It's an interesting albeit perhaps OT argument, this one about imposing security for the sake of making people feel secure. One could argue that the measures put in place to ensure security, as well as the perceived levels (feelings) of security that accompany them, are both similar and different in any number of ways from culture to culture, or environment to environment, depending on context. For instance, I can only imagine what the average Israeli, Palestinian, or Iraqi citizen thinks while going about their daily business on the way to their version of the local supermarket, especially during escalated periods of conflict. Maybe they feel terrorized and have succumbed, as Pauric put it, or maybe they don't. Me, I'm safe and sound in my current environment and wouldn't give going shopping a second thought.
Of course, if a suicide bomber were to blow up a local mall and kill a large number of people in doing so, my thinking might change somewhat. And the casual mall shooter would probably have a similar effect, maybe in ways similar to those who experience or are close to terror in an almost daily fashion, in far away lands. No, it doesn't take much thinking on one's part to give rise to the notion that "terror" may indeed be coming closer to home. The question is: how much do we dwell on that notion? Given how the "world has changed" since 9/11, the security measures at the airport don't create that level of frustration in me that others may experience. They're something I've come to take for granted, and they do make me feel somewhat safer. Let's call it the nature of the beast. And let's say we did do away with some of the peskier security measures (like taking your shoes off), got comfortable with the idea, maybe to the point of even being complacent, and something tragic eventually happened again because somebody sneaked something aboard an airplane in their shoe. Once can imagine who would bear the brunt of our wrath. And of course, we'd probably be right back where we started again, taking off our shoes while going through security checkpoints, maybe sans a few hundred human lives. Or maybe nothing happens, and we get to live the rest of our lives in peace. Then, there's nothing like human nature, eh? Better safe than sorry. Context. Is the world any more of an unsafe place for me to live in because I'm told it's unsafe? No. Would it be unsafe if bombs started blowing up around me? Yes, or at least probably. Is it just as easy for me or more difficult to do certain things as it was, oh, let's say 20 years ago? That depends. Now it's back to eBay to check on something I'm hoping to win, and pay for it via a secure means. Site certificates be blasted, if it weren't for those darned hackers and identity thieves... jan c. ----- Original Message ---- From: pauric <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, January 1, 2008 12:18:44 PM Subject: Re: [IxDA Discuss] the appearance of change Patricia: "isn't it easier to just put on a show and make people feel safe again?" Call me a conspiracy theorist... First, the point of terrorism is to terrorise. Civilians fought through the battle of Britain by trying in any way to lead their lives as normal. The British government dealt with the IRA on the mainland through very non-invasive security measures. Allow yourself to be terrorised and you succumb. Throughout the ~30 years of troubles in Northern Ireland people's freedom in both countries remained fairly intact although thousands died. 52 people lost their lives on 7/7 but the government used that to pass sweeping laws that allow gross infringements of personal freedom. I may be wrong but I believe one of those new laws is that the police can randomly stop you and take your DNA without formal charges. Many other crazy stuff.. anyway... The security theater is, in my mind anyway, designed to remind people of 9/11. To continue the feeling of insecurity and to allow the security forces to infringe on our personal privacy. This is a little off topic but it is worth noting that the experience has been designed and the goals, if I'm not being too paranoid, are being met. They're just not -our- goals. With the argument that all this security has ensured our safety since 9/11 & 7/7 its very hard to see how to break out of the vicious circle of self inflicted bad experience. Not too dissimilar to our love, as consumers, for more/bigger/better resulting in feature-creep driven products, resulting in our dissatisfaction with the experience they offer. It would seem reasonable to conclude that only enlightened users can bring about better design. Be that voting for leaders that advocate for us, not special interests, or buying products that meet our needs and not our desires. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=24028 ________________________________________________________________ *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help ________________________________________________________________ *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
