I had some mail with StephenBuckley in Boston. I thought the community might be interested in his comments about life under seige:
- Things are going alright for me- so far I don't know anyone affected, though there were some crazy pictures going around my work email.
The mood in Boston is mixed- the actual percentage of people affected is fairly minor in terms of wounded/dead, so there's a sort of distance from everything- for most of us, this isn't really happening. But I work about 3 blocks from Copley square, where the marathon bombings happened, and all week there have been soldiers patrolling the streets, blockades, the T station is shut down, and there's just this air hanging over everything that the things being said on the TV aren't just make-believe. Even if you don't know someone you will have your ID checked by armed people. You will be intimidated, even when they're nice, because parts of Boston are now occupied territories.
And that's the other thing that keeps striking me- how incredibly unsettling it is to be around armed police officers or soldiers this frequently. It's unnerving. I cannot honestly imagine life in an occupied country- even the few dozen soldiers I've seen this week make me want to stay indoors! What if this was my whole life? Syria, all over Africa, there are places where what's happening here isn't called a tragedy, it's called Tuesday. And having even a sliver of that put into perspective for a little while is fucking terrifying.
To be fair, even in a lot of relatively calm countries, you see armed troops all over the place on a day to day basis (in the major cities and transportation hubs). I'm not saying what is going on in Boston is normal, as they are actively looking for someone so it's a bit different, being admist an actual manhunt. But in my journeys across Europe, it was common place to see military personnel hold FAMAS/M16s/M4s/AKs patrolling around train stations, busy public parks, down populated streets, etc. Many of those countries, like France, Italy, Czech Republic, etc, have experienced acts of terrorism and violence of this nature in the past, and that's just a thing they do now. I was in Europe in 2006, France at the time, during the "liquid bomb scare" thing in London, right when it broke, and we saw security at the train stations all across the continent skyrocket. Troops in groups of 3-5 patrolling, all armed, but also, all mostly smiley and friendly and fairly unintimidating. But being an American, I had never seen anything like this. I've seen cops in riot gear and swat teams quelling riots and protests, but never troops on the street armed just walking around on a normal day when nothing was happening. It was kind of odd to me, but not really all that bad. There were military on the streets before that as well, but in much small numbers. Think like pairs of young military people with assault rifles posted in a couple different areas of a train station, or highly populated area, or roaming the main roads of the area. On trains going into the Czech Republic from Germany the Czech police (or border patrol or whatever) had AKs swung over their shoulders as they checked passports on the train. This was all before the terrorist scare in London with the liquid bomb plot, after that we just saw an increase in the numbers. Don't get me wrong, I would prefer we don't ever have a police state and have heavily armed police/troops everywhere all the time. But I guess those travels I've had in the past kind of made me realize that's how many countries do security already, and it's pretty common to see those kinds of sites on the streets in many European countries. It didn't really effect me, but it didn't really make me feel safe either. Made me wonder, "Why the hell are there people with assault rifles everywhere? What do they know that I don't?" Russia, as another example, has had numerous attacks by Chechnyans and other former Soviet block countries. They are used to it, but they are also prepared for it and have a much strong para-military presence on their streets, at train stations, and at airports and malls. I don't think it's the life they chose, but it's just a situation they have to take into account now. Due to our foreign policy here in the US, we're also now joining that club of the hated. No, it's not because of our freedoms, it's because we're invading countries, and have bases there, we drop bombs from drones on them. We're friends with some Arab countries, and go to war with others. We pick and choose our battles over there, and not always for the most noble reasons. 9/11 hijackers were all Saudi Arabian, so we invade Iraq and Afghanistan and perform drone attacks in Pakistan... decisions like that don't win us any friends in the region. Just like invading Afghanistan and all the caucuses and eastern blocks hasn't really reflected well on Russia's currenty security. Our foriegn policy, unfortunately, is getting us into a situation like many of these other older and more established countries like the others I've mentioned. We can only expect more attacks like this in the future, and sadly, as a result, I think we'll start seeing a more similar security presence like other nations as well. Please excuse the thinking out loud, which seemed to have turned into a bit of a ramble. :)
Exactly this. It's something that people will never realize or understand unless they go to other countries and see it firsthand. In my travels to France and Switzerland, what you have described is exactly what happens. I studied in a small city in France (~200k people), with almost no violent crime, and even then you would see heavily armed officers guarding the subway station and area near the center city. Meanwhile if you go Geneva that's about all you see, doesn't matter much where you are.But in my journeys across Europe, it was common place to see military personnel hold FAMAS/M16s/M4s/AKs patrolling around train stations, busy public parks, down populated streets, etc. Many of those countries, like France, Italy, Czech Republic, etc, have experienced acts of terrorism and violence of this nature in the past, and that's just a thing they do now.
I've noticed a military presence in several countries I've travelled to but none as pervasive as in Guatemala. It's scary there because it's so damned corrupt. In a place like France or Geneva, you can assume that they are there to protect you and not extort you. There are military checkpoints and if you are a foreigner, they can trump up some sort of traffic violation and demand cash on the spot to free you. I've encountered this in Mexico too.
That's a bit unnerving. Perhaps that's a product of less-developed nations that are still in a somewhat perpetual state of violence, with a deep-rooted military culture and backing.
Lotta SE Asian countries are like that too, mainly Thailand. It just happens in a lot of "poorer" countries far too much. I've seen that in Mexico as well. :\There are military checkpoints and if you are a foreigner, they can trump up some sort of traffic violation and demand cash on the spot to free you. I've encountered this in Mexico too.
I have always thought that travel abroad should be part of the public school curriculum in the US and that it would be great if it could be done as an exchange. I'm not saying that I have a workable plan of how this might operate under real world conditions or have considered the impact this would have on the way things work, but I do think that it would go a long way toward eroding this idea of Island America that is still present.
Exposing and immersing yourself in as many cultures as possible is something that should be stressed much more in the Educational system than it is right now. There is still, to me, a very ethnocentric view in America, with a disregard for other cultures and their customs. Nobody can be perfect with this (I've only experience European and some South American cultures), but it's better than nothing. Plus, studying abroad is just a beautiful experience all around.
That line impressed me also. Definitely Syria, Iraq, Somalia. Here, in North America, the picture StephenBuckley describes is more occasional: Quebec, 1970, Detroit, 1967.
This letter really made me think about occupation and what it really means. It reminds me of the message this guy is trying to send (albeit subtly) about how, we're constantly being recorded everywhere. Grocery stores, banks, etc. It's only when you put a face behind the camera that people get nervous, overreact, aren't as subdued as they would be. Is it any less 'evil' when there's a face? No. The US isn't necessarily monitoring Boston more then they usually are, and definitely not more than they could. Just instead of the usual monitoring, it's a face behind the muzzle in the form of military police. Yes it's more unnerving, but ask yourself, is it really more 'evil'?
No. But I was supposed to be in Boston this week for a conference. Only a surprise stomach-flu kept me from being there right now, although I would have arrived on Tuesday. I lived for a couple of years in Cambridge, so it feels a bit closer than it might otherwise.
So, this is a kind of odd bug to report, but I think someone who blocked me left the initial comment in this thread, making you appear to be the parent of this, which was somewhat jarring considering it started with "No." This might be a design flaw? I dunno. Up to you.
You responded to someone who ignored me, but because I can't see their comment it looks like you're responding to no one and was a little confusing.