[Teuthida]

Here's what I never quite got: The people who are the most afraid of terrorists in this country seem to be those that have the least chance of ever getting attacked...unless it's nuclear...in that case hide under your wooden desk.

I can't speak for the entire city but it appears that no one in NYC is as scared as how the media makes out the rest of the country to be. "Officials say chances are high that the subway system could be attacked with a dirty bomb today." The subway isn't any less crowded and nothing happens. People are far more worried about holding unto their job and keeping their family off the streets than to spend time worried about terrorists.

To make things "safer" the city instituted random bag checks. A cop isn't about to stop a person trying to get to work on time (or going home, which they want even more desperately) to randomly check their bag. That's about the best way to die in the line of duty. Since this began in July 2005 I haven't seen anyone's bag actual checked except during that first month.

If you have plenty of leisurely time to watch so-called "news" programs and listen to these talking heads about how dangerous the world is, chances are you don't have enough actually problems to deal with, so this takes on greater focus.