4 ms·

Glad this got posted quickly. I can already see the glee in intelligence / law enforcement agencys' eyes as they think how they can use this latest incident as

Glad this got posted quickly. I can already see the glee in intelligence / law enforcement agencys' eyes as they think how they can use this latest incident as reasoning for more over-arching powers. For a long time Londoners had to put up with IRA bombs but "Kept calm and carried on" (to use the phrase). I hope the US can follow suit. [EDIT] Changed "secret service" to "intelligence / law enforcement agencies" to avoid confusion.

rayiner 14y ago
What does the secret service have anything to do with this?
- rurounijones 14y ago
  Sorry, forgot that the Secret Service is an actual thing in the US. Amended post.
riggins 14y ago
"For a long time Londoners had to put up with IRA bombs but "Kept calm and carried on" " I really feel like a "keep calm carry on" ad campaign could do some good. Shift the mindset from 'ACKKK TERRORISTS!' to 'I can handle this'
- zanny 14y ago
  Shifting the mindset doesn't enable for profit private defense contractors and firms providing law enforcement equipment from making fistfulls of profits from taxpayer money.
twoodfin 14y ago
This is a non-sequitur. Just because people in London didn't panic (and neither have I seen much that could aptly be described as "panic" in the U.S.), it doesn't follow that the British authorities didn't acquire more security and policing powers to deal with the IRA.
- polshaw 14y ago
  (FWIW) The UK govt seized much more power in the years following 9/11 than related to the IRA period.
MrFoof 14y ago
>I can already see the glee in intelligence / law enforcement agencys' eyes as they think how they can use this latest incident as reasoning for more over-arching powers. I think this is my biggest concern. Once in a while at the Back Bay subway/commuter rail/Amtrak station you will occasionally see Boston Police officers - sometimes accompanied by TSA agents - set up at the station, some of which are carrying submachine guns (MP5s). We're not talking one or two officers, but somewhere between half a dozen and a a dozen, several of which have the automatic weaponry at the ready. On two occasions, I've asked one of the officers, "Hey, what's going on?". In one case it was simply a training exercise. In another, they were looking for a "person of interest". In general, I don't want to be at a transit station trying to get home on the subway where there is a situation in which the officers feel the use of that kind of force is necessary, especially considering the fact that I can't recall a single situation in the time I've lived here where the use of submachine guns would've ever been justified.
- theorique 14y ago
  But doesn't it make you feel safe?
  - katbyte 14y ago
    Police generally do not make me feel safe because i never know when i'm going to break some silly law i may or may not know about or observe (ala jaywalking, biking without a helmet) and get cited/jailed for it, or even worse deal with some cop getting his power trip on who takes it to far.
    - theorique 14y ago
      I guess as a white guy with short hair, I just assume the cops are there for me.
      - katbyte 14y ago
        I'm a white girl, and while i get surprising amount of leeway with the police i'm under no delusions of the power advantage cops have over everyone else. drinking in the park (its illegal here) or speeding, Friends with the cop or she likes you? no problem. Cop doesn't like you? ticket or drunk tank or worse. They are there for you, if your friends with them or they like you.

rayiner 14y ago

What does the secret service have anything to do with this?

rurounijones 14y ago
Sorry, forgot that the Secret Service is an actual thing in the US. Amended post.

riggins 14y ago

"For a long time Londoners had to put up with IRA bombs but "Kept calm and carried on" " I really feel like a "keep calm carry on" ad campaign could do some good. Shift the mindset from 'ACKKK TERRORISTS!' to 'I can handle this'

zanny 14y ago
Shifting the mindset doesn't enable for profit private defense contractors and firms providing law enforcement equipment from making fistfulls of profits from taxpayer money.

twoodfin 14y ago

This is a non-sequitur. Just because people in London didn't panic (and neither have I seen much that could aptly be described as "panic" in the U.S.), it doesn't follow that the British authorities didn't acquire more security and policing powers to deal with the IRA.

polshaw 14y ago
(FWIW) The UK govt seized much more power in the years following 9/11 than related to the IRA period.

MrFoof 14y ago

>I can already see the glee in intelligence / law enforcement agencys' eyes as they think how they can use this latest incident as reasoning for more over-arching powers. I think this is my biggest concern. Once in a while at the Back Bay subway/commuter rail/Amtrak station you will occasionally see Boston Police officers - sometimes accompanied by TSA agents - set up at the station, some of which are carrying submachine guns (MP5s). We're not talking one or two officers, but somewhere between half a dozen and a a dozen, several of which have the automatic weaponry at the ready. On two occasions, I've asked one of the officers, "Hey, what's going on?". In one case it was simply a training exercise. In another, they were looking for a "person of interest". In general, I don't want to be at a transit station trying to get home on the subway where there is a situation in which the officers feel the use of that kind of force is necessary, especially considering the fact that I can't recall a single situation in the time I've lived here where the use of submachine guns would've ever been justified.

theorique 14y ago
But doesn't it make you feel safe?
- katbyte 14y ago
  Police generally do not make me feel safe because i never know when i'm going to break some silly law i may or may not know about or observe (ala jaywalking, biking without a helmet) and get cited/jailed for it, or even worse deal with some cop getting his power trip on who takes it to far.
  - theorique 14y ago
    I guess as a white guy with short hair, I just assume the cops are there for me.
    - katbyte 14y ago
      I'm a white girl, and while i get surprising amount of leeway with the police i'm under no delusions of the power advantage cops have over everyone else. drinking in the park (its illegal here) or speeding, Friends with the cop or she likes you? no problem. Cop doesn't like you? ticket or drunk tank or worse. They are there for you, if your friends with them or they like you.