Thursday, July 21, 2005

The Balancing Act

Some people would rather be blown up.

Reacting to the NYPD’s announcement Thursday afternoon that police would randomly—but routinely—search the bags of commuters, one concerned New Yorker quickly created a way for civil libertarians to make their views black-and-white. In a few outraged moments, local immigrant rights activist Tony Lu designed t-shirts bearing the text, “I do not consent to being searched.”

Apparently, Mr. Lu doesn’t travel on airplanes. Should an attack succeed in killing people on the NY subway system, we’ll know who to blame.

I’m fully aware of Ben Franklin’s warning. At the same time, there is a line to be drawn between tyranny and common sense. Why is it that people like Mr. Lu always view any security measure as tyranny? Is there no security measure that they think justified in this climate? How many must die to feed his principles?

Posted by Matt on 07/21 at 11:02 PM
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