excessive shows of force in NYC

[obsidian]

im currently in new yorkon vacation and im taken back at how different the city is post-9/11.

to go on the ferry to the statue of liberty we had to take off our shoes, go through a metal detector, put any of our belongings in the x-ray machine.

to go into the empire state building we had to do the same. except while we were on the observation deck we had a friendly visit from the local swat team. FOR NO REASON. this is unacceptable, there are little children around, and they walk in with helmets, kevlar, and assault rifles.

when i was walking through the city they had a "police parade" where designated emergency response vehicles meet in a designated spot for heaven knows. keep in mind this wasnt just 3 cruisers...it was atleast 18, with 5 of them unmarked, a swat van, 2 paramedics, and a fire truck.

when i was here 8 years ago there were no cameras, no there are on avg 8 cameras per block from what i've counted.

all of this is conditioning of the people to submit to a police state, where martial law prevails. i see no other explanation. i ask new yorkers if it makes them feel safer, it doesn't. the worst thing is, no one questions this, they just assume its what can be expected after 9/11, not even realiing how utterly wrong it is.

there is NO NEED of any of this, it is just a show of force. intimidating the people

[White Doors]

If you find it unacceptable leave and do not go back.

quite simple really.

[guyser]

HMMM ....a Canuck on foreign soil complaining about what "THEY ' think they need to do.

Does the acronym MYOB mean anything to you? If you want to talk about it, sure, but to state "FOR NO REASON" (your caps not mine) when in fact you have absolutely no idea if it were necessary or not gets a mind your own business response.

[obsidian]

i asked them, they said they were looking around, they left then drove away. im sure they just went to the next location to do the same.

do you want your kids growing up on an enviroment like that? and there was no reason for it, if there was a REAL situation we would of known about it and the icon would be evacuated.

i dont think that this in itself is all that bad, but whats next if we're progressing this way? i don't like it

[geoffrey]

That particular slippery slope argument is a logical fallacy. There is no connection or even indication proven by your comments.

[moderateamericain]

A very intresting observation, espeically to me as i will be traveling there in August for the Yankees Tigers game. A few friends and I take a trip to a different baseball city every summer to enjoy the city and take in a game at a different park. Anways, as to the topic at hand, i can assure you without a doubt that MOST major American cities are not on that level of alert except for the airports. You do know that in most European countries you can see the same thing right? I saw plenty of French and German troopers humping assualt rifles through Urban areas. Im not sure where in Canada you are from, however if you wanna go to a large American city and really enjoy yourself i reccomend Chicago in the summer.