Do you have a Gun?

One feature of Israeli society serves as a more or less constant reminder that something is not as peaceful and harmonious as the immidiate surface will have it: wherever you go, you run into a rather sick obsession with security. Closely connected to that, ironically enough I would say, there is the widespread presence of guns and soldiers. Now, not only soldiers carry weapons around in the streets; ordinary civilians armed with a rifle is a common sight, the rifle usually hung over the shoulder with the same ease that I carry my bag around. There are security checks virtually everywhere; armed guards are placed outside shops, restaurants, bus stations, shopping centers and so on - not to mention holy places like the Wailing Wall - and you need to open your bag and let the guard look into it before entering. Some places you even have to send your belongings through x-ray machines, as when entering departure areas in airports. The funny thing is that carrying a weapon doesn't seem to be too much of a hinderance to be let through, and I don't really get the point as most of the time the guards don't care the least what's on the bottom of your bag. It should be rather easy to enter with a bomb hidden away somewhere, so what's the point?

This morning I went to the Hebrew University in Jerusalem to meet with an interviewee who is studying there. Just the process of getting in to the campus was quite interesting. First I was stopped by two guards asking to see my ID, and so I had to give them my passport. The guard examined it closely and asked me some questions about where I was from, what I was doing and why I wanted to enter into the university campus. I told him I was there to see a friend, which was then judged as an acceptable reason to let me in. Then came the question: "do you have a gun?" - phrased in a tone so casual and at the same time so serious it almost made me laugh. Well, I was eventually let in - whether or not it had anything to do with the fact that I didn't have a gun remains unknown - only to be faced with yet another security check. This time with beeping gates and x-ray machines, but no further questions asked. All this just to get inside the main building of the faculty of social sciences.

Where fear reigns, 'security measures' is good business.
I guess it also facilitates control, seeing that a frightened public is also an easily manipulated one.