The latest cultural phenomenon whose trajectory bears watching: the flash mob.
In a March 9 article from the San Francisco Chronicle, http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2009/03/09/BA4D169H59.DTL, one of America's most liberal cities says enough is enough. The article was a bit startling. It was little surprise to hear of groups Twittering each other and converging at San Francisco venues on no-notice to engage in things like pillow fights. Nor was it astonishing to learn that these spirited maneuvers ended up costing thousands of dollars to businesses when feathers from the pillow fight clogged drains and resulted in flooding of a restaurant. Nor for that matter was it earthshaking to learn that city workers had to handle significant clean-up work at public expense. But San Francisco is actually on the verge of limiting such activities? Amazing.
What might be another way of looking at this flash mob phenomenon? Well, remember the Fort Dix Six and how they trained with paintball fights as a surrogate for a more thorough boot camp experience in Pakistan? Could these kinds of activities, on the surface more nuisance than threat, ultimately serve as a stepping stone for advancing to more virulent protests and direct action?
Indeed, security practitioners see such measures as challenging on multiple fronts. Not only do they permit adversaries to test communications, logistics, and local police response through a seemingly harmless, socially forgiven operation under the guise of youthful hijinks, they offer other benefits. One is decoy or diversion -- of police, rescue, and public works resources from an actual attack site. Another is spotting -- a way to eye potential recruits while gauging them in action, to see who is a leader, who is able to follow instructions and elude police, who is hotheaded and who is calm, who is reliable and who is out of control. Still another benefit to would-be attackers is the opportunity such events present for observing and studying the media response, as today's terrorist attacks need the accelerant of media attention to blaze their way into the public consciousness.
Recall that in the Battle for Seattle protests at the turn of the century, activists arranged their movements through text messaging and cellular telephone calls. Now they use Twitter and, thanks to flash mobs, they can build up their skill in a way that may be sophisticated without having to be complex.
-- Nick Catrantzos
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- All Secure
- NICK CATRANTZOS is the lead author of the All Secure website and is the emeritus security director for a large public organization. He has also managed security aspects of corporate takeovers, response to international hostage situations, and finding and keeping secrets. He has been board certified in security management, licensed as a private investigator, and certified as an incident commander. He worked as a case officer for a discreet branch of public service. He protected stealth technology at Lockheed and, later, as a consulting security director for both Kroll and Control Risks, he assisted executives with workplace violence cases and with protecting VIPs and critical assets globally in volatile areas. Nick's partner, TOM GOFF, was a captain in the Military Police Corps, U.S. Army Reserve and has a law degree from the University of California at Davis. He is a former reporter for Fortune Magazine, was senior editor at New York Magazine and Esquire, and has provided crisis and communications counsel to senior executives at Fortune 500 companies, including Lockheed, ARCO, Microsoft, Nissan, and Sony Pictures.