In the wake of yesterday’s events in London, our news media went wild with stories about how we can “spot” a terrorist. My favorite suggestion came from a BART (our subway) official, who suggested being on the lookout for anyone in “zombie” mode. He said that this is what happens to terrorists right as they are about to carry out an attack. WHAT?!
How, I wonder, is the pre-attack terrorist zombie to be differentiated from the average commuter zombie? I’ve ridden on mass transit in numerous cities, and I gotta tell you, zombie seems to be the preferred mode of expression whether on subway, bus or light rail.
So, uh, thanks for the helpful tip.
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It seems silly to say it in the light of what happened on 7th July in London, but apparently it is amazingly easy to pick up someone behaving unusually in the rush hour crowds on the underground.... I suppose this is backed up by the thwarted attempts in London yesterday and the absence of other attacks on London before. I think the thing about the bombers on the 7th was how brash they were - look at the CCTV footage of the 4 of them going into Luton station at 7am on their way into London.... so confident. Bags of high-explosive slung casually over one shoulder as though they contained nothing more dangerous than a few books and a pack lunch. They're the ones that we'll struggle to stop.
ST
Apparently one of the other "how to spot a terrorist in the subway" tips was "Look for someone who's sweating."
Um, HELLO??? It's JULY. Here in Chi it's 90+ degrees with 250% humidity--it's like freakin' breathing underwater. EVERYONE is sweating.
And THIS is the kind of advice we're supposed to count upon to save us.
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