Ignorance rules
John Gyorki
April 06th, 2008.
Extraordinary fear of terrorism in the US seems to have paralyzed our law enforcers’ sense of responsibility and what is best for its citizens to the point of compromising many of their rights and freedoms. For example, I have three hobbies and a university degree, all of which recently have come under suspicion for being criminal. Let me explain.
I have been an amateur photographer since I was ten years old. My uncle and I used to do photo shoots on weekends of nature scenes, people, buildings, statues, fountains, and many other objects. Once, I photographed a night scene of a petroleum refinery; its unusual lights and flames made a fantastic, prize-winning gallery picture. Not anymore. Now, I am harassed by the “law” when I take a picture in a public park! Because I carry a tripod and camera with a large lens, I am judged to be either a terrorist or a professional photographer breaking some law. You know what “they” do to terrorists. But as a perceived professional photographer, I am not allowed to take pictures of certain “copy-righted” buildings! That means the owners suspect I will get rich printing and selling pictures of their building (the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame comes to mind); they want the exclusive right to do so. How ignorant is that?
I also collect knives as a hobby. As a youngster, my father made sure I was always equipped with a sharp knife for hunting and fishing. I carried a pocket-knife until shortly after 9/11 when the airlines made a fuss over pocket-knives and fingernail clippers. So, I substituted my pocket knife for a small penknife on my keychain — until two years ago. I was called for jury duty and the penknife was taken from me before I could enter the courthouse!
How ignorant is that?
Thirdly, I was an amateur radio operator in the ‘50s. After a tornado struck our city, all communications were disabled; only the police and ham radio operators maintained communications. We helped rescue traffic and let people know their loved ones were safe. But what happened in New Orleans? The Feds would not let the ham radio operators help with emergency communications as they traditionally had for decades. Could it be that some of them were suspected of being terrorists or other kinds of criminals? Don’t they know that ham radio operators are among the pioneers who developed the radios and cell phones that we enjoy today?
How ignorant is that?
Now we come to the coup de grace. My degree is in engineering, and I just discovered that statistically, I could be a criminal because most terrorists have engineering degrees. The Department of Sociology, University of Oxford, UK, issued a report last year that says engineers are over-represented among violent Islamic radicals everywhere. Furthermore, they claim that among other factors, our “engineering mindset” of understanding complex problems and being able to solve them handily could contribute to making us criminals. The logic is as good as saying the sky is part of the ocean because both are blue!
Come on people, I am not responsible for your ignorance.
John Gyorki
Editorial Director
jgyorki@designworldonline.com
There are 20 Responses to “Ignorance rules”
#2 kMcCarthy - 01 May, 10:02 AM
I just read your story in the Design World, titled “Ignorance Rules”.
Great story and I agree with you 100%. Seems as tough today anybody and everybody is trying to get ahead at the cost of anyone.
I also believe that what goes hand in hand with your story is a little thing called “Common Sense”, there sure is a lack of that today.
There is to much about I, I, I, me, me, me …..
Hope these people can sleep at night…..
My hobbies are different but I can relate to the same.
I also forgot the second rule “KISS“ ( keep it simple …. ).
I sure am glad there are more of us out there in the world.
Thanks for your time,
#3 myankowy - 01 May, 10:07 AM
Can you recall when in recent history common people began loosing their freedoms and liberty based on a general fabricated suspicion of harm based on the actions of a few? If we don’t learn from mistakes we are doomed to repeat them.
#4 dave o - 01 May, 10:09 AM
JOHN,
I UNDERSTAND YOUR FRUSTRATION AND YOU ARE A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF HOW GOOD WE AMERICANS HAVE IT. AND WHEN WE WRITE ARTICLES LIKE YOURS THE BAD (EVIL) MEN OF THIS WORLD JUST GRIN. IT IS THE BAD MEN OF THIS WORLD THAT HAVE TAKEN AWAY SOME OF OUR RIGHTS. ONE THING I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO FIGURE OUT IS IF ALL THE COPS ARE IN THE DONUT SHOP, WHO IS MAKING SURE YOU ARE NOT ONE OF THOSE BAD GUYS. LET ME ASSURE YOU SIR, THE BAD GUYS ARE BIG, SMALL, SHORT, TALL, BLACK, WHITE, BROWN, YOUNG, AND OLD. IF WE WHERE ALL TO AIM OUR FRUSTRATION AND ANGER AT THE BAD GUYS THERE WOULD NOT BE AS MANY OF THEM DOING AS MUCH AS THEY DO.
