Van and Cameras Incident - Fear in Western Culture

A peculiar incident occurred today, as I was having my break in front of a University building a car drove by. It was a semi-large white van, but these was something out of the ordinary about it. The feature which struck me as out of the usual was what seemed like a poll mounted on the top of the van. It was about a meter in length and bizarrely there were about a dozen of single lens digital cameras attached to it, all pointing in different directions at diverse angles.

Now, to me this seemed alarming and one must ask, why?

This subtle feeling of uneasiness is in itself worth questioning. The van drove down this narrow road, further going into other smaller adjacent side roads. The van drove fairly quickly and the flickering noise of the cameras shooing was accompanied by the subtle yet terrifying to an extent, accelerating van engine.

Why did I feel uneasy?

This question should be approached with a responsible amount of context as cultural relativity should not be taken for granted in my conviction. As of today London is certainly one of the many western cities where Islamic culture is quite definitely embedded in general nature of its metropolis. After the events of recent years, the London underground bombings have definitely climaxed a general fear for unexpected assaults from seemingly unidentifiable sources. A city where a BBC photograph is stopped by a metropolitan police officer to have a "stop and search" done on him, because they were taking photographs of a sunset setting on one of the best views of St. Paul's Cathedral. This occurring days after the police announced a fall in the stopping and searching of random citizens due to concerns of terrorist threat. Apparently this particular officer stopped several people taking pictures that day as a precautionary measurement. I felt that this was another, recent example of the general mentality shift that has been occurring in the western parts of the world especially those with extensive multiculturalism.

However, even though the examples provided are directly linked to London, I do remain strong in my conviction that the general theory behind it is far more universal than it seems. A recent explosion in Russia which has had at least 30 people killed on a train from Moscow to St. Petersburg is supposedly linked to a organized group as well. Now, even though this has not been proven and even though those who decided to cause a train to derail in Russia are not those that caused the bombings in London or even in Spain, the principle which I would like to put forth applies. People will approach boarding that particular train link with much more caution and even though the attacks on London are not spoken of on a daily basis and millions of people take the tube everyday, the boiling cattle of fear in the background sounds quite clearly if you decide to listen to it.

People ignore it. People do not want to hear it. They do not want to feel this uneasiness when they wake up in the morning and have to get on with their day. If we are as J.S. Mill advocated, "seekers of pleasure over pain", then such a unsettling feeling of constant fear is certainly something that much be fought down. Consequently, the more time passes on from an unpleasant (to say the least) experience, the more intangible become the emotions directly related to it. This process is also accelerated by the general human need for security. Meaning, people would not be able to go on carrying there lives forwards on their own shoulders with a genuine smile on their faces if in their minds there was a constant bold notion of fear.

Unfortunately, even though we tend to ignore it and often it is fought through reassurance of governmental actions that supposedly protect us from the objects that fear, it still lingers in our minds. Today, when I saw that van drive by, the first thing I felt was uneasiness. I did not panic or get an anxiety attack. I was not flushed with adrenaline and my fight-or-flight reflexes did not kick in. Therefore, I did not react as animals do when they are faced with a direct danger. I reacted like a rational human being with a fully functioning frontal lobe, imagining what could be. Taking account of how small, subtle, and peculiar events so often (we are led to believe) have a much greater background, or even worse, consequence.

Perhaps, it was van filled with art students, taking pictures for a new exhibition or architects, studying the buildings of London while putting into use modern technology with a hint of creativity. What saddens me most, is the fact that, these notions came to me later on, only after the feeling of uneasiness. Perhaps this account is an exaggeration, however I would like to make the argument that it is rather an awareness of an issue that is growing, maybe somewhere in the background of our daily lives, but certainly exists. Lastly, I asked myself, "Do I feel safer?". Right now, after all the events that have happened over the past few years. With the way the Media has presented the situations and issues. The way the governments have handled the different issues. "Has it made you feel safer?".

Now, it is absolutely important to me that the reader realizes that in no way am advocating and unwires to that question, it is a inquiry everyone should attempt on their own.

However, I will end on a notion which states that the approach that has been taken towards societies of different beliefs, values, and convictions, is perhaps not the most appropriate.

Sincerely,

MR