Malingering’s World

Today I learned that one is not “allowed” to take photos of any buildings in downtown LA. I objected to security that this was not legal, and they said “it’s not about it being illegal, this is private property and that is our rule, because of 9/11.” So then I pointed out that we were on the sidewalk, which is public property (they disagreed) and also that we could go across the street and take an even better photo of their building and then they got on their handheld radios, likely to call in reinforcements.

The best part was their explanation, which went something like this: “We have to be very careful, you know, because of 9/11. You know, just two weeks ago there was someone here taking pictures of the building, and it was suspicious. Very suspicious. It made us nervous. And we asked to see the camera and the serial numbers had been scratched off! So you can see why we have to be careful.”

WHAT?!?! First off, 80% of the merchandise sold downtown is stolen, so the odds of a serial number being scratched off of anything is pretty high. Secondly, I was waiting for the “and then we caught him planting a bomb using his photos as a guide” part so that they could actually have a point, but that part never came.

The best part is that this is the photo I was taking:

Which brings up the following questions:

Could I be an Ugg-terrorist, looking to destroy malls which have Uggs and I needed proof of this to show to the almighty being before s/he could give me permission to destroy?

Would a terrorist have any reason to destroy the place we were at (7th and Fig) which is not even a building but a hole in the ground containing 3 tacky tourist shops and a food court, and if so, what sort of reason could that be?

Are there many terrorists out there with point and shoot cameras who blatantly take photos of food courts in the middle of the day and then use these photos as an integral part of their plot which would not otherwise be carried out?

This man also came and asked us to leave the property:

I know it’s this thing they’re worried about, but if we are going to live in so much fear that we cannot take photos (or go shopping!) then THE TERRORISTS HAVE WON. Right Bush?
I’m sure that thousands photos have not been taken of downtown LA and that any photos necessary for a terrorist plot have yet to be obtained, so preventing photos is going to save thousands of lives as well as the liberty and freedom of our nation.

Out of curiosity, I did a search for photographs of the US Bank building. I found over 5000. Including someone who shows their plans for building a model of the building, likely to blow it up with model planes. I’m surprised the guy still has his head. And how is Wikipedia still around after throwing challenges out at terrorists to blow up our country’s tallest buildings?

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