Shea Stadium--almost would not let me in

Took the family to a Mets game Saturday (Mets beat the Braves), and they of course did the body scan at the gate. I guess I had not been to a game since my EDC fetish began, because they were somewhat astonished by my keychain light (and luckily ignored my Spyderco Ladybug in my coin pocket). I have an L0D-CE (prior model) wrapped in Tommy Tape on my keychain. First question: "What is this?". I showed him that it was simply a flashlight, and turned it on for him. He of course shined it directly into his eyes, and then tried to claim it was a laser pointer (which are banned at stadiums)! I called one of the other guards over and showed him the light, explaining it was simply and LED flashlight. They finally let me through.

They both liked my Atwood Bottlebug, but did not feel threatened by it.

I guess I need to be more discreet in my EDC carry when mingling with the masses...

I was in the Shea Stadium just two weeks ago. I was carrying a Leatherman Squirt P4, Lummi Wee Ti and Lummi Raw Ti. I had the metal detector run over me, but I guess it is not sensitive to titanium. Good job they didn't turn on the Wee in their face - 80 lumens hurts.

did you see the fight in the stands...i was watching on tv but they didnt show it and the the broadcasters seemed like it was big one as they were in awe and the game seemed to pause for a minute till security got in there, he even described it as some mixed martial arts going on in the stands mets fan vs braves fan

...thought the LOD-CE was a lazer pointer! LOL Must have been that HUGE reflector for concentrated throw and the mighty AAA battery. Guess he wasn't up to date on light technology.


The important thing is the Mets beat Hudson and Smotlz!

bltkmt said:

He of course shined it directly into his eyes, and then tried to claim it was a laser pointer

Click to expand...

So thinking it was a laser pointer, he aimed it at his eyes. Then he missed the blade in your pocket. Not too good a security guard, eh?

We were just having this discussion at work - incompetent security, thieving TSA goons, and pointless procedures that only give the "illusion of security." It's so easy to find obvious holes in security in so many public places. Instead of worrying about the bad guys finding and exploiting them, I find myself worrying about someone using "security" as an excuse to swipe my light or pocketknife. After all, that pleases the sheeple and contributes to that grand illusion of security. Kind of twisted, eh?

The Shadow said:

We were just having this discussion at work - incompetent security, thieving TSA goons, and pointless procedures that only give the "illusion of security."

Click to expand...

I talked with a security expert many years ago. He told me that "illusion of security" is VERY important part of security.

Alan

few years ago I went to a Univ of MD football game. I went to buy a soda and when I asked for a straw I was told they no longer have them due to security reasons. Now I am not a terrorist so have no clue how a straw can be a weapon (spit balls, stab someone with it is all I can come up with). I told them the keys in my pocket can be more of a weapon..I should have kept my mouth shut before they took my keys . I am ok with security measures...I want to be safe but they really need to do the right things and not just run through silly motions and procedures.

There's no way a tiny emitter like that puts out light. Gotta be a laser.

Alan said:

I talked with a security expert many years ago. He told me that "illusion of security" is VERY important part of security.
Alan

Click to expand...

Thanks, I never heard that before. Maybe "the illusion" is meant to draw our focus onto the bumbling security guard while behind the scenes the men in black are scanning all of us....

BTW - I apologize if my comments offended any security pros here. I appreciate your hard work, but just get frustrated with the lack of common sense exhibited by so many like the guy bltkmt ran into.

wow, a white laser pointer with so much spill?



Crenshaw

So the light was brighter than the security guard....

:nana:

The Shadow said:

So thinking it was a laser pointer, he aimed it at his eyes. Then he missed the blade in your pocket. Not too good a security guard, eh?

We were just having this discussion at work - incompetent security, thieving TSA goons, and pointless procedures that only give the "illusion of security." It's so easy to find obvious holes in security in so many public places. Instead of worrying about the bad guys finding and exploiting them, I find myself worrying about someone using "security" as an excuse to swipe my light or pocketknife. After all, that pleases the sheeple and contributes to that grand illusion of security. Kind of twisted, eh?

Click to expand...

Well obviously your strange white, large spill, laser pointer was "so powerful" that it either temporarily blinded him so he could not to see what your knife was,… Or It's immense power burnt out his last remaining brain cells so he could not register what the strange sharp thing in your pocket was. :laughing:

The Shadow said:

Maybe "the illusion" is meant to draw our focus onto the bumbling security guard while behind the scenes the men in black are scanning all of us....

Click to expand...

No, in most cases what you see is what you get. What you get at public checkpoints is nothing more than a bunch of untrained and underpaid good Germans who can't tell a flashlight from a laser pointer, a battery from a bomb, or a photographer from a criminal. These people are there to provide the impression of security--or the impression that an event is important enough to secure--without costing anywhere near as much as real security would cost.

The whole charade is called security theater.

Canonista said:

So the light was brighter than the security guard....

Click to expand...

Good one! LOL
Welcome to CPF Canonista.

It happened many years ago that I travelled to China and a custom officer found my M6 through X ray. After he found that it's the one U.S. military mounted at M16 they saw in movie, more custom officers rush to the counter and having fun with it. While I was demonstrating to them how it works, whole bunch of visitors were lining in the long queue impatiently

Alan

I'm not sure this article's got tons of relevancy to this thread, but it's close enough I thought I'd post it: We Don't Enjoy Touching You
A much different perspective on searches at sporting events.
-Winston