

Homeland Security Messages Coming to Wal Mart, etc. - jcromartie
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/homeland-security-messages-coming-walmart-hotels-malls/

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tc
100:1 odds that this won't be gracing the aisles of Whole Foods, or the
galleries of fine theatres, or the elegant lobbies of ritzy hotels and
restaurants, or anywhere else that the politicians and power-brokers who run
this increasingly insane government might expect to be found.

\--

[1] As as aside.... There must be some serious arm-twisting going on here. I
cannot fathom a reason, outside of garnering favor with an increasingly
powerful and arbitrary government, that a profit-seeking business would allow
fear-mongering within their premises. This cannot be good for retail. Amazon
must be licking their lips.

[2] It's doubly unlikely that this will ever appear at Whole Foods, as the
founder seems to be a libertarian. If he was interested in political favors he
wouldn't have posted that WSJ op-ed on health-care.

[3] Orwell parallel: in _1984_ , only the members of the Inner Party could
turn off their telescreens... though they also left the proles more or less in
peace.

[4] Regarding the suggestions below that this could be good business for
Walmart... there's truth in what you say, but I doubt it applies in this case.
A fearful message such as, "It's hurricane season. Stock up!" would likely be
effective (in certain geographies). Reminding people that gathering at your
particular establishment might be dangerous, though, seems less likely to
engender repeat business. "There may be terrorists lurking in our parking lot.
Beware!"

~~~
icey
Regarding your aside: A fearful populace is probably significantly more likely
to stockpile.

~~~
rdtsc
> A fearful populace is probably significantly more likely to stockpile.

In general, they are also more susceptable to suggestions (advertising
messages).

Related paper by Wheatley and Oshikawa. <http://www.jstor.org/pss/3149511>

_The Relationship between Anxiety and Positive and Negative Advertising
Appeals_ (Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 7, No. 1, Feb 1970). [sorry
publishing paywall, anyone can find the full version?]

In addition to certain segments of the population Walmart will seem more
American, more patriotic, and more trustworthy.

I hate to say it, but it is an excellent business choice on Walmart's part.

~~~
bingaman
Here's the paper for those who are interested:
[http://www.scribd.com/doc/44864540/The-Relationship-
between-...](http://www.scribd.com/doc/44864540/The-Relationship-between-
Anxiety-and-Positive-and-Negative-Advertising-Appeals)

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PedroCandeias
We had similar "programs" in Portugal 30 years ago. We were a fascist
dictatorship back then, and fear was almost a form of currency. Like tc says,
this is fear mongering. Now, if the purpose of HS is to fight terrorism,
shouldn't they be making people feel <i>less</i> afraid?

It's ridiculous.

~~~
orangecat
_Now, if the purpose of HS is to fight terrorism, shouldn't they be making
people feel <i>less</i> afraid?_

Absolutely not. If we felt safe, we'd start asking intelligent questions about
why we're groping children in airports and spending billions of dollars on
DHS. Disturbingly, both terrorists and governments share the goal of making
you afraid.

------
lavezzaf
I love how America is turning into a police state. "Lets have fear mongering
pushed onto the stupid masses at Walmart so we can keep the public afraid so
we can take away their civil liberties with less resistance!"

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yequalsx
I heard one report say that these videos will play at checkout lanes. What is
the reason that Walmart is doing this? Have they determined that their
customers want this? Is DHS paying them?

I have a hard time believing that Walmart's customers want this. I can't see
DHS paying for it. Do they have enough money to make it worth Walmart's time?

~~~
pigbucket
My guess is that Walmart is more concerned about finding a cheap way to deal
with its parking-lot crime problem, for which it has taken a lot of flak, than
it is with national security. Finding a way to encourage vigilance on the part
of customers while deflecting attention from the real threat (robbery,
assault) seems as clever as it is cynical.

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jdp23
i'm usually pretty hesitant to use the world "Orwellian" -- but this makes the
bar

~~~
mortenjorck
The dour face on the always-present screen is such an enduring image of
totalitarianism in our culture -- the first thing I thought of was Dr. Breen.
More than likely, though, this will be softened with animated graphics, music,
and special guests in between the dour headshots of the Secretary.

