Niemöller effect
what about my constitutional rights? And they said ‘not at this point … you don’t have any’.”
I would like to say that the TSA has really stepped in it this time. I would like to say that the TSA may be restrained after comments like this, but I cannot.
You see people we are living under the Niemöller effect. A term I like to use to show that most people will just sit back, watch their MTV, eat the curly fries and be happy, as long as they are not bothered.
Cecilia Beaman is a 57-year-old grandmother, a principal at Pacific Middle School in Des Moines, and as of Sunday is also a suspected terrorist.
……..
But Beaman says she couldn’t find a third knife. It was a 5 1/2 inch bread knife with a rounded tip and a serrated edge. She thought she might have lost or misplaced it during the trip.On the trip home, screeners with the Transportation Security Administration at Los Angeles International Airport found it deep in the outside pocket of a carry-on cooler. Beaman apologized and told them it was a mistake.
“You’ve committed a felony,” Beaman says a security screener announced. “And you’re considered a terrorist.”
Beaman says she was told her name would go on a terrorist watch-list and that she would have to pay a $500 fine.
Now many under the Niemöller effect will say things like “she should have been more careful”, or “It’s her own fault she is in trouble. Why should I worry?”.
I think you should worry people because of what the TSA goons were reported to have said next.
She says screeners refused to give her paperwork or documentation of her violation, documentation of the pending fine, or a copy of the photograph of the knife.
“They said ‘no’ and they said it’s a national security issue. And I said what about my constitutional rights? And they said ‘not at this point … you don’t have any’.”
Technically goon number one is correct. We have no constitutional rights. We have constitutionally protected rights. The constitution was not made to give rights, it was made to protect them, and until recently it almost did the job.
So right now you have a lot to worry about.
June 3rd, 2005 at 2:55 pm
so if she buys a gun now, will we be hearing more about “suspected terrorists” getting firearms? and how many of the previous groups of “terrorists” we heard about buying guns were just like this woman?
June 3rd, 2005 at 4:00 pm
One thing I noticed: the TSA spokesperson said that didn’t have a record of the confrontation. If she was actually charged with something and put on the watch list, how can there be no records of the incidence?
Are the TSA goons just hitting people up for money and then pocketing the “fines”?
June 3rd, 2005 at 4:41 pm
She should carry the “Bill of Rights – Security Edition” with her at all times.
“The Bill of Rights: The First Ten Amendments to the constitution of the United States printed on sturdy, pocket-sized, pieces of metal.
The next time you travel by air, take the Bill of Rights – Security Edition along with you. When asked to empty your pockets, proudly toss the Bill of Rights in the plastic bin.
You need to get used to offering up the bill of rights for inspection and government workers enforcing the USAPATRIOT ACT need to get used to deciding if you’ll be allowed to keep the Bill of Rights with you when you travel.”
http://www.securityedition.com/