I was wandering the house in search of an idea for this blog post, when CNN was kind enough to provide me with some wonderful fodder. Last Saturday, September 20, 2014, a 42 year old man from Texas, jumped the fence of the White House, ran 105 yards, and then went through the front door where he was finally apprehended. The amateur video of his exploits are the stuff of legend. Broad daylight, you can see this chubby figure running across the White House lawn, a mere 4 minutes after the President and his family departed for Camp David. I will freely admit that this was a real chuckler for me, at least a chuckler until it dawned on me that if this guy can do it, then who else can? As a matter of fact, we know that a few weeks ago, a toddler breached security, and now you have a chubby guy from Texas leaping tall fences and able to outrun security the 105 yards to the front door?!? If toddlers and middle aged fat men can do it, I wonder if someone from ISIL, or some other terrorist group, can do it at night?
If I were President, I would be just a tad bit concerned. For one thing, the uniformed security officers, present and on camera, appeared to be just one doughnut short of having eaten a complete Krispy Kreme franchise in one sitting. (So much for the School Lunch initiative put forward by the First Lady!) The most troubling thing though is that now anyone interested in actually doing something sinister, has learned several very important things about the White House perimeter. The first is that this idiot made it to the front door in daylight, and wasn’t subtle in doing it. The second is how the officers on scene reacted to that process of chasing the chubby guy. (Not very well if the video is any indication). You also have to ask, who was looking at what, while this guy creates a diversion running towards the front door? In other words, what was happening on the other side of the building? Sometimes the obvious is NOT the real story.
Is this a breakdown in security, or just an acute case of being surprised, or worse, just plain stupid? I watched a similar kind of thing unfold when I was still working for the State of South Carolina. My office fronted on our Statehouse grounds, and I was afforded a great view of an equally ridiculous event. Every day for a week, a man came by my office carrying a step ladder that was festooned with lots of protest signs. He would set it up in front of the Statehouse near the Confederate Flag Memorial, and then protest the continued presence of the Confederate Battle Flag on the Statehouse grounds. On the second or third day, watching him walk by my window, I wandered out and spoke with one of our security guys. (Who shall remain nameless for obvious reasons.......) He laughed at me, and said, “Nah, he is no big deal, just another nut.” I wasn’t convinced, and security shouldn’t have been either. Sure enough, on the 5th day, he popped open his ladder, but instead of using it to display his multitude of protest signs, he simply looked around, and then scampered up to set fire to the Battle Flag.
Now don’t get me wrong. I honestly don’t give a rip one way or the other about the Confederate Flag, and I darn sure don’t want to get into the implications of whether it stays or goes. Instead, my point is that complacency is the surest way to get surprised. The security officer I talked with was convinced that it was no big deal, and he, along with his peers, dropped their guard. (Presumably because nuts are harmless?!????) Regardless, once that guard was dropped, then the really bad things happened. In this post-9/11 world, you’d think that these lessons would be second nature, but then again, there are things like doughnuts...... ~ Michael S. Pauley
If I were President, I would be just a tad bit concerned. For one thing, the uniformed security officers, present and on camera, appeared to be just one doughnut short of having eaten a complete Krispy Kreme franchise in one sitting. (So much for the School Lunch initiative put forward by the First Lady!) The most troubling thing though is that now anyone interested in actually doing something sinister, has learned several very important things about the White House perimeter. The first is that this idiot made it to the front door in daylight, and wasn’t subtle in doing it. The second is how the officers on scene reacted to that process of chasing the chubby guy. (Not very well if the video is any indication). You also have to ask, who was looking at what, while this guy creates a diversion running towards the front door? In other words, what was happening on the other side of the building? Sometimes the obvious is NOT the real story.
Is this a breakdown in security, or just an acute case of being surprised, or worse, just plain stupid? I watched a similar kind of thing unfold when I was still working for the State of South Carolina. My office fronted on our Statehouse grounds, and I was afforded a great view of an equally ridiculous event. Every day for a week, a man came by my office carrying a step ladder that was festooned with lots of protest signs. He would set it up in front of the Statehouse near the Confederate Flag Memorial, and then protest the continued presence of the Confederate Battle Flag on the Statehouse grounds. On the second or third day, watching him walk by my window, I wandered out and spoke with one of our security guys. (Who shall remain nameless for obvious reasons.......) He laughed at me, and said, “Nah, he is no big deal, just another nut.” I wasn’t convinced, and security shouldn’t have been either. Sure enough, on the 5th day, he popped open his ladder, but instead of using it to display his multitude of protest signs, he simply looked around, and then scampered up to set fire to the Battle Flag.
Now don’t get me wrong. I honestly don’t give a rip one way or the other about the Confederate Flag, and I darn sure don’t want to get into the implications of whether it stays or goes. Instead, my point is that complacency is the surest way to get surprised. The security officer I talked with was convinced that it was no big deal, and he, along with his peers, dropped their guard. (Presumably because nuts are harmless?!????) Regardless, once that guard was dropped, then the really bad things happened. In this post-9/11 world, you’d think that these lessons would be second nature, but then again, there are things like doughnuts...... ~ Michael S. Pauley
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