I’m a little late getting to this, what with the hullaballoo of the last few days:
What. Is Up. With The T Bag Searches? Did Romney get some kind of an intelligence briefing straight from the Cheney-phone? No? Well, let me ask on behalf of seemingly everyone: WTF, Mitt?
Look folks, if you want four more years of fearmongering shenanigans like this, vote Healey. That’s all she’s got.
Please share widely!
You want to search my bag? Get a warrant.
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You want to force me off the T? I’ll take my $1.25 refund please. I’ll also do it as slowly as possibly.
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Random bag searches in public places is [i]wrong[/i]. It’s a violation of the 4th amendment. It’s ineffective. It’s annoying. It’s inefficient. It’s also, unfortunately, almost certainly politically motivated.
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No officer, you may not search my bags. I do not give consent.
There is no reason not to support this as long as it is handled professionally (many good arguments can be made that the T will not handle the program properly, but that is separate from the point of the program.)
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While many people compare this to airport searches one can reasonably point out that the planes are private business and therefore apples to oranges.
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However, keeping it in the public sector:
You want to go into the State House, get your bags searched.
Want to enter the capitol? Get your bags searched.
Want to visit the AG? Get your bags searched.
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Why shouldn’t people who ride public transit be subject to random searches as well? Do you think the T is immune to attack? Do we all agree there is a very reasonable expectation that our transit systems are at threat? If so, what is the best way to deter that threat?
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People got all miffed that the T doesn’t have a secure phone system set up in their tunnels yet. Many who work on and follow T issues closely have been very upset at a lack of security presence within the T. There have been regular cries that the T does not have enough police in the force.
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How can we decry the above lack of enforcement and not support this? All of these should happen, not just one.
I see no evidence whatsoever of any real threat to the MBTA system. Republicans want people to live in fear, and we need to reject this firmly.
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For that matter, the bag searches at the State House and Boston City Hall should also be eliminated. They reflect a government that has lost the trust of its citizens.
If this had come along at a time outside of election season I would be more sympathetic. When Republicans spring this sort of thing at hot political times I don’t believe them. There have been too many fake terror alerts. I can’t give them the benefit of a doubt. When they play the fear card at a politically advantageous time it is likely to be fear-mongering and fearmongering is terrorism.
Want to go to the store? Get your bags searched.
Want to visit your boyfriend? Get your bags searched.
Want to see a lawyer? Get your bags searched.
Want to go play in the park? Get your bags searched.
Want to leave town? Get your bags searched.
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Why shouldn’t people who walk on our sidewalks be subject to random bag searches?
Why shouldn’t people who enter our cities be subject to random bag searches?
More to the point, why shouldn’t people who drive or bicycle on public roads be subject to random bag searches? Why just those who ride the T?
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Do you think our public ways are immune to attack?
Do you think our cities are immune to attack?
Do you think anything is immune to attack?
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Is the risk of attack so great that we might as well have a police state?
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Yes, we want cops on the T, just as we want cops on the streets. We want our cops & paramedics & firefighters to have reliable, secure communications, both on the T on and on the streets. We do not want random bag searches everywhere. That is not a sane policy.
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P.S. I think bag searches at city hall do far more harm than good, but at least they’re limited to a specific building, rather than applying to an entire means of getting from place to place.
Take a look at today’s mAss Backwards post on this subject.
This was my response to the news: Turning on the Fear, damaging the T. My suggestion at the end of the post: If you ride the T, make sure to carry a big colorful dildo in your bag.
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P.S. This will scare people off the T. I’ve heard some hearbreaking stories from 2004, like the Arab girl who saw them doing ID checks at Park Street and panicked not because she’d done anything wrong, but thought if they found out she had an Arab name they’d do something to her. She went home instead of going to art class.
lol Charley.