 |
 |
October
31, 2001 |
 |
It's Halloween as I write this, and I have to apologize for taking
three months to get my second newsletter out. A lot has been happening,
and we've all been busy. I'm sure most of you have been occupied with
much more important matters. But I do intend to complete these more
frequently, and hope you'll check back often.
Starting late this afternoon, I began to see kids trick or treating,
as they do every year. It's a reassuring thing to watch, and I'm
glad to see so many of them dressed up as cops and firemen. That's
a nice tribute.
It seems to me, and I wonder if most of you would agree, that
Halloween doesn't have the bite this year that it usually does.
My impression is that scaring each other doesn't seem to be as
much fun.
Our Collective Fear
As I've made presentations at universities and conferences since
September 11, I've definitely gotten a sense that many people
are afraid, and that their fear is hard to deal with because they
feel helpless-they don't know how to prepare for or defend themselves
against what they fear. No one knows if further attacks will occur,
and if they do, where or when they might be.
I've studied many killers who chose random victims (rather than
people they knew). Some of these were highly-publicized serial
cases, as with David "Son of Sam" Berkowitz. It's my opinion that
our collective fear is probably an after-effect the terrorists
had in mind, and perhaps have in mind still. The buzz that is
generated when a killer's newest victim is discovered inflates
his ego, gives him a sense of great power, and enhances his fantasy
that he is more significant than he actually is. Knowing that
people have stopped doing what they would normally do, for fear
of being his next victim, can create a real "high" for such a
criminal. And while I'm not in a position to profile the terrorists,
and I know there are complex political and religious motivations
behind their unjustifiable acts, I don't think unnerving
the American people was an unintended side effect.
Several people have told me they feel vulnerable, and that it
seems like they're in the dark. Even though it's a natural response,
we have to understand that we're a lot safer than our fear and
our imagination might lead us to believe. We've been taken by
surprise, but the chances of that happening again are greatly
reduced. Every agency, from federal to county, is on high alert.
And while we may not be getting all the news, all the specifics,
and all the updates we'd like, we have to let the investigators
and soldiers and government leaders do their jobs without jeopardizing
their missions-and our safety-by divulging too much.
Security Measures
A lot of attention has been paid to the need for more stringent
airport security. I think it's a great idea, and overdue. We cherish
convenience a little too much, and I'm more than willing to give
up an extra hour of my time at the airport to make sure nobody
boards the plane with a handgun or box cutter.
But I think there's a mentality that, in a sense, supercedes measures
like these. For example, many employers use the threat of a polygraph
test to weed out convicted felons from the pool of potential employees-or
at least those felons who wouldn't be candid enough to divulge
their convictions. What these employers intend for the tests to
do, much more than they mean for them to trap liars in the hot
seat, is to keep applicants who aren't telling the truth from
coming back. Most of these guys won't suddenly become forthcoming
about their backgrounds. They'll just try to get a job working
for employers who don't require polygraph tests.
It's the same with metal detectors. Someone who decides to shoot
and kill random people in a public place isn't going to change
his mind because one potential site has metal detectors. He'll
just find a location that doesn't.
I'm afraid the same analogy could apply to certain security measures
and terrorists. I know that's a frightening thought, but it wouldn't
be reasonable to expect a 100% guarantee of safety every time
we leave home. We've never had that, and we've never expected
it. We take risks every day, and we should. It's part of being
alive.
Our best bet is to establish consistent and thorough security
measures nationwide, and to encourage and help other countries
to do so as well. As individuals, we should be patient as measures
are implemented. We can't take away these individuals' desire
to commit acts of terror, but we can rob them of possibilities.
Anthrax Hoaxes
There are some four thousand FBI agents investigating these terrorist
attacks. That's an awesome number-it represents about a third
of the Bureau's agents. They're working around the clock, and
I'm sure their responsibility weighs heavy on their minds. What
they don't need, and what I find disgusting and unforgivable,
are these anthrax hoaxes that seem to occur constantly, and for
every possible sick, petty reason.
Two presumably bored South Carolina teens sprinkled powdered sugar
on a school campus. Unknown sources sent letters with anthrax
threats and a mysterious white powder to as many as 250 abortion
clinics. Two college students in Kentucky tried to mail a letter
containing powdered sugar to a friend, as a "joke."
The only way to deter people like these is by applying strict,
maximum sentences to those who are convicted. Most of these people
are just too stupid to realize how serious what they're doing
really is. If they can at least understand from the beginning
that they could go to jail for what they may ignorantly think
would be harmless prank, they probably would stop short of carrying
it out.
On the other hand, there are some truly sick people for whom there
are no sure deterrents. These insignificant personalities need
to feel that they've affected something, that they have some kind
of power, that they've frightened people. They're not prepared
to hurt others, but they're just this side of that line, craving
the attention and the sense of power that violent predators get
without the desire to commit violent acts.
No matter what the motivation behind them, these hoaxes cost millions
of dollars. Each one has to be investigated. We don't know who
sent, or is sending, the anthrax that has turned up in New York,
New Jersey, Florida, and Washington, DC. Even if we knew that
those who sent the tainted envelopes had completed their "mission"
and are now laying low, there's still the fear of copycats with
their hands on actual anthrax. So each hoax makes it worse for
all of us, costing us time, manpower, money, and a little bit
of our precious sense of security.
Copycats
Copycat incidents could be quite dangerous. A copycat is prepared
to commit violent acts, but imitates someone else's crimes instead
of acting independently. There are three reasons: they aren't
as morbidly creative as those they're imitating, they want to
escape detection, and/ or they get a thrill from committing their
crimes "anonymously" while feeling like they're part of something
bigger than themselves.
But they're easy to spot. With the Tylenol poisonings in 1982,
there were some copycats whose handiwork was easy to differentiate
from the original tamperings because the capsules were taken apart
and put back together differently, with less sophistication, and
different types of poison were used. Anthrax copycats might be
able to cause harm, but they wouldn't go unnoticed. As investigators
look at this further, I believe they'll be able to trace the strains
back to source laboratories and use fingerprint and DNA evidence,
as well as postal service tracking information and witness accounts,
to find the people who sent the letters. Then, the individuals
involved, either separately or as part of a group, will be differentiated
and identified.
So Long, For Now
For now, what I'm focusing on is how good it is to see the kids
in my neighborhood all in costume, going from door to door. It's
been said often, but I think it's worth repeating: we should do
our best to go on with our lives. It is our best revenge.
I hope you and your families will have a safe holiday season,
and a happy one.
|
|
|
