There's a difference between stopping and questioning someone for wearing a name tag, and pulling a gun on them. Had she been a little slower to react, she might be dead. For wearing LEDs. The only difference I can see between someone getting a gun pulled on them for wearing a circuit board at an airport and terrorism is the number of people involved.
The structure of accountability for acts done in the course of that activity? That one is done as part of a job that society overwhelmingly considers necessary, and the other isn't? That one is done in response to risk analysis and the other is done on the basis of killing as many people as possible because you hate their society? That people who go to an airport do so on the implicit understanding that it will have security staff, whereas people who use aeroplanes and the tube don't do so on the implicit understanding that it will have terrorists?
Had she been a little slower to react, she might be dead. For wearing LEDs.
I'm not saying this is a sensible state of affairs, but I do think it's a good idea to be aware that pissing off people with guns (or people who have the power to invoke people with guns) can be dangerous. And I think it is stupid to not take into account that people are people, and hence easily pissed off and/or frightened.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-24 12:50 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-24 01:06 pm (UTC)Just a few.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-24 01:15 pm (UTC)I'm not saying this is a sensible state of affairs, but I do think it's a good idea to be aware that pissing off people with guns (or people who have the power to invoke people with guns) can be dangerous. And I think it is stupid to not take into account that people are people, and hence easily pissed off and/or frightened.