Photo by Valentina KOVALCHUK
6/1/0
Orange Christmas with an Economic Twist
Americans start preparing for the country's main holiday almost from October, decorating their front lawns with silver Christmas trees, reindeer, and Santas, turning every yard into a small fairy-tale town. And of course, nearly every house flies the Stars and Stripes. Often, the flag of the owner's homeland is added — Jamaica, Russia, Slovenia, China, India, Pakistan, Poland...
These days, Americans, who are already tearfully sentimental, begin to go crazy with love for the whole world. For example, in one newspaper I came across a comic strip where a girl congratulates Iraqi children on Christmas. And upon learning that they don't celebrate this holiday, she still sends them a card with assurances of love and wishes for happiness.
As for radio or television, it's difficult for an unprepared person to listen or watch. Smiles everywhere, joyful voices and psalms come from all sides, and all songs without exception are about love — either to God or to the Motherland. In short, it's about the same as if you were watching 'The Irony of Fate' on all channels all day, interspersed with sermons and 'The Song About Five Minutes.' As a result, Christmas bells constantly ring in your head, and you desperately want vodka with pickles to the music of Deep Purple.
However, Americans' love for this holiday also has a financial tint. For the country and its economy, Christmas is probably more important than the war in Iraq and all financial crises or booms. During these days, you can buy for $30 an item that usually costs ten times more, and consumer demand grows so much that tens of billions of dollars are thrown into the market. Americans literally empty stores that seem impossible to empty.
What Heightened Security Measures Look Like
There are noticeably more security guards in stores. But this, as it turned out, is mainly a consequence of Christmas sales. And among the stream of shoppers, there are likely not terrorists with 'keffiyehs' on their heads, but ordinary thieves, who are primarily fought by in-store video surveillance.
Documents, according to rumors, began to be checked on every second person. And indeed, I myself was twice asked right in a bar to show my passport. But as it turned out, this was not related to the 'orange' threat at all. The fact is that in New York State, the sale of alcohol to persons under 21 is prohibited. And since on Christmas Eve inspectors closely monitor public catering, without documents they refused to sell me alcohol, not taking my word that I was 29. It's worth noting, however, that this was not in New York City itself, where bartenders are much more trusting.
Apparently, the American authorities did not decide to intimidate citizens on the eve of their favorite holiday. Of course, on the radio they periodically talk about the need to be vigilant, and on the streets, the news ticker invariably begins with a warning that Al-Qaeda is preparing for attacks. But at the same time, it is always stipulated that the actions will not affect large cities and that it is not about the terrorists' 'infernal machines.' Meanwhile, the media constantly publish 'leaks' from sources in intelligence agencies or the government that attacks could occur at large industrial facilities, airports, and that planes could be hijacked. But it is invariably stipulated that there will be no explosions in stores and cafes. The economy!
The threat of attacks is not felt on the streets either. The number of police officers has also increased, of course. But American cops know how to be amazingly unobtrusive. In the city, they are practically invisible, and if you are not a driver, you get the impression that they are only there to explain how to find your way.
The Terrorist Has a Valid Passport, According to NYPD
I decided to talk to one of the officers with an Irish surname. Upon learning that I was a Russian correspondent, Jeffrey, on the contrary, began to interview me: how long have I been in America, how long do I plan to stay, do I like it, why haven't I moved across the ocean... I barely managed to interrupt this standard flow of questions that you have to answer when meeting Americans — a kind of 'polite curiosity.'
Upon learning that I was interested in security measures in the fight against terrorism, Jeffrey said that he had received certain instructions. For example, he was given a set of photos of suspects linked to terrorist organizations. He was also given a verbal order to observe more closely what was happening on the street, and especially to watch for abandoned bags and packages. I asked if they were ordered to check documents of suspicious persons. My interlocutor's face showed extreme astonishment:
- Do you really think that terrorists will have invalid documents?!!
Compared to New York's subway during rush hour near the central avenues, the Moscow metro during rush hour is a quiet and deserted place. And our domestic guards apparently hope to catch a terrorist with a fake passport in this 'emptiness.' Jeffrey, by the way, became very interested in the work of his overseas colleagues. After listening to my explanations, he burst out laughing: 'And so, did you catch even one?'
In the motley American crowd, consisting of faces of Spanish, Arab, Black, Chinese, Indian, Russian, Polish, Jewish, Japanese, and tourist nationalities, it is impossible to identify these very suspicious individuals. As, indeed, in the crowd of any city in the world. And the leadership of American cops understands this perfectly well, and therefore chooses other methods of work. In general, the American police are surprisingly organized. Everyone is busy only with their own business.
- I have to make sure people live comfortably, - Jeffrey explained his personal mission to me. - So why would I interfere with their relaxation? It's clear that if I actually see someone suspicious, I'll follow them, radio it to other posts. Well, maybe check their documents too. But that hasn't happened once in all my years of work.
Inconspicuous vigilance and conspicuous carelessness
If the police in New York work professionally and inconspicuously, the same cannot be said for its residents. New Yorkers are astonishingly careless, as I learned from personal experience.
During one of my trips to the store for Christmas presents, driven to despair by the consumer boom, I was about to go outside for a smoke. Then I discovered that I had left my backpack somewhere inside. To my dismay, it contained my passport, cards, and a large sum of money that I was going to give to the American economy. In horror, I set out to search for the lost item, methodically combing floor after floor of that giant mall. But none of its English-speaking employees (the sellers - Chinese, Malaysians, Latin Americans - mostly struggle with the language) had seen the backpack. All that was left to do was announce the loss over the radio.
An Indian woman saved the day, finding the backpack on a rack with jeans. It had been hanging there for at least forty minutes, and no one noticed such a 'dissonant' item among the merchandise. And security was watching not what was brought into the store, but mainly what was taken out.
So God bless America and its intelligence services, which, despite apparent carelessness, have managed to prevent any terrorist attacks on US soil after September 11. Apparently, to fight terrorism, it is not necessary to intimidate citizens. It is also not necessary to call on them to be vigilant, forcing them to suspiciously glance at faces of the 'wrong' nationality in the subway, personally inspect house basements, and set up resident cordons in entrances. This is, after all, the job of specially trained intelligence services, which citizens pay for out of their own pockets. And their job is also 'to make people live comfortably'.