are in a situation analogous to that which existed at the beginning of the medieval period when the Roman Empire in the West was crumbling. It was a time when average people, tradesmen and farmers, indentured themselves to the local thug for protection against the unsure conditions which prevailed as the Roman civil authority disintegrated. For the farmers it meant centuries of servitude to what was to become the lord of the manor. Merchants and tradesmen fared little better at first and freedoms granted to anyone not of the nobility, as they came, were hard won.
“Report Suspicious Activity”
Although it pains me to say it, I must conclude that the media is largely responsible for the current push to keep safe at any cost. Because the 24 hour news services are forced to report on minutia, we have live coverage of car chases; live coverage of idiots being buffeted by 100 mph winds as a hurricane’s descends on some hapless coast prompting us to ask “do we really need to be told the obvious?”; live coverage of practically anything, actually. Rather than admit that perhaps 24-hour news stations might just be a bad idea, we are regaled with yet another disaster. If it didn’t cost so much, it might be worth it to switch to Naked News, where the substance of the news doesn’t really matter. In the meantime –
“Report Suspicious Activity”