Amccullough replied:
So according to your way of thought, we should avoid high rises, driving cars, or anything else that may increase the chance of death.It seems pretty obvious to me that my example was one of showing a degree of risk that was acceptable behavior, but maybe you missed that. Some people think that when the Government gives warnings about terrorists attacks being more likely (and if you read any types of news you will see these warnings in today’s news) that it means: hey I need to be more careful and do some thinking before I act but other people are heedless of any type of warnings. Collectively, our culture often heeds warnings after a major disaster (such as 9/11 happens) but fewer people have the ability to differentiate between real risks and standard everyday risks. So, if you want to play Russian roulette, how many bullets do you need to have in your gun to feel worried? You can’t stop all risks of course but you can certainly minimize being put into a situation that becomes dangerous. I hope you can understand this.
You also went on to say:
I really question your motives for this post. You claim that it is out of sincerity and you would hate to see all these people die. However, if this is the case, shouldn't you be on a tirade against contributors to heart disease as most JWs probably stand a greater chance of dying from that than a terrorist bombing. You claim to be worried that something like this might have a drastic effect on the rest of society. Yet you know very well that even if your fear inducing post stopped some from attending, it certainly wouldn't stop the assemblies from happening. So your post does not serve your claimed motive.Hmm, it sounds like you are clueless about who I am or what I have done. I used to have a career as a professional security consultant. It was my job to access risks and show potential dangerous scenarios. I’ve also worked in the medical field, specifically in microbiology. I think I’m quite qualified to present some realistic assessments of risks. Perhaps you are right that my thread won’t change any attitudes of the dubs towards their assemblies, but then maybe word will filter through to them to be more careful and to look for some potential trouble from where they didn’t expect it.
You asked me:
Why would you even propagate possible means of destruction, naming things like spreading Hanta through skin contact? So we can all go buy Anti-Hanta lotion?No, because the CDC recommends telling people about potential biological terrorists attacks. They have a website dedicated to the subject of biological terrorism. If people can’t see realistically that there is indeed a danger, they can continue to stick their collective heads in the sand and pretend it isn’t there. Maybe you don’t like it one bit, and believe me it is not fun being “right” about what the risks are because the consequences have a steep price to pay. If then my message bothers you, it did it's job and maybe you can next work on seeing that we are in a changed world and we are likely to see a lot of things happen in the future we don’t like to see, but at least being forewarned is being forearmed. Don’t you think so?
Finally, regarding the JW security volunteers. Enthusiasm is not enough. Your average JW security guard could be watching the apparatus for mass death working and not even realize what the hell was happening until it was too late. You can have a million dummies running all over the place and it acts as some deterrent but if they are determined to have large district assemblies, the dubs better avail themselves of professional antiterrorist consultants and trained law enforcement personnel to counteract potential terrorist attacks.
I can just see the dub security guard now waving his finger at the terrorist driving a truckload of explosives into the stadium, and calling 911 for help. By the time the call went through, there would be nobody left to tell the cops what happened. You need people with guns who are willing to use them to even hope to stop a suicide attack. Do you think dubs carry them?
Using dumb dubs for security is a dumb idea.
Guest77 asked me about the baseball games. Well, they might, but then any large commercial event is likely to have more security with trained professionals. Terrorists have their favorite targets and their MO is often one of surprise and stealth. If everyone was expecting an attack say at the Olympics...the bad guys would be pretty dumb to go for it in light of the increased security efforts. On the other hand, nobody pays any attention to 40,000 dubs spending several days sitting in an enclosed stadium. Hmm, what goes through their minds when they learn that? I don't know for sure and I hope we don't find out.
Skipper