–
Regards:
Dave O
#5 K1OYB - 01 May, 10:10 AM
I enjoyed and agree with your editorial in the 4/2008 issue
of Design World. But it is a depressing state of affairs.
On a related note, Amateur Radio is still alive and kicking.
In fact it is almost astoundingly easy to obtain a ham
license nowadays, as there is no longer a requirement
for Morse code, and the tests are ‘multiple guess’.
Also most previous call signs may also be ‘re-obtained’.
Some info : http://www.arrl.org/
73 - MJ Feeney K1OYB
#6 BertO - 01 May, 10:11 AM
John,
I didn’t subscribe to the Design World Online newsletter to be subjected to your gripes. Please keep your posts on subject as defined at the “ABOUT US” link.
Bert
#7 weewilly - 01 May, 10:33 AM
Well I guess all the facts remain heavily weighted on the side of the study that was done. Unfortunate as it is we need to do some profiling to sort out the most likely ones from the multitudes of people all over the world. Surely you agree with that. I don’t like this situation any better than you do but I would gladly give up a “little freedom” to help protect my loved ones and myself. There are a lot of crazies out there. If we could only ask those that perished in the World Trade Center buildings about what they think about giving up a little freedom to prevent terrorists on airplanes, I think I would know what their answer would be.
#8 bfranklin - 01 May, 10:45 AM
Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.
#9 Dwight - 01 May, 10:55 AM
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
#10 mudge1 - 01 May, 10:56 AM
I feel for you about being suspected, but at the same time I think that we as a country are not doing nearly as much as we could be. Political correctness has made it necessary to waste time on obvious loyal citizens rather than target which ever group fits the best profile. I like my freedom but I don’t want to give up my safety and put my friends and family in danger for P.C. keep your eyes open and maybe you could save the world with your camera and knowledge while you are being harassed by the P.C. police.
#11 phishbyte - 01 May, 11:06 AM
I agree with you whole heartedly. What I do disagree is with those that say they would give up a little freedom to protect their loved ones. I believe it was Winston Churchill who said “To sacrifice an ounce of freedom for security, in the end you will find you have neither.” That holds true even today. Little by little they are tearing away at the reason this country was founded in the first place. For freedom. Why should we sacrifice what we fought so hard to achieve? Some say well we need to do profiling to find out who the bad guys are. I myself work as an engineer, does that mean I’m a criminal. Why don’t we go and ask the Japanese during World War II what they thought of profiling. Oh wait, you couldn’t have during WW2, they were all locked away because of profiling. Locked away because someone profiled that ALL Japanese were evil after Pearl Harbor. Even the ones that had been here for decades. So does that mean that all the engineers should be thrown in prison just because some terrorists on the other end of the world are engineers too? When will this country ever learn from it’s mistakes or the mistakes of others? Profiling as a country can only lead to one thing, oppression. Last I heard, that was still a pretty bad thing. So cheers to you John, for exercising a freedom that could be the next to go.
To anyone that would like to debate me or even to amuse me with their thoughts or comments, email me. I have set up a special e-mail address just so people could. It’s below.
#12 TPMiller - 01 May, 11:07 AM
The sad truth is, our intelligence community had enough information to prevent 9-11. The problem was putting the pieces together, drawing a correct conclusion, then acting appropriately. Gathering mountains of information, no matter how well-meaning, will not help those problems. If anything, it will make it harder to identify meaningful information. The steady erosion of our hard-fought for liberties will do nothing to solve the problem. Every right we lose is a victory for terrorists.
#13 BlueMax47 - 01 May, 11:34 AM
The naivety of your whining is amazing to me. In WWII the government rounded up American Japanese people just because they where Japanese or looked like Japanese in camps. 911 happened and you have the ignorance or the lack of comprehension it could happen again. Our law enforcers are NOT paralyzed the sense of responsibility, they are protecting soft targets against the radical Muslim fanatics that want to bomb them. This is the world we live in now, thanks to them, and the dumb-ass shoe-bomber. My advice to you is to move to Iran, and see how many freedoms you have there!
