[WEB4LIB] RE: FBI to monitor libraries

[Mark Wright]

>In response to Marks 4 points.
>
>1.  True, a small handful of young Middle Eastern men
>committed this attrocity.  It's also true that
>millions of young Middle Eastern men had nothing to do
>with it, and were just as shocked and angered by 9/11
>as you or I.  Let's also remember that the OK City
>bombing was perpetrated by a caucasian ex-US Marine.
>Should we start asking for the military background of
>our patrons?

No, just use common sense and profile obvious cases. Don't go overboard.


>2.  Again, true.  There is indeed a fanatical fringe
>of young Middle Eastern men that would like to do this
>again.  And again, there is the vast majority that
>wouldn't.  And again, there are probably more Tim
>McVeighs and Ted Kazinskis out there too.

If you see something that in YOUR eyes is suspicious behavior, use your own 
good judgement as to whether or not to tell the authorities, but don't keep 
quiet just because you're a librarian and it offends your professional 
sensibilities to report on a patron. If you had deep suspicions that a 
patron was abusing a child, don't you have an obligation to report it? Why 
is it any different if you suspect a person might want to blow up the city?


>3.  Again, true.  But the trained terrorists already
>have plenty of information on how to create these
>weapons.  What's holding them back is obtaining the
>fissionable or poisonous materials necessary to create
>the weapons.  These materials cannot be obtained in
>Libraries.

And thank God for that! But they can use library terminals to communicate 
with others in an attempt to locate them elsewhere.


>4.  Again, true.  But there were probably millions of
>young Middle Eastern men who used public library
>computers for legitmate research, playing games, or
>finding porn (if their libraries don't filter).

The vast majority of them do, many in my own library, and I welcome them. 
But if I see some of them acting very suspiciously, I have to do some 
serious thinking about what to do about it and not just ignore the 
situation.

>Public libraries that offer computer access must NOT
>profile their users, any more than they should profile
>patrons who check out Mein Kampf, the Communist
>Manifesto, or technical materials on nuclear reactors.

I'm not worried about the latter three groups, as there is no obvious giant 
threat there. In times of enormous threat to our safety, I think it is 
imperative that we all keep our eyes and ears open, and use common sense 
when dealing with patrons who may or may not be doing something suspicious.

>If we use the "war" against terrorism to justify
>profiling for young Middle Eastern men, what next?
>Should we use our "war" against drugs to profile young
>Latino men.  Who's to say that they aren't using
>library computers to e-mail their contacts in Central
>and South America?

Not. The "war" against drugs is stupid. Legalize them all, tax them, and use 
the money saved for treatment. We'd all be much better off, including the 
users.

>If we start becoming suspicious of and perhaps fearing
>to deal with people just because they fit a certain
>profile, then the terrorists will have already won
>part of their war.

We shouldn't be paranoid, and we shouldn't fear to deal with anyone because 
of their looks. Just keep your eyes and ears open and use common sense.

Mark Wright

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