security at public gatherings
Apr. 28th, 2004 06:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
adrian_turtleI was looking at pictures of the March for Women's Lives, and noticing all the police cars. I haven't seen any reports that the police were other than courteous. They were just there - parked with their lights flashing, standing by in case of potential trouble. There was a similar phalanx of police cars along the marathon route last week. I don't know if the flashing lights were really as dense as they looked from the pictures. It was certainly a high enough concentration of them to keep me (or anyone who gets migraines or seizures from strobes) away.
It doesn't really surprise me that huge events are so overwhelmed by security precautions that they aren't safe for me. But I'm wondering what sizes or types of event get what kind of "security," in these paranoid days. I remember it wasn't always like this. I've been to large protest rallies (well, ok. Maybe by Massachusetts standards they were only medium-sized) that had no police presence at all, or that just had a few cops in orange vests directing cars around the pedestrians. I've been to charity events involving thousands of people, without needing flashing lights or special security precautions. But that was before "everything changed."
Now? I was thinking of doing the "Walk for Bread" this year. Collect pledges to support regional food banks, and walk 20 miles through Boston accompanied by lots of other well-intentioned people and music...then I realized I'd seen the event before, and the route appeared to be marked out by police cars with flashing lights. I don't believe I'm capable of walking 20 miles with my eyes closed, even if somebody wanted to lead me.
It doesn't really surprise me that huge events are so overwhelmed by security precautions that they aren't safe for me. But I'm wondering what sizes or types of event get what kind of "security," in these paranoid days. I remember it wasn't always like this. I've been to large protest rallies (well, ok. Maybe by Massachusetts standards they were only medium-sized) that had no police presence at all, or that just had a few cops in orange vests directing cars around the pedestrians. I've been to charity events involving thousands of people, without needing flashing lights or special security precautions. But that was before "everything changed."
Now? I was thinking of doing the "Walk for Bread" this year. Collect pledges to support regional food banks, and walk 20 miles through Boston accompanied by lots of other well-intentioned people and music...then I realized I'd seen the event before, and the route appeared to be marked out by police cars with flashing lights. I don't believe I'm capable of walking 20 miles with my eyes closed, even if somebody wanted to lead me.
