N.Y. Subway Riders Resigned to Searches
Associated
Press | July 22, 2005
By SAM DOLNICK
COMMENT by Alex Jones: The
searches that have begun on the New York subway are only the beginning.
Cities all over the country are already falling in line and readying to
install similar procedures on all mass transit lines. The purpose is
two-fold: One, it is designed to keep up the level of fear, to keep the
threat of terrorism ever present and on the minds of everyone of the
millions of people who use mass transit each day. The second is to
desensitize people to living in a Police State, to get them used to
relinquishing their rights to the authority of the police and to get them
accustomed to being under constant surveillance and scrutiny. |
NEW YORK (AP) - Straphangers seemed resigned to random bag searches Friday as police across the region stepped up transit security in response to the new round of attacks in London.
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"They should have done this long time ago, ever since 9/11," said stockbroker Ron Freeman, 25, who had his backpack searched Friday morning at a subway station in Brooklyn. "I don't mind if they're doing it for the right cause." Random searches also are being conducted on buses, ferries and commuter railroads, and anyone who refuses a search won't be allowed to ride. Those caught carrying drugs or other contraband could be arrested. |
 (associated press photo) |
Outside the Long Island Rail Road station in Brentwood, where the police presence had been beefed up, officers arrested a man Thursday evening they said had weapons in his car and a 1996 conviction for possessing a pipe bomb. He had been stopped because of complaints that he was illegally soliciting cab passengers, police said.
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At the Lafayette Avenue subway station in Brooklyn, Greg Morgan, 30, was among those whose bag was searched Friday. "I don't know how effective it will be, but if it makes people feel more secure, it's OK." Police stopped every fifth person with a bag entering the station. Each search took only a few seconds, and police appeared to be stopping people of all ages and races. In some cases, officers dumped the contents onto a table set up near the turnstiles, and in others they rifled through the bags. |
 (associated press photo) |
Ten more officers and a bomb-sniffing dog were seen milling around the Brooklyn station.
"I thought it would never come to this," said William Reyes, 40, who was not searched.
"Surely, we do need it," Reyes added. "I don't like our privacy being invaded but given the circumstances around the globe, I understand it."
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At a subway station in the Bronx, a police officer with a bullhorn informed commuters of the new policy, and a sign propped up on an easel read: "Backpacks, other containers subject to inspection." It took police five minutes to go through Davon Campbell's bags. "It's important to search even when you have three bags," said Campbell, 24. "It doesn't bother me." |
"Everyone's been very cooperative," said Officer Julio Seda, one of those doing the inspections. "Unfortunately, in the times we live in, it's a necessary evil."
New York's subways carry about 4.5 million passengers on the average weekday. The system, the largest in the country, has more than 450 stations, most of which have multiple entrances.
The inspection of bags and packages started on a small scale Thursday afternoon and was expanded during Friday morning's rush hour.
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The New York Civil Liberties Union said the new measures violate basic rights and could invite racial or religious profiling. "The plan is not workable and will not make New Yorkers more secure but will inconvenience them as police go about finding a needle in a haystack," NYCLU executive director Donna Lieberman said. But Rajesh John, 34, who is of Indian heritage, said he did not object to being selected for a bag search at the Woodlawn subway station in the Bronx. |
 (associated press photo) |
"No not at all. We agree with this," said John, who was heading to his job at an accounting firm in Manhattan. "It's necessary because of what happened in England."
Police said they had considered instituting bag searches for three years. The emerging pattern of attacks on transit targets in London forced their hand, said Paul Browne, the New York Police Department's chief spokesman.
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Officials declined to specify where the checks would be conducted or how long they would last. The NYPD had already doubled the number of officers who patrol the subway after the initial attack in London on July 7, at a cost of $2 million a week in overtime. "We just live in a world where, sadly, these kinds of security measures are necessary," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is known to ride the subways to work himself. "Are they intrusive? Yes, a little bit. But we are trying to find that right balance." |
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Associated Press writers David Caruso, Tom Hays, Sara Kugler and Elizabeth LeSure contributed to this report.