#14 rfugiel - 01 May, 11:39 AM
This world is getting ridiculous. Good people can’t even do innocent things anymore. I’m with you!
#15 Doorman - 01 May, 12:12 PM
Hello John,
I certainly can appreciate your frustration, and do think some ridiculous mistakes have been made in trying to protect this nation. I will make a point that you failed to make, and certainly should have as an engineer. As engineers, we know that ALL decision require compromise of the alternative’s. You can’t have a car that is the fastest AND the cheapest. You can’t have an airplane that is both fuel efficient AND simple to manufacture etc… Well, knowing the compromises, we all know that there are necassarily some compromises required to ensure safety. As a democratically elected republic, we need to make a decision as to where those compromises are made, and the healthy converstation that you entered into with your article, are part of this conversation. What we need is more constructive comments that promote reasonable solutions, instead of complaining. As I tell my children, “complaining accomplishes nothing.” As to the commentor who quoted Ben Franklin about liberty and safety, I would say ‘Even Ben Franklin accepted some purchase of safety at the expense of liberty, or else he would have promoted Anarchy’.
#16 wingman - 01 May, 12:35 PM
Everyone should understand that freedom is taken by government, not in huge bold but obvious steps, but very gradually, over time, until it is too late to stop it. Every government has done it this way for centuries and let’s not think that our politicians are any different. Governments will do anything to stay in power, and to stay in power means it must have total contol of its citizens. Whether that be physically, like the Husseins of the world, or economically, like our system is starting to do to us with the cost of oil, it all comes out the same in the end. We lose our freedom gradually. I once read a quote by a Russian General during the cold war, that went something like this. The only difference between the USSR citizens and the US is “you (meaning us US citizens) still think you are free”. That sort of sums it up.
Now if anyone out there thinks that changing the party in control will fix anything, you have to realize, that’s part of the scam. Does anyone really think having a Hussein in power in our white house will give us back our freedom?
I am now old enough to realize that no matter which party is in control, or who is in the white house, NOTHING CHANGES, only the perception of change takes place. This means what ever freedom we think we have, is an illusion which will vanish like any Magicians trick.
Man’s government is the beast that will eventually take over full control of everyone’s lives. There will be no freedon or privacy, oops, I just relized, it’s already gone in the interest of ’safety’.
#17 mikenorthrop - 01 May, 1:42 PM
John,
You hit the nail on the head. Establishing a climate of fear is an easy way for unscrupulous men to gain power and get the people to give away any freedoms they have. I am more afraid of our own government than the terrorist bogeymen they purport to protect me from. I second the comments of B. Franklin.
Mike
#18 Americathenotsobraveanymore - 02 May, 2:05 AM
Anyone of you who think it wise to give up freedom for security are sadly mistaken. America and its freedom were built by strong, bold people who weren’t afraid of the price. If you are afraid of the price of freedom, then get out of this country, instead of screwing it up for the rest of us. I’ll take my chances with the terrorists.
#19 rogerdp - 02 May, 1:10 PM
Pulleeese! Do you need to call that which you dislike or disagree with - “ignorant”? That’s a ratherarrogant perspective. I feel for your frustration, but the the true source of most of that you name is drawn from people that hate us and will pursue us until we are dead (or they are). I do not live in fear of them everyday, nor do I live with my head in the sand. Sure, some of the things you list are overreactions by government agencies, but hey, what have they ever done well or efficiently. BTW, those buildings may be private(not public) property and the owners may not owe you any rights to profit (even your own enjoyment) from the image of them. Stop whining!
#20 John Galt - 03 May, 12:20 PM
Has anyone seen the US embassy in Berlin? Of course not, you’re not allowed to take pictures of this installation either. I whole heartily agree with Mr Franklin.
#1 dalow - 01 May, 9:12 AM
So what would you rather have? Allow radical jihadists full reign of our country.
People like you should be ashamed of themselves. We are at war and we don’t even know it.