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Bruce Schneier has written an article about Living in a Code Yellow World:
In 1989, handgun expert Jeff Cooper invented something called the Color Code to describe what he called the "combat mind-set." Here is his summary:
In White you are unprepared and unready to take lethal action. If you are attacked in White you will probably die unless your adversary is totally inept.
In Yellow you bring yourself to the understanding that your life may be in danger and that you may have to do something about it.
In Orange you have determined upon a specific adversary and are prepared to take action which may result in his death, but you are not in a lethal mode.
In Red you are in a lethal mode and will shoot if circumstances warrant.
Cooper talked about remaining in Code Yellow over time, but he didn't write about its psychological toll. It's significant. Our brains can't be on that alert level constantly. We need downtime. We need to relax. This is why we have friends around whom we can let our guard down and homes where we can close our doors to outsiders. We only want to visit Yellowland occasionally.
Since 9/11, the US has increasingly become Yellowland, a place where we assume danger is imminent. It's damaging to us individually and as a society.
He continues:
Those of us fortunate enough to live in a Code White society are much better served acting like we do. This is something we need to learn at all levels, from our personal interactions to our national policy. Since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, many of our counterterrorism policies have helped convince people they're not safe, and that they need to be in a constant state of readiness. We need our leaders to lead us out of Yellowland, not to perpetuate it.
What are my fellow Soylentil's views on Bruce Schneier's assessment?
(Score: 5, Insightful) by splodus on Friday September 25 2015, @09:20AM
Have you seen those mock posters 'Keep Calm and Carry On'? They were designed originally by the British government for WW2, and epitomised our approach to adversity. All through the IRA's bombing campaign in the 70s and 80s the mood of ordinary people was 'if you change your way of life, then the terrorists have won'.
Now we have a government that continually justifies evermore repressive legislation on the grounds that we are in imminent danger. It's not just terrorist attacks either. We are in danger from drugs, immigration, pornography, the internet, protests, car accidents...
In my lifetime the UK has gone from a land that was relatively free, to one that looks a bit like the scifi books I read at school.
And the worst of it is, spurred on by the media, most people seem to be welcoming it.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 25 2015, @11:01AM
What is it about brown terrorists that requires much higher alert and new more powerful laws than the white terrorists?
(Score: 2) by wonkey_monkey on Friday September 25 2015, @08:43PM
Have you seen those mock posters 'Keep Calm and Carry On'? They were designed originally by the British government for WW2, and epitomised our approach to adversity.
Keep calm? Why do we have to keep calm?! What are you not telling us?!?
systemd is Roko's Basilisk