Heartening Vigilance
posted at 2:53 am on May 18, 2006 by Bryan
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Michelle and I logged quite a few miles Tuesday driving to the sites at which two of the 9-11 hijackers obtained the fraudulent ID they later used to board American Airlines Flight 77. They and other terrorists slammed that plane into the Pentagon on 9-11, killing 184.
While we were taping Michelle’s stand-up and some b-roll shots in front of the DMV in the Springfield Mall, a security guard stopped us. Judging from her accent she was an immigrant, possibly from Jamaica. She refused to let us tape shots inside the DMV. We asked why. She said “For all I know you could hand that tape off to al Qaeda. Don’t you know about 9-11? We have to think about security.” We told her that we were taping a news segment, and she said we should ask permission from the DMV manager if we want to tape inside (we were outside at the time, but had wanted to tape inside earlier). We were finished, so we said no thank you and went on our way.
As we were walking away, it occurred to both of us that the guard was doing her job and doing it well. She was on us quick, ready to stop what could have been a threat and she had 9-11 on her mind as a reason to be vigilant.
Good for her. We could use thousands more like her, on the border and everywhere else security is or should be a premium.
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Are you sure she wasn’t just being a racist?
I kid, honestly. Of couse, if you flipped the ethnicities around, the question would be taken seriously.
Good on the mall cop. Vigilance works.
Pablo on May 18, 2006 at 5:05 AM
All mall security offices are tied into the Department of Homeland Security via the Real Estate Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC). These are private citizens who spy on Americans to keep this country safe. If they suspect a crime, they report it to the local law enforcement and to the ISAC which may even get DHS involved.
Not only does the ISAC help protect the malls, but they encourage apartment complex owners to report in whenever they see 7 Arab men renting an apartment and furnish it with only prayer rugs. Unlike law enforcement, private citizens are free to engage in ethnic profiling.
I wrote about this here:
http://www.belch.com/~blog/2006/05/16/stupidity-over-spying/
BelchSpeak on May 18, 2006 at 6:49 AM
I wonder what the ratio of men/women employed as security guards looks like in terms of private or public employers?
My guess is that a large majority of the women are employed by governments; fed-state-local.
If I was responsible for security I’d want large, strong men to do the job. Sorry girls, but I can’t help but notice that the principle entities that hire women for this job are nearly always governments?
Because that’s what government is for right? To hand out easy jobs to those that need them?
That’s just great ’till someone that doesn’t care about liberal fantasy takes away her gun and kills someone with it!
Gault on May 18, 2006 at 8:39 AM
Does anyone get irony that an immigrant (assumed legal) is doing more to protect our country than some of the idiots on the hill?
dallas94 on May 18, 2006 at 8:43 AM
dallas 94 said: “Does anyone get irony that an immigrant (assumed legal) is doing more to protect our country than some of the idiots on the hill?”
The irony wasn’t lost on me. Assuming she is legal it helps validate the notion that legal immigrants, who have vested of themselves into this country, care about their new homeland. One has to wonder if illegals, like the day laborers in the excellent Vent piece, care anything about the U.S. After all, many of them have only jumped the border for the money.
Bellicose Muse on May 18, 2006 at 8:56 AM
This is a perfect example that the open-borders crowd is dead wrong calling this an “immigration” issue. It’s an illegal immigration issue, plain and simple.
speed647 on May 18, 2006 at 9:35 AM
Sorry to correct you speed but – No, its not an illegal ‘immigration’ issue – These are ****NOT*** immigrants. They crossed our borders illegally and have not been granted immigrant status by our government.
This is an illegal *ALIEN* issue – plain and simple.
Please don’t encourage their (and Bush’es) attempt to confuse illegal aliens – who are here in violation of federal law – with real, legal, immigrants, who did much to make this country great.
Good for the cop. I wonder if her superiors inside share her view or if they would have allowed her to investigate a group of foreigners who want outside sending one of their group (at a time) inside to get their licenses….
CrazyFool on May 18, 2006 at 10:46 AM
On the contrary, I was making the distinction between the two, and criticising attempts to confuse them.
My point was to contrast ‘legal’ (honest, honorable, law-adiding) with ‘illegal’ (dishonest, lawless, disrespectful).
Feel free to question my semantics, but my intent was quite the opposite.
speed647 on May 18, 2006 at 11:49 AM
dallas 94 said: “Does anyone get irony that an immigrant (assumed legal) is doing more to protect our country than some of the idiots on the hill?”
Remember, they’re doing the jobs Americans won’t do.
GPE on May 18, 2006 at 1:03 PM
It’s nice to see that someone is doing their job.
Unlike the Senate and the House.
Tom N on May 18, 2006 at 1:52 PM
If they have entered this country illegally, I call them invaders; they do not deserve to even be called immigrants; they don’t want to be called criminals; so start calling them what they truly are – INVADERS. INVASION – Enter a country with a hostile army, VIOLATE A COUNTRY’S BORDERS or Neutrality . The Act of Invading . . .
If we catch intruders in our homes, we do not reward them by asking them to become our permanent guests as members of our household – WHY would anyone want to reward behavior that does not conform to our laws and give invaders citizenship ? ! ! ! Only moonbats; vote them out !
ClanSeeker on May 19, 2006 at 4:12 AM
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