Quote of the day—Bruce Schneier

It’s an attitude I’ve seen before: “Something must be done. This is something. Therefore, we must do it.” Never mind if the something makes any sense or not.

In reality, this is CYA security, and it’s pervasive in post-9/11 America. It no longer matters if a security measure makes sense, if it’s cost-effective or if it mitigates any actual threats. All that matters is that you took the threat seriously, so if something happens you won’t be blamed for inaction. It’s security, all right — security for the careers of those in charge.

Bruce Schneier
April 15, 2015
Metal Detectors at Sports Stadiums
[Gun control outside of a stadium is of the same mindset but multiplied by some very large factor. It’s stupidity at a governmental scale.—Joe]

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7 thoughts on “Quote of the day—Bruce Schneier

  1. The security outside stadiums is laughable. The last NFL game I went to had groups of police officers standing around shooting the…eh…bull outside the stadium metal detectors. One person could have walked up and taken all of them out in a few seconds. Then the way was open to the stadium where 60,000 people were sitting. Imagine how many people would be crushed to death when they all started trying to flee just 1 shooter.

    • Not to make light of a very serious thing, but I would think a single shooter would be largely unnoticed in a crowd that large and noisy. I was once at the Wannenmacher Gun Show in Tulsa when an announcement was made there had been a negligent discharge, and people in my area were totally surprised. No one had heard or seen a thing. True, it was a single shot.

      • Negligent discharge where no one is hit, sure. A couple of hits on people would be a very different matter. Read Matthew Bracken’s “Enemies foreign and domestic” for a nightmare scenario along these lines.
        Bruce Scheier (no “n” in his last name) has a great term for this fake security thing: “security theater”. In an article on that subject he points out that it does serve useful purposes – just not security purposes. For example, it might repel lawyers. Or it might cure irrational fears. His point is that such benefits are real even though in a rational world they would not exist.

  2. My Wife and I went to the Dodger/Padre game in San Diego, something we have done a couple of times a year since we met. Its always been a ten minute walk from the hotel to the gate and then less than 5 minutes to get in through “security.”
    Saturday we had the usual ten minute walk plus a TWENTY MINUTE wait walking up and down the street reminiscent of Disneyland. All because two thugs beat some poor unfortunate guy into a coma – with their FISTS.
    WTF!?
    If this wasn’t one of my wife most favorite thing to do for a weekend get away I’d not be going back to a ball game ever again.
    Sam

  3. Sports stadiums also have armed plain clothes inside. That outside perimeter isn’t the only security.

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