Yes, SWBB–don’t you know? It’s a new acronym I made up. You can apparently be handcuffed simply for Sightseeing While British (only if you’re brown, I expect, though this detail was omitted from the article). Five tourists (from their names, I gather they are of South Asian descent) British citizens one and all were handcuffed Sunday at 11:30 am when a bystander approached police to complain of five men on a tourist bus “carrying backpacks.” (Later, it was not clear whether any had backpacks at all.) The police evacuated the bus but handcuffed just those five men for ten minutes. Apparently they were considered suspicious because they had purchased their tour tickets in advance. Bloomberg is grovelling his apologies to the British Counsulate. Too little, too late.
On iTunes as we speak: Mutabaruka’s “Whiteman Country.”
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Schoolchildren are also advised not wear their ipods (dangling wires … ) while wearing their backpacks on the way to school. Meanwhile (to be fair and balanced) police are advised that the price of unnecessary bullets used to neutralise potential threats will be deducted from their pay.
In defense, I would rather somebody be handcuffed for ten minutes than a major incident. It is unfair, and I hate it.
HI Matt and Wrick, thanks for your comments!
Matt–I know, but the problem is, we aren’t safe. And I don’t think the searches are making us so. The city is awash with people who look like these latest London bombers–cause they look like us. Or at least they look like people who visit us, and ride on tourist buses, innocently enough. They are smart enough to blend in. Since we can’t stop, search and detain everyone fitting such an innocuous profile, what can we do? (Moving to Nome is not a bad idea, I have to say…
but Oh, I love this city.)
Wrick–Schoolchildren in NYC know not to wear white iPod headphones because someone will mug you. You wear cheap generic walkman-style headphones instead.
hmmm … just so long as no wires are a-dangling …
That poor Brazilian was pretty street savvy too. Too bad those dudes in jeans and wind jackets were plainclothes cops, and not skinheads or muggers yelling at him. Oh well …
So the really, really good bad news here from Australia is that there are moves afoot to send out special security squads to do public transport searches of users. Bit slow off the mark, these Aussies. It should have been coordinated with the Brits and the Yanks so that it happened simultaneously in one fell swoop.
Seriously – even Strawe – Dog Jack has acknowleged in the face of overwhelming evidence that the London bombings *did* have something to do with the War in Iraq.
Meanwhile – dont’ use public transport unless your face is white and you wear a suit . Ooops – I forgot . If you can afford a suit you can’t afford (to use) public transport ….
hmmm … just so long as no wires are a-dangling …
That poor Brazilian was pretty street savvy too. Too bad those dudes in jeans and wind jackets were plainclothes cops, and not skinheads or muggers yelling at him. Oh well …
So the really, really good bad news here from Australia is that there are moves afoot to send out special security squads to do public transport searches of users. Bit slow off the mark, these Aussies. It should have been coordinated with the Brits and the Yanks so that it happened simultaneously in one fell swoop.
Seriously – even Strawe – Dog Jack has acknowleged in the face of overwhelming evidence that the London bombings *did* have something to do with the War in Iraq.
Meanwhile – dont’ use public transport unless your face is white and you wear a suit . Ooops – I forgot . If you can afford a suit you can’t afford (to use) public transport ….
I still find it difficult to accept that the cop who shot the Brazilian went so berkers! Originally they said five shots were fired into the victims head, later they said 8 or 9! (Okay – one of them was in the shoulder). What! the Fuck! is going on! with those guys??! Who and how are they trained. Five+ shots at point blank range in the head is a panic/vindictive reaction and deserves a sacking for instability and incompetence!
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