Wednesday 3 March 2010

Ramping Up The Fear Factor

Obviously, far too important a task to be left to the public sector.

After all, there are always willing volunteers in the private sector too:
Paul Ryan, general manager of Liquid and Envy Nightclub, and deputy chairman of Pubwatch, said Colchester was a potential target for terrorism because it was a garrison town.

He was disappointed staff from only one venue had attended a recent meeting set up by the Home Office to offer advice and support for pubs and clubs in the event of a terrorist attack.
Perhaps they feel the threat of terrorism is rather overrated, and being businessmen in a recession, have better things to do with their time?

But it seems that, while you don’t tackle the fear of crime by ‘cultivating it, by ramping up a public sense of panic’, that’s how you tackle a fear of terrorism.

Huh..?
Mr Ryan said: “Nationally, the threat of terrorism has increased and, because we are a garrison town, it is in everyone’s interests to take part in the training.
“There could be people collecting data and information with the aim of causing death and serious havoc in the town centre. The training gives advice on what to do if a terrorist attack takes place, and advice on how to identify possible terrorists.

“This is something that could be disastrous to the night-time economy, if there were death or serious injury as a result of an incident; so it was very disappointing to see the meeting had such poor attendance.”
Oooh, scary stuff!

Mr Ryan just can’t understand why his fellow businessmen are reluctant to sip the Home Office Kool-Aid….
Peter Carrington, community safety manager from the Safer Colchester Partnership, said: “The Argus training for pubs and clubs helps management, security staff and employees understand the risk of a terrorism.

“It also has information about how to keep party-goers safe.”
From anything other than terrorism?

No, probably not. I don’t go to nightclubs any more, but I doubt fear of Al Qaeda is top of the list of customer worries…

And check out the comments – the customers seem to be of the same mind.

7 comments:

Furor Teutonicus said...

Start the ball rolling, and the public will police themselves, at no extra cost to "Government".

For example;

The Ruhr valley area, which took/takes in some of the most populated, and, then, anti nazi areas of Germany. Essen, Dortmund, Bochum, Dusseldorf, etc, there were, at the HEIGHT of the nazi "reign" only 4....(yes! read that again FOUR ) full time Gestapo men!

But tens of THOUSANDS that fell pray to the "antI" threat, portrayed by Göbbels and his gang of comic writters.

Think, and read between the lines, of Orwells "1984".

The proles were constantly fed about "news" of the threat from "foriegn armies", but no one could be ever sure if those wars, or foriegn armies ever really existed. All that was needed was the thought that they MAY exist, and THAT was enough to control the population, AND make them gratefull for the wiseness of "Big Brother" in protecting them.

Ask Captain Queeg Brown. He obviously uses the book as a training manual.

Cold Steel Rain said...

You're more likely to be killed by your trousers than a Terrorist.

Paul Ryan sounds like a complete tool.

English Viking said...

Training to help identify potential terrorists?

Let me guess, Hmmm, Yes, I think I might be able to.

Anonymous said...

While the points made by the OP are valuable - crime makes a government look bad; terrorism makes a government seem appealing - let's not get silly.

FT, I think your figures are shit - evidence please. But even supposing they're not: the Twin Towers did fall, the Pentagon was attacked, United 93 was crashed. Fifty-two Londers were murdered on 7/7/2005. The threat is no figment.

CSR, do you understand the difference between an accident and pre-meditated nurder? Perhaps you could try a cost/benefit analysis of trouser-wearing/death vs going to work every morning/getting blown up by a nutter.

JuliaM said...

"Start the ball rolling, and the public will police themselves, at no extra cost to "Government"."

It certainly looks like it!

"Paul Ryan sounds like a complete tool."

A useful one...

"Let me guess, Hmmm, Yes, I think I might be able to."

Me too!

"But even supposing they're not: the Twin Towers did fall, the Pentagon was attacked, United 93 was crashed. Fifty-two Londers were murdered on 7/7/2005. The threat is no figment."

It's no figment, that's true. But it's also not the all-pervading threat that means we must, must give up our freedoms and treat everyone and everything with suspicion, either.

We've been here before, after all, with the IRA.

Furor Teutonicus said...

English Viking said...

FT, I think your figures are shit - evidence please.


KZ der Gestapo. Arbeitserziehungslager im Dritten Reich.
von Gabriele Lotfi

Verlag: Fischer (Tb.), Frankfurt; Auflage: 1 (2003)
Sprache: Deutsch
ISBN-10: 3596151341
ISBN-13: 978-3596151349

Die Gestapo - Mythos und Realität.
von Gerhard Paul, Klaus-Michael Mallmann

Verlag: Primus Verlag; Auflage: veränd. Neuaufl. (August 2003)
Sprache: Deutsch
ISBN-10: 389678482X
ISBN-13: 978-3896784827


DON'T play the smart arse with some one who has two degrees in JUST that subject. (Germany 1933 to 1945, and German security apparatus 1933 to 1945.)

Furor Teutonicus said...

Sorry English Viking that last was aimed at the coward who only signs uit's self as "Anonymous", whose drivel was below your post (In more ways than one).