[Peace-discuss] "tiip of the spear"

[E. Wayne Johnson]

 From "the simon black newsletter":

Military tacticians and historians often make use of the term 'tip of 
the spear.' It refers to a combat force that is used to puncture the 
enemy's initial lines of defense, to be quickly followed by concentrated 
forces which destroy any remaining threat.

Tactically, the tip of the spear is a bit of a blitzkrieg-- an 
unexpected onslaught of firepower and destruction that takes the enemy 
by surprise, scatters his resources, and fractures his morale.

I'm convinced that what we're seeing right now from the US 
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is the tip of the spear in 
the government's battle for increased control of the public.

The groundwork has been laid for years-- legislation empowering the TSA 
has gradually eroded civil liberties to the point that airports in the 
United States have now become 'no rights' zones. "Please remove your 
shoes" has now become "Take out your prosthetic breast so I can check it 
for explosives."

Passengers who show up to an airport in the United States are now given 
two options: (a) go through the radiation bath [don't worry, the 
government says it's safe...] and let the TSA see you naked, or (b) let 
the TSA thugs grope you and fondle your children's genitals.

This is not enhanced security protocol, this is a systematic 
desensitization to government intrusion. The idea is to get people used 
to new procedures, then continue to add more layers of government control.

Certainly, people will complain. They will be outraged... YouTube videos 
will abound of TSA agents stroking women's breasts and disrobing 5-year 
old boys. The government will hold firm, though, responding that the 
tactics are necessary and that they will 'look into' egregious violations.

To be clear, some of the tactics are designed to be scaled back as 
concessions. It's like turning up the volume from 0 to 10... everyone 
starts screaming that it's too loud, so the government turns it down to 
8. People think, "ah, that's not as bad..." and eventually become 
accustomed to the noise.

In time, the government turns it up from 8 to 20. People pour into the 
streets again, protesting until the government turns it down from 20 to 
15. People once again become accustomed to the noise as the new normal. 
This cycle escalates until no one can remember the sound of silence any 
longer.

It's fairly easy to do-- there will always be politicians and 
bureaucrats who can invent stories about innocuous white powders and men 
in caves that scare the daylights out of people.

Similarly, there will always be long lists of sociopaths, perverts, and 
pedophiles who are attracted to a job description that authorizes them 
to grope, fondle, humiliate, and intimidate others.

And of course, there will always be spineless nincompoops who stand by 
without protest as their wives and children get violated by government 
agents... and then rationalize their inaction as a necessary sacrifice 
for safety...

...The fact is that body scanners are as ineffective at threat detection 
as metal detectors.  Furthermore, the government has ruled out the idea 
of scanning air or seaborne cargo... because, clearly, cargo would never 
be a target. The little old lady with the prosthetic hip? Definitely. 
Cargo? No chance.

These tactics are not about security... they're about submission, 
obedience, and cultivating the slave mentality-- that people should be 
afraid of their government and happily yield to authority without 
question or hesitation.

To be fair, it's not just in the US; I woke up this morning to a front 
page photo in the Wall Street Journal of a machine gun toting policeman 
in Germany cruising a passenger train because of some hackneyed terror 
threat. Much of the world is living in a similar state.

This is the tip of the spear, and what comes next can only be worse. I 
don't say this to stir emotion or create a sense of panic, but rather to 
appeal to reason:

The threat is very clear-- we need not fear men in caves or silly 
powders, but rather the malignant intentions of our governments and the 
perverse men who are attracted to its works. If these aren't the 
clearest signs of a police state, I don't know what else could be.