Arthur Silber recently noticed lax security measures in Washington DC. This reminded me of something….
Normally, I don’t go around looking for loopholes or thinking like a terrorist, but if I did….
Well, is this ethical to discuss in my blog? I don’t know, but this idea is starting to bother me, so I might as well write about it.
With ever-increasing security concerns, were I a terrorist (whether a suicide bomber, conventional attacker, or someone who wanted to smuggle in weapons, bombs, or biological threats) the ideal weakness would be something that:
So what am I talking about?
DISABLED ACCESS, that’s what!
Even the largest, most secure buildings all have special parking for the disabled, and security is very sloppy, because people in wheelchairs are seen as victims, and associated either with pity or political correctness. Society does not want to inconvenience the disabled, and Americans are very generous, considerate people.
How many of these rent-a-cops really know what the hell is inside one of those motorized wheelchairs, anyway? Or how to spot the difference between someone who’s paralyzed and an actor?
(Or how much C-4 could be stuffed inside the various nooks and crannies…..)
This is not a new concern. This disabled man was very upset about the possible havoc someone in his position might wreak:
I am very concerned that flying may be a little too easy for us rollers. With domestic terrorism on the rise, I’m honestly worried about the cursory examination I get when going through airport security. If I were a terrorist I could smuggle just about anything smaller than a tank to the gate without anyone being the wiser.
….
No airport security person has ever seen or searched the pouch, let alone looked under my chair. I assure you that my little pouch is big enough for a 9 mm handgun and an extra clip for my Uzi, which I could have duct-taped to the underside of my Combi cushion, for all the security personnel would know.
But when it comes to smuggling weapons onto a plane, a manual chair is small potatoes. It’s a power wheelchair that would be a terrorist’s dream! My battery-powered friends tell me they get an even more cursory search at airports than I do. Security personnel never look under power chairs either, let alone open the battery boxes, which are themselves big enough to hold enough plastic explosive to vaporize a 747.
I have no idea whether the right people are doing their jobs, but it does strike me that security concerns and concerns over disabled access operate under very different assumptions.
Different mindsets, even.
(I’d take maximum advantage of that if I were a terrorist.)
Comments
3 responses to “Are terrorists disabled?”
Roll in with ease
Eric Scheie makes note of a alarming hole in our airport security system: access for the disabled, and follows the train to this observation: Even the largest, most secure buildings all have special parking for the disabled, and security is very sloppy…
I hadn’t thought of that before. And, because of Political Correctness, they’re not allowed to search or question any Muslims. I know I’ll be called a “racist” at this point by the Politically Correct. Islam is not a race, it’s a religion fused with a political ideology. We need IDEOLOGICAL profiling. And, by the way, I’m just as concerned about Christian Reconstructionists and the like.
But, yes, this is a new angle which I’m sure they’ll exploit, use our pity for the weak against us here, as they have in so many other ways. It’s actually degrading, dehumanizing to those with handicaps not to see them as free moral agents like everyone else and treat them accordingly.
Another Reason PC and Security Don’t Mix
Eric Scheie, one of the sharpest guys in the ‘sphere, notes a rather insidious way that our security efforts can be bypassed, thanks to Political Correctness….