Against security: how we go wrong at airports, subways, and other sites of ambiguous danger

"Remember when an unattended package was just that, an unattended package? Remember when the airport was a place that evoked magical possibilities, not the anxiety of a full-body scan? In the post-9/11 world, we have become focused on heightened security measures, but do you feel safer? Are you...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Molotch, Harvey
Institution:ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
Format: TEXT
Language:English
Published: Princeton, NJ. 2012
Princeton University Press
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19132271124919504539-against-security-how-we-go-wro.htm
_version_ 1771659895589830656
author Molotch, Harvey
author_facet Molotch, Harvey
collection Library items
description "Remember when an unattended package was just that, an unattended package? Remember when the airport was a place that evoked magical possibilities, not the anxiety of a full-body scan? In the post-9/11 world, we have become focused on heightened security measures, but do you feel safer? Are you safer? Against Security explains how our anxieties about public safety have translated into command-and-control procedures that annoy, intimidate, and are often counterproductive. Taking readers through varied ambiguously dangerous sites, the prominent urbanist and leading sociologist of the everyday, Harvey Molotch, argues that we can use our existing social relationships to make life safer and more humane. He begins by addressing the misguided strategy of eliminating public restrooms, which deprives us all of a basic resource and denies human dignity to those with no place else to go. Subway security instills fear through programs like "See Something, Say Something" and intrusive searches that have yielded nothing of value. At the airport, the security gate causes crowding and confusion, exhausting the valuable focus of TSA staff. Finally, Molotch shows how defensive sentiments have translated into the vacuous Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center site and massive error in New Orleans, both before and after Hurricane Katrina. Throughout, Molotch offers thoughtful ways of maintaining security that are not only strategic but improve the quality of life for everyone. "
format TEXT
geographic USA
id 19132271124919504539_fc09a7341d2b4cf5b142be06d5cd27c5
institution ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
is_hierarchy_id 19132271124919504539_fc09a7341d2b4cf5b142be06d5cd27c5
is_hierarchy_title Against security: how we go wrong at airports, subways, and other sites of ambiguous danger
language English
physical 260 p.
Paper
publishDate 2012
publisher Princeton, NJ.
Princeton University Press
spellingShingle Molotch, Harvey
airport
government policy
prevention
privacy
public transport
security
terrorism
Against security: how we go wrong at airports, subways, and other sites of ambiguous danger
thumbnail https://www.labourline.org/Image_prev.jpg?Archive=122307994058
title Against security: how we go wrong at airports, subways, and other sites of ambiguous danger
topic airport
government policy
prevention
privacy
public transport
security
terrorism
url https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19132271124919504539-against-security-how-we-go-wro.htm