Suspicious Activity Report

Those of us who live and work in the Washington DC area are continually made aware of the threat of terrorism, an awareness bred not only by past events, but by efforts on the part of the Department of Homeland Security and local authorities. (One of these days, I swear, DHS will sponsor a "Bring A Suspicious Package To Work Day.") At any rate, the Washington Metro system is continually reminding riders to report suspicious items or activity. Just the other day, I was riding the Metro rail to work when a young man about twenty to twenty-five boarded the train. You can say what you want about "profiling" but this individual seemed to be auditioning for a place on the next security awareness poster. He was tall (about six feet) and was wearing a hoodie and sunglasses. The effect was a remarkable resemblance to every police artist sketch of a suspect wanted in connection with a convenience store stick up. To add to the effect, he was carrying an oversized attache case in one hand and had his other hand tucked inside a soft-sided lunch bag with a caution sign logo that read "Keep Out" on it. The attache case had wires leading out of it and, through a partially unzipped opening, I could see a red light blinking. I could not help thinking that his other hand held the "kill switch" for a detonator. It seems silly in retrospect, but I would not turn my back to this guy the whole time I was on the train and watched for any sudden moves on his part. When I left the train at my stop I wondered if I would be hearing anything in the news later. Nothing ever happened of course, the young man was probably just listening to his tunes from his boom box. But it does make me stop and think about how easy it is to fall into the trap of stereotyping people when we feel threatened by real or imagined dangers.