5 ms·

The only thing embarrassing about this to the authorities is their reaction. It ought to be apparent to anyone that providing perfect security is impossible, a

The only thing embarrassing about this to the authorities is their reaction. It ought to be apparent to anyone that providing perfect security is impossible, and that pretending we can is akin to a child sticking fingers in their ears and shouting "la-la-la". I think it's already clear that if we catch you doing terrorism you'll never see the light of day again, so "trying to send a strong message" about pranks like this just makes us look weak and vulnerable.

jobu 12y ago
I was going to say the same thing, and this quote from one of them made me laugh: "We really didn’t intend to embarrass the police." The police did it to themselves. If they had blown it off as a waste of time and resources to investigate some prank, then they could've saved face and preserved the myth of the current "security theatre".
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- vampirechicken 12y ago
  But the question that will come from the chicken hawks is "If these guys could do it, why couldn't somebody bent on causing real harm?"
  - jessaustin 12y ago
    Screw the chicken hawks. They only have power because we agree to pretend that they do.
    - vampirechicken 12y ago
      Once they get elected, cops have to answer to them and behave in ways to placate them.
mturmon 12y ago
The reflex of treating this intervention as some kind of security threat is embarrassing. I read an article at the time musing that the white flags meant something about surrender. Like a child in a cave scaring himself by whispering "boo". The installation, by the way, reminded me of Richard Ankrom's guerrilla modification of a well-known freeway sign near downtown LA (http://www.ankrom.org/freeway_signs.html http://www.ankrom.org/freeway_signs.html). The artist had a sign fabricated to Caltrans specs, got a haircut and a hard hat, and did the install in broad daylight (on a weekend). It was up for over 8 years -- Caltrans noticed it after a couple of months. Eventually it was replaced by a similar design by actual Caltrans workers.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
- akgerber 12y ago
  Anyone who wishes is able to drive a vehicle of up to 6,000 lb. onto the Brooklyn Bridge, right next to its cables and towers. What greater damage can be done on top of the bridge, carrying a backpack, than with a multi-ton vehicle on its deck?
- pille 12y ago
  Every day, thousands of people smuggle improperly-packed liquids and gels through TSA security screening for completely benign reasons.
- bunderbunder 12y ago
  Critical infrastructure was breached and the authorities' response was to go on a manhunt for people who were by that point obviously not a threat. All the resources that went into it had to be diverted away from other activities that might have had an actual positive impact on public safety. If the authorities had simply launched an investigation into how the breach was made so that they could take steps to make our infrastructure more secure in the future, that would have been an appropriate and reasonable response. This wild flailing about, though -- all it does is demonstrate once again that the people in charge of our national security are incompetents who rely on security theater to maintain the illusion that they deserve to keep their jobs.
  - sabbatic13 12y ago
    Perpetuating the illusion that there are innumerable grave threats that require resource-intensive responses is a useful tool for ensuring that more anti-terrorism money from the federal government gets poured into the city. It's not all incompetence.
- Polish_Dan 12y ago
  Good discussion. "Islamist"? Is there any reason for your arbitrary label? Robert Bales was never branded with his religion. It seems as if we are judging and labeling people by their demographic group. German trespasser = Artist. South Bronx trespasser = hoodlum; at least before the art of graffiti became mainstream. If a muslim person calling themselves an artist - it is in fact an arbitrary title, climbed the bridge how many of us would laugh at the police for their "stupid over-reacting"? Things change, in Roebling's day, a German climbing the bridge may have been labeled a terrorist by the American public. John Roebling was friends with Horace Greeley, who once employed the German Karl Marx at his paper the New York Tribune
0xdeadbeefbabe 12y ago
What makes you so sure they didn't provide perfect security? Officially, management might feel embarrassed, while unofficially enjoying the exhibit.
look_lookatme 12y ago
Can you elaborate on the police reaction? Here are some quotes by the NYPD: """ “It appears to have no particular connections to terrorism or even to politics,” Miller said. “This may be somebody’s art project or even a statement.” But police Commissioner Bill Bratton said the matter was serious nonetheless. “Needless to say, no matter what the motive was, that is a matter of concern,” Bratton said. “I am not particularly happy about the event, and have charged Commissioner Miller to conduct a full and thorough investigation into the circumstances.” Miller emphasized that the white flag placement was not funny, and was not acceptable. “We don’t take these things lightly, or as a joke, or as art, or within the realm of speech,” Miller said. “These are issues of trespass. They put themselves in danger. They put others in danger.” """ These don't seem like unreasonable statements. It may seem interesting in the abstract, but I personally don't care for any random persons crawling all over the Brooklyn Bridge consequence-free.
- btreesOfSpring 12y ago
  The cover on the New York Daily News on Wednesday July 23, 2014 read, "This time was a flag, next time it could be a BOMB"[1] for example [1] http://wac.9ebf.edgecastcdn.net/809EBF/ec-origin.nyc.barstoolsports.com/files/2014/07/Screen-Shot-2014-07-23-at-9.25.35-AM.png http://wac.9ebf.edgecastcdn.net/809EBF/ec-origin.nyc.barstoo...
  - kghose 12y ago
    The New York Daily News is where I go to get important news, like how Bat Boy fared in his fight against the Vampires on Saturn. Just sayin'
  - baby 12y ago
    How is this not propaganda or FUD? Is the press allowed to do this?
    - threeseed 12y ago
      The New York Post is owned by News Corporation. And like all their other publications their modus operandi is propaganda and FUD. That is how they became hugely successful so there is no reason for them to change. As for whether the press is allowed to do it well that's more tied to the US constitution and it's belief in free speech. Most countries have a more sensible version of this.

jobu 12y ago

I was going to say the same thing, and this quote from one of them made me laugh: "We really didn’t intend to embarrass the police." The police did it to themselves. If they had blown it off as a waste of time and resources to investigate some prank, then they could've saved face and preserved the myth of the current "security theatre".

