The Police’s Disturbing New Campaign: If You Suspect Anyone Of Anything, Dob Them In For Being A Terrorist
The Metropolitan Police (London’s police force) is actively “asking members of the public to report any suspicious behaviour” in a bid to counter terrorism. They’re doing this with a poster, sticker, and radio campaign. The radio ad is particularly creepy. Listen to the MP3 or check out this script:
FEMALE: How d’you tell the difference between someone just video-ing crowded place and someone who’s checking it out for a terrorist attack? How can you tell if someone’s buying unusual quantities of stuff for a good reason or if they’re planning to make a bomb? What’s the difference between someone just hanging around and someone behaving suspiciously? How can you tell if they’re a normal everyday person, or a terrorist?
MALE: The answer is, you don’t have to. If you call the confidential Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321, the specialist officers you speak to will analyse the information. They’ll decide if and how to follow it up. You don’t have to be sure. If you suspect it, report it.
When I first heard this on the radio, I thought it was a parody, until it ended without a punchline. The Metropolitan Police, or whichever fascists came up with this campaign, are out of their tree. Remember that these “specialist officers” are the same jokers who couldn’t figure out the difference between a Brazilian and an Ethiopian! What chance they have discerning between someone taking a picture of the pigeons at Trafalgar Square versus a terrorist strapped up with C4 is anyone’s guess.
The poster campaign also highlights ways to spot a terrorist. Terrorists apparently “use computers” and “need to travel.” Do you know someone who travels but is vague about where they are going? If you do, they could be a terrorist and you need to grass them up! Of course, they could just be having an affair, be embarrassed about being a country dancing club, organizing a surprise birthday party, or going to get the results of an HIV test, but there’s nothing like helping the fascists screw up someone’s life with unnecessary surveillance and intrusion.
The Met might start to regret this campaign when people are dobbing in their “suspicious” neighbours and co-workers for trivial misdemeanours, although callers beware; calling the police with information could quite easily put YOU on their radar too! What a great system.
Amongst all the fear-mongering, however, the Met have a positive message for us:
Terrorists won’t succeed if suspicious activity is reported by members of the public, and that somebody could be you.
It’s lucky, then, that 9/11 and 7/7 didn’t “succeed,” because suspicious activity was noted in both cases. Wait, those terrorist attacks actually did succeed? This campaign is just another reminder, then, that the Met Police, along with our own government, are attempting to give everyone the heeby-jeebies about something that a) rarely happens, b) has killed less UK civilians than UK soldiers who have died in Iraq since 2003, and c) is a cute political pawn that keeps the British public fearful and suggestible.
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