4 ms·

> But as much as they enjoy bluster, Americans are afraid [...] Are Americans really afraid? Or is it that Americans feel comfort in having the meanest dog on

by sk5t 6y ago

> But as much as they enjoy bluster, Americans are afraid [...] Are Americans really afraid? Or is it that Americans feel comfort in having the meanest dog on the block, even if that dog sometimes nips its master?

StavrosK 6y ago
When I expressed horror and outrage at the notion that the TSA can go through your luggage, an American friend told me "well if it keeps us safe...", so I'd say "afraid".
- vinay427 6y ago
  First of all, it's not at all clear that this implies fear as I understand the emotion. More tangentially, as I usually fly outside the US, it's fair to say that this is far from just an American reality. For example, the Dublin Airport even explicitly mentions that hold baggage may also be searched by hand on their website: > "Both your carry-on luggage and check-in baggage will be checked by means of detection equipment and may also be subject to a hand search." [1] I have a hard time believing that airports with any restrictions on what check-in/hold baggage may contain (virtually all of them, if not all) don't have any provisions for searching bags, although maybe I'm wrong here. [1] https://www.dublinairport.com/at-the-airport/security https://www.dublinairport.com/at-the-airport/security
  - StavrosK 6y ago
    Maybe they have provisions, but the only time I've had my luggage searched was in the US.
- kube-system 6y ago
  That doesn’t sound like fear but acceptance. Although, what country doesn’t have the ability to dig through your luggage? In my personal experience, Europe is the only place that I’ve seen armed officers dig through 100% of the bags on a flight while the entire airport watched.
mattacular 6y ago
If you have a family member that watches Fox News and then check some of their primetime programming out, you'll see both the fear and where that fear comes from.
- jaywalk 6y ago
  And you could do the same with CNN and MSNBC. Don't single out one source, they're all peddling fear just in different ways.
  - WarOnPrivacy 6y ago
    Whenever news org echo dire Gov warnings [1] without vetting the evidence (or highlighting the lack thereof) & [2] without the context of how often these turn out to be true/false they're part of the FUD Generation Machine
  - mattacular 6y ago
    I don't really disagree but I will single out Fox News because it's completely valid to do so. They are a much more blatant offender than any other outlet and essentially wrote the playbook on fear-mongering for political gain in this country. It's silly to deny the extent of their influence on the media landscape in your desire to seem equitable.
    - AndrewUnmuted 6y ago
      Fox News did indeed set us on that path initially, but it's also silly to deny the extent of the rest of the networks' buy-in into this playbook. Fox News' use of the "FOX NEWS ALERT" interruptions and the fear mongering were quickly replicated by all the other major cable networks in an attempt to compete. All of the networks were complicit in selling us into war with lies, I think it's really more silly and uninformed to single out Fox News, given the current media ecology and political climate. Today's CNN and MSNBC will do things that are simply treacherous, making Fox News look tame by comparison. We're in a new era now.
  - DaiPlusPlus 6y ago
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

by sk5t 6y ago

StavrosK 6y ago

When I expressed horror and outrage at the notion that the TSA can go through your luggage, an American friend told me "well if it keeps us safe...", so I'd say "afraid".

vinay427 6y ago
First of all, it's not at all clear that this implies fear as I understand the emotion. More tangentially, as I usually fly outside the US, it's fair to say that this is far from just an American reality. For example, the Dublin Airport even explicitly mentions that hold baggage may also be searched by hand on their website: > "Both your carry-on luggage and check-in baggage will be checked by means of detection equipment and may also be subject to a hand search." [1] I have a hard time believing that airports with any restrictions on what check-in/hold baggage may contain (virtually all of them, if not all) don't have any provisions for searching bags, although maybe I'm wrong here. [1] https://www.dublinairport.com/at-the-airport/security https://www.dublinairport.com/at-the-airport/security
- StavrosK 6y ago
  Maybe they have provisions, but the only time I've had my luggage searched was in the US.
kube-system 6y ago
That doesn’t sound like fear but acceptance. Although, what country doesn’t have the ability to dig through your luggage? In my personal experience, Europe is the only place that I’ve seen armed officers dig through 100% of the bags on a flight while the entire airport watched.

mattacular 6y ago

If you have a family member that watches Fox News and then check some of their primetime programming out, you'll see both the fear and where that fear comes from.

jaywalk 6y ago
And you could do the same with CNN and MSNBC. Don't single out one source, they're all peddling fear just in different ways.
- WarOnPrivacy 6y ago
  Whenever news org echo dire Gov warnings [1] without vetting the evidence (or highlighting the lack thereof) & [2] without the context of how often these turn out to be true/false they're part of the FUD Generation Machine
- mattacular 6y ago
  I don't really disagree but I will single out Fox News because it's completely valid to do so. They are a much more blatant offender than any other outlet and essentially wrote the playbook on fear-mongering for political gain in this country. It's silly to deny the extent of their influence on the media landscape in your desire to seem equitable.
  - AndrewUnmuted 6y ago
    Fox News did indeed set us on that path initially, but it's also silly to deny the extent of the rest of the networks' buy-in into this playbook. Fox News' use of the "FOX NEWS ALERT" interruptions and the fear mongering were quickly replicated by all the other major cable networks in an attempt to compete. All of the networks were complicit in selling us into war with lies, I think it's really more silly and uninformed to single out Fox News, given the current media ecology and political climate. Today's CNN and MSNBC will do things that are simply treacherous, making Fox News look tame by comparison. We're in a new era now.
- DaiPlusPlus 6y ago

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]