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On the Net:
Transit authority: http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct/
END
Random Searches In NYC Not Meant To Keep You Safe
Last week, once again, Americans have been targeted for random searches. This time in the NYC subways under the guise of 'the war on terrorism' because of the recent bombings in London. Sadly, some actually believe this invasion of their unalienable rights will somehow help catch a terrorist. "It doesn't bother me," said Davon Campbell, age 24, "I can understand why they're doing it. It's important." Ron Freeman, a 25 year old stockbroker who had his backpack searched said, "They should have done this a long time ago, ever since 9/11."
These are comments from a news web site of yet more Americans who falsely believe the government has the power or authority to take away their rights by calling them "civil liberties" and that somehow, taking away their "civil rights" will stop a bomb:
"Given that the number of people who ride subways and buses is many times those who travel by plane, this may seem like an invasion of civil liberties. But I fail to see the technical difference between surface and air mass transit with regards to random searches. The real test will be in the ability of the transit workers conducting their searches to avoid other constitutional issues as to what constitutes as random."
"I think the NYPD safety precautions are necessary. In fact, I believe that these safety precautions are not stringent enough. Instead of randomly checking people with book bag and backpacks, I submit that EVERYONE who carries any type of oversize bags or backpacks should be checked. In addition, I believe that racial profiling should be used to determine whom to search. Think about it, are you willing to risk the lives of hundred of people for the sake of not being accused of racial profiling?"
"Security will always take a back seat to convenience and public opinion. The mob will protest and the searches will stop. Then when bombs start exploding in our subways the mob will cry out for a scapegoat."
A question one should ask about this newly instituted 'random search' exercise is why is it only for the subways of New York City? We know there are terrorist cells in such unlikely places as Lodi, California (a small rural area 40 miles south of Sacramento) and that terrorists have been flooding across the Mexican border at will. Why is there no call for Americans to be searched for Chicago's CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) subways or the San Francisco Bay Area which offers BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) whose trains run through an under the ocean tunnel connecting Oakland to San Francisco? If this mode of transportation is such a hot target, why only the call for searches in NYC?
The answer is simple: This is just another test to see how much tyranny the American people will submit to in exchange for the illusion of safety - just like WACO. After the government used the military in violation of Posse Comitatus, gas and burned almost 100 Americans, including children to death, the sheep out in America were satisfied the government did the right thing to keep them safe from the David Koresch's of the world. If there were to be a huge backlash - 50% of those who normally use the subway in NYC - said no way, we would see this further destruction of our rights dropped. However, as long as people will tolerate abuse in the name of 'security' abuse will continue. Also, if they are so anxious to keep us safe from the terrorists, then why aren't they securing the borders? The whole thing is a scam.
Unless there is a huge outcry from the American public, what will happen in the near future you will be stopped by a cop demanding to see what's inside your briefcase while walking home from work down your city's sidewalk.
Bear in mind that no government official can guarantee your safety! Government can only guarantee you a police state!
Thankfully, those who fought against horrendous odds to birth this constitutional republic (we are not a democracy) had more courage than we see in America today, or we would still be licking the British boots:
"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security." -- Benjamin Franklin
"If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen." -- Samuel Adams
Random searches of Americans and their possessions is not going to stop terrorists, but it might give them a good laugh. It's not wise strategy to let the enemy know what and when you're doing something you hope will deter them. As Dr. Edwin Vieira stated in one of his recent columns: homeland security is the responsibility - the solemn duty - of every American and that means reinstating the constitutional militias under the jurisdiction of the sovereign states of the this republic. Study these writings of wisdom from this learned man, you will be glad you did.
Law enforcement across this country should remember their oath to uphold, preserve and protect the Constitution of these united States of America. While it is noble of local law enforcement to put forth that extra effort that is greatly appreciated to protect local citizenry, they should not automatically knee jerk to totalitarianism cloaked by government goons as some sort of "terrorism prevention." If you serve in uniform, please step back and take a good look at your role in the unprecedented attempts to control and subdue the American people by the federal government to strip Americans of their rights and do you want to be a part of it?
END
Evil triumphs when good men do nothing
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The Police State is Here Folks!