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
vampirechicken 12y ago
But the question that will come from the chicken hawks is "If these guys could do it, why couldn't somebody bent on causing real harm?"
- jessaustin 12y ago
  Screw the chicken hawks. They only have power because we agree to pretend that they do.
  - vampirechicken 12y ago
    Once they get elected, cops have to answer to them and behave in ways to placate them.

mturmon 12y ago

The reflex of treating this intervention as some kind of security threat is embarrassing. I read an article at the time musing that the white flags meant something about surrender. Like a child in a cave scaring himself by whispering "boo". The installation, by the way, reminded me of Richard Ankrom's guerrilla modification of a well-known freeway sign near downtown LA (http://www.ankrom.org/freeway_signs.html http://www.ankrom.org/freeway_signs.html). The artist had a sign fabricated to Caltrans specs, got a haircut and a hard hat, and did the install in broad daylight (on a weekend). It was up for over 8 years -- Caltrans noticed it after a couple of months. Eventually it was replaced by a similar design by actual Caltrans workers.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

akgerber 12y ago
Anyone who wishes is able to drive a vehicle of up to 6,000 lb. onto the Brooklyn Bridge, right next to its cables and towers. What greater damage can be done on top of the bridge, carrying a backpack, than with a multi-ton vehicle on its deck?
pille 12y ago
Every day, thousands of people smuggle improperly-packed liquids and gels through TSA security screening for completely benign reasons.
bunderbunder 12y ago
Critical infrastructure was breached and the authorities' response was to go on a manhunt for people who were by that point obviously not a threat. All the resources that went into it had to be diverted away from other activities that might have had an actual positive impact on public safety. If the authorities had simply launched an investigation into how the breach was made so that they could take steps to make our infrastructure more secure in the future, that would have been an appropriate and reasonable response. This wild flailing about, though -- all it does is demonstrate once again that the people in charge of our national security are incompetents who rely on security theater to maintain the illusion that they deserve to keep their jobs.
- sabbatic13 12y ago
  Perpetuating the illusion that there are innumerable grave threats that require resource-intensive responses is a useful tool for ensuring that more anti-terrorism money from the federal government gets poured into the city. It's not all incompetence.
Polish_Dan 12y ago
Good discussion. "Islamist"? Is there any reason for your arbitrary label? Robert Bales was never branded with his religion. It seems as if we are judging and labeling people by their demographic group. German trespasser = Artist. South Bronx trespasser = hoodlum; at least before the art of graffiti became mainstream. If a muslim person calling themselves an artist - it is in fact an arbitrary title, climbed the bridge how many of us would laugh at the police for their "stupid over-reacting"? Things change, in Roebling's day, a German climbing the bridge may have been labeled a terrorist by the American public. John Roebling was friends with Horace Greeley, who once employed the German Karl Marx at his paper the New York Tribune

0xdeadbeefbabe 12y ago

What makes you so sure they didn't provide perfect security? Officially, management might feel embarrassed, while unofficially enjoying the exhibit.

look_lookatme 12y ago

Can you elaborate on the police reaction? Here are some quotes by the NYPD: """ “It appears to have no particular connections to terrorism or even to politics,” Miller said. “This may be somebody’s art project or even a statement.” But police Commissioner Bill Bratton said the matter was serious nonetheless. “Needless to say, no matter what the motive was, that is a matter of concern,” Bratton said. “I am not particularly happy about the event, and have charged Commissioner Miller to conduct a full and thorough investigation into the circumstances.” Miller emphasized that the white flag placement was not funny, and was not acceptable. “We don’t take these things lightly, or as a joke, or as art, or within the realm of speech,” Miller said. “These are issues of trespass. They put themselves in danger. They put others in danger.” """ These don't seem like unreasonable statements. It may seem interesting in the abstract, but I personally don't care for any random persons crawling all over the Brooklyn Bridge consequence-free.

btreesOfSpring 12y ago
The cover on the New York Daily News on Wednesday July 23, 2014 read, "This time was a flag, next time it could be a BOMB"[1] for example [1] http://wac.9ebf.edgecastcdn.net/809EBF/ec-origin.nyc.barstoolsports.com/files/2014/07/Screen-Shot-2014-07-23-at-9.25.35-AM.png http://wac.9ebf.edgecastcdn.net/809EBF/ec-origin.nyc.barstoo...
- kghose 12y ago
  The New York Daily News is where I go to get important news, like how Bat Boy fared in his fight against the Vampires on Saturn. Just sayin'
- baby 12y ago
  How is this not propaganda or FUD? Is the press allowed to do this?
  - threeseed 12y ago
    The New York Post is owned by News Corporation. And like all their other publications their modus operandi is propaganda and FUD. That is how they became hugely successful so there is no reason for them to change. As for whether the press is allowed to do it well that's more tied to the US constitution and it's belief in free speech. Most countries have a more sensible version of this.