Security theater is not real security, but terrorism is theater. And the terrorists seem to be pretty good producers. They’ve got us so scared passengers are insisting on throwing people off airplanes because they “look Middle Eastern,” one man got thrown off a plane (at the airport, I hope) for reciting prayers, cosmetics, dogs, and smoke detectors are getting people investigated for terrorism, and of course we’re all putting up with ever-more-intrusive airport security that accomplishes little. Airport security recently ratched up after a plot to down international flights in which none of the plotters had even bought tickets.

Bruce Schneier spells it out:

I’d like everyone to take a deep breath and listen for a minute.

The point of terrorism is to cause terror, sometimes to further a political goal and sometimes out of sheer hatred. The people terrorists kill are not the targets; they are collateral damage. And blowing up planes, trains, markets or buses is not the goal; those are just tactics. The real targets of terrorism are the rest of us: the billions of us who are not killed but are terrorized because of the killing. The real point of terrorism is not the act itself, but our reaction to the act.

What the Terrorists Want, Bruce Schneier, Schneier on Security, August 24, 2006

In other words, terrorism is theater; what they do isn’t their goal; it’s an act that is intended to provoke an emotional response in the audience. And we the audience are overreacting just like the terrorists want. They don’t even have to blow anything up to get us to take off our shoes, leave our toothpaste at home, and snitch on our fellow passengers for looking different from us. Continue reading →