------
motters
Creepy. It seems to me that we really are living in the kind of dystopian
cyberpunk future which I read about as a teenager.

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yock
As a model for predicting the future through science fiction, will life in
another decade more closely resemble cyberpunk or utopia? I'm beginning to
lean further from Star Trek and closer to Blade Runner.

~~~
lkjhgfvhjk
So an optimist then ;-)

~~~
pyre
True, Star Trek only had a handful of androids.

~~~
lkjhgfvhjk
none of which were 'your basic pleasure model'

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mattmillr
Regarding similar programs in the Bay Area: "none of the five agencies
analyzed for this study measures the effectiveness of their campaigns. Whereas
they all have a similar goal—to increase passenger awareness about security
issues—little evidence therefore exists confirming whether they are achieving
this goal." [[http://incaseofemergencyblog.com/2010/09/17/new-study-
indica...](http://incaseofemergencyblog.com/2010/09/17/new-study-indicates-
difficulty-in-evaluating-effectiveness-of-see-something-say-something-like-
citizen-tips-campaigns/)]

Shneier doubts it's effective either
[[http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2010/05/if_you_see_som...](http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2010/05/if_you_see_some.html)]

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f1gm3nt
There's already a blog devoted to showing suspicious peoples:
<http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/>

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blhack
This type of thing comes almost directly out of George Orwell's 1984. It's
been years since I've read it, what did they call the kids that were
instructed to turn in traitors, even if those traitors were their parents?

The most frightening thing about this is what it implies:

"Well, if there are all these warnings and advisories and soforth, there
_must_ be an active threat! People in my town _must_ be terrorists! I'll go
find them!"

It's insane.

------
barmstrong
This story is disturbing, but after looking at their homepage I'm not sure I
trust the source:

<http://www.rawstory.com/>

Any confirmation of this?

~~~
callahad
<http://www.dhs.gov/> links to
<http://www.youtube.com/user/ushomelandsecurity> which links to the videos
mentioned for Wal-Mart (<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czoww2l1xdw>) and the
Mall of America (<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stsRfx5-3EQ>), amongst
others. Looks legit to me.

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brudgers
If you want to see suspicious, go into Walmart's meat department.

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joshes
This is frightening. The biggest threat to the United States is the actions of
the United States. Who the hell thought that this was a good idea? In what way
does this curb terrorism? It is far more likely to encourage and enhance false
positives, unwarranted fear, stereotyping, etc.

This is a triple threat: it wastes money, instills a culture of fear and
mistrust and makes yet another step toward the erosion of freedoms and the
destruction of personal privacy.

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stretchwithme
homeland security is an auto immune disorder

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grantbachman
Wow, this really makes me want to start leaving briefcases and bags around the
areas with these PSAs broadcasting. I'll also make sure to leave either a note
or a copy of 1984 in the cases.

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p858snake
A quick way to mass de-sensitize people to these videos.

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napierzaza
The problem with Homeland Security is that they're a bunch of people sitting
in an office thinking: What can we do to promote Homeland Security? This means
that they're just out there to promote their mission statement of FUD and
spend whatever money they get to do it.

Like the TSA forget about slowing down the message or decreasing it. They're
all about expanding. They'll continue so far as they're able to convince the
people that allow them the money and the access.

~~~
bioh42_2
_The problem with Homeland Security is that they're a bunch of people sitting
in an office thinking: What can we do to promote Homeland Security?_

That's pretty much true for every organization, be it a private company, the
catholic church, or NATO.

In the case of government we refer to this natural tendency to grow as
bureaucratic inertia.

I am saddened that the people working for DHS are so unimaginative that this
is the best they could think up.

~~~
richcollins
But not every organization has the power to throw you in jail with impunity if
you resist their growth.

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AndrewMoffat
$100 says this doesn't go a year before some hacker makes those displays play
out the V for Vendetta broadcast monologue.

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chqi8m4CEEY>

~~~
philwelch
At my college, they installed computerized projector media systems in some of
the buildings. On November 5, this video played every hour, at :15, between 9
and 5: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnF8FvXNozc>

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lkjhgfvhjk
The morning hate + insincere greeters = a perfect picture of modern America

