Our Government Is Home Alone!

When someone trespasses on your property and tampers with its contents, what’s the first thing you want to do? What’s the first thing that comes to mind? Train a ferocious dog to rip them apart? Rig up some type of booby trap like that kid did in Home Alone? Hire your own security guard to search the premises and stand at the door like a bouncer?

Okay – maybe you want to take a lighter and less expensive route and do what the NYPD advises. Install some surveillance cameras to capture the crooks’ images and if you can get an alarm for your home, that might work, too. Police say doing simple things like locking your windows and doors will help keep intruders out, too.

I’ve received plenty of calls at the office from homeowners who were robbed while they were inside their house. It’s frightening to know that anyone can just enter your comfort zone at any time and rob you blind. That’s why people should also set their home alarm systems when they go to sleep – we’re most vulnerable when we’re asleep and not paying attention to what’s going on.

It’s ironic that the city puts out all of these advisories for residents to “protect their homes” and properties when the city can’t even protect its own property! In early October, Federal legislation was proposed to “toughen” penalties for those trespassing high-profile structures. That’ll scare away those kids and “activists” who were able to climb to the top of the Brooklyn Bridge! That’ll show those hooligans who somehow gained access to the top of the World Trade's Freedom Tower!

I don't care about security “oversights” and lack of resources. What if, in one of those instances, the perpetrators made it to the top of the structure and planted a bomb? What if those scoundrels were able to place cameras where they intruded and plot an attack? What if they were carrying weapons and were able to obliterate vehicles or passersby?

Ok – maybe you want a lighter and less invasive excuse for why they climbed some of the city’s most vulnerable high-profile structures. They just wanted to “make a statement” and make the news! They didn’t hurt anyone!

In an ideal, post-9/11 world, we wouldn’t need to make excuses for why our government isn’t protecting us from trespassers. Do you realize how easy it is to access a public structure and potentially plan something dangerous?

Sure, now they’re taking measures to put “new barriers” in place…once the damage has been done. That’s like waiting until your gorgeous house gets ransacked by a pack of thieves before you finally decide to dish out money for an alarm system.

Why are we waiting for someone to trespass on a high-profile building or structure to implement a stronger safety or prevention plan? What have they been doing all of these years? The more you hear about these incidents on the news, the more an average New Yorker will realize how the government really isn’t prepared to protected us.

Out of the security breaches that were reportedly “prevented” already, where do those handful of dangerous incidents fall in the “prevention” category? If it happened before, what makes anyone think it won’t happen again?

Plenty of “safety measures” can be put into effect. Deterring offenders through “tougher fines” doesn’t really address the issue – that we’re vulnerable and unprepared because no one is physically preventing trespassers from getting to their destination.

Let’s get real…Who was patrolling the Brooklyn Bridge when someone stuck a white flag at the top? If this act was committed in the dead of night, when no one was around – what does that say about limited the hours during which we’re protected? Shouldn’t the grounds of the Brooklyn Bridge be protected 24/7?

Oh, well…Isn’t it good to know that the government can’t afford around-the-clock protection for our most vulnerable landmarks? How can we prevent trespassers in the first place if access points are so easy? Which landmark or high-profile structure will be next?

If you ask me, the government’s been sleeping for way too long. Maybe it will take another catastrophe and another breach of security for Senator Chuck Schumer and other lawmakers to start practicing their open-mouthed Home Alone expressions. 

Unpublished 10-20-14