Candid Camera

Am I the only one who finds it odd that people continue to rob casinos and gas stations, etc, despite the fact that almost every corner of the civilized globe is in range of at least one security camera?  Face it folks, we're all on camera whether we like it or not.  Most of us are probably being recorded as we speak.

I don't let it bother me, after all, I haven't done anything wrong and if you want to watch me write a blog while I'm sitting in an airport bar with a diet coke and an order of chicken wings… knock yourself out.  Sure, there's the argument that I might look like a terrorist who actually did do something wrong, but between my travel agent, my bat-phone, and my schedule being documented in a hundred places all over my company's intranet… I think I'll be OK if I ever find myself in a court of law.  There are plenty of students, restaurant managers, bar-tenders, and hotel workers who would be more than happy to vouch for my whereabouts!

My opinion that cameras are basically "good" is predicated on the hope that the viewers behind the lenses are using their powers for good rather than evil.  I was surprised to learn that the TSA is indeed, "good" when it comes to video surveillance.  A few weeks ago I found myself sitting on the Minnesota light rail train, bound for the Lindbergh terminal, and I saw a young woman with a TSA uniform on.  I write a travel blog, so I frequently look for the chance to sit next to or to talk to travel people so I struck up a conversation and what I learned really surprised me.

She wasn't a member of the traditional security gate observer personnel who go through your bags, and who generally walk around with their knuckles dragging on the floor, drooling all over the place.  She had a PhD degree in Psychology with an emphasis in behavioral observation and profiling.  Her job was to watch the throngs of travelers as they moved about the airport, specifically targeting the security areas. 

I asked if she ever saw anyone suspicious and her answer surprised me, "All the time!" was her reply.  She explained, "Most of the time when we approach a suspicious subject, it's almost always a drunk person who's soiled themselves."  "GET OUT OF TOWN," I said.  It's true.  She described the behavioral traits of an extremely nervous and/or paranoid person, the likes of whom might just wish to plant a bomb or something:

• Sweating
• Pale
• Unsteady on their feet
• Alone
• Shifty
• Standing in one place for a long length of time
• Seeming to wait for someone or something to happen
• Checking their watch repeatedly

I thought about and she's absolutely right, this is exactly the behavior of a drunken traveler who might have soiled themselves!  It's a disgusting problem to have, I suppose, an airport full of soiled drunkards… but it beats the alternative of nervous terrorists.

I'm glad the TSA is actually using some more active techniques in the fight against terrorism, rather than pulling random old ladies out of line for a closer inspection.  Also, it helps me to know that I should do my best not to look shifty, sweaty, nervous, or unfocused… unless I want to have a chat with some folks who carry guns!