An editorial from Tucson.
Tucson, Arizona Wednesday, 25 September 2002
Suspicious activity
Have you seen any suspicious characters yet? Maybe you should call the Sheriff's Department, the FBI or the Davis-Monthan Terrorist Alert Line. Those are the suggestions in a little brochure distributed by the Tucson Regional Citizen Corps Council, an outfit that came into being as a result of the White House Initiative for Homeland Security.
The White House initiative and the local organization, though both are perhaps well intentioned, provide an opening for every delusional bigot to report whatever he or she considers suspicious activity. We have already seen numerous examples of how this wariness resulted in innocent people being unreasonably detained, interrogated and temporarily incarcerated.
The brochure that is circulating locally was created by the Tucson Regional Citizen Corps Council and announces the Tucson Eagle Eye Program. It says, "Your Eyes & Ears Can Prevent Terrorism in America" and it urges people to "Report ALL Suspicious Activity" to the Sheriff Department's tip line, the FBI or the DM Terrorist Alert Line. The brochure even includes a form for recording the location of the "suspicious activity," space for noting "suspicious dialogue," vehicle descriptions, number of people involved, skin color, eye color, whether the suspicious individuals have beards, eyeglasses, scars, tattoos, and so forth.
This brochure is destined to become an important historical artifact, a collector's item as evocative of our times as World War II posters warning that "Loose Lips Sink Ships" were 60 years ago. Some day, we predict, people will look back and marvel at the borderline hysteria these "watch out for terrorist" brochures represent.
It is understandable that, as a result of last year's terrorist attack, citizens are wary. We have all been admonished to be more alert to possible terrorist activity, but the hypersensitivity advocated by the White House and organizations like the Citizen Corps Council hugs the margins of paranoia and nurtures a xenophobia that has no place in a democratic society.
The Tucson Eagle Eye Program is only one of several that the Citizen Corps Council supports. Its other programs are designed to coordinate volunteer medical and law enforcement assistants who would spring to action in time of emergency. Such programs, as the Sept. 11 attack proved, are invaluable.
The Eagle Eye Program, too, undoubtedly has some value to the extent that it makes citizens more alert. Unfortunately, it can also have the unintended effect of creating an atmosphere in which suspicion and persecution flourish. |
