The Scanner

 

I’ve just come from a rather disconcerting discussion on Reddit about an incident at the Mall in Columbia. 

It begins with a photo and a question, 

What happened at the Mall?

One of the responses begins, 

My mother, who perpetually listens to the Howard County police scanner, says…

It reminded me of the folks who urge everyone in their neighborhood to install Ring cameras to “help the police.” These are the people who live in fear in suburban neighborhoods because they just know they saw someone who didn’t belong there.

The comment that convinced me to write this post was this one, because I think I know where it is heading.

Do you think the bus stops have helped or hindered all businesses including malls? I wonder who takes the bus stop if they are coming to be a consumer and if they are I wonder what percentage ?

My response:

Are you suggesting that people who can afford cars are better consumers? Or that people who use transit are innately undesirable?

I could be wrong about what was meant there. And if I am I will let you know. It just feels an awful lot like comments about how renters are less valuable in a community and less committed to neighborhood safety and wellbeing. 

Update: here’s their response.

I am referring to the ones that loot and why everything has to be locked up now. The ones that come off and cause violence. If you are that close minded to not understand this I highly suggest you speak to business owners and cops themselves. I went out to Hunt Valley to shop and I asked the cop what's going on with all the crime at the bus stops and he said the only thing he can recommend is get my license to carry. Towson U had a BUS STABBING which was an MTA not theirs. I think if you really want to get a real life experience may I suggest you riding one from West Baltimore catch the loop to Baltimore county and see if it's as g rated as you make it. Baltimore City crime is expanding to other counties and that's a known fact.

Hmm.

*****

A few years ago my husband gave me one of those bird feeders that have a motion-activated camera inside. What a delight that has been. Every day holds opportunities to see new birds up close, observe their behavior, marvel at how their feathers are fashioned so perfectly, laugh at their antics. 

I was startled to discover that the same technology that powered my amazing bird feeder was essentially the same as video enabled doorbells like Ring. 

So, after reading about the woman who perpetually listens to the police scanner, I have some thoughts.

Are you a crime watcher or a bird watcher?

It seemed to me that the thread on Reddit was revealing how many people are fascinated by, worried about, immersed in looking for crime in Columbia. To that end they listen to the scanner, share photos and anecdotal reports on social media, follow crime reports on the news. 

When does this become a hobby that shapes one’s world view? It appears to me that, the more engrossed respondents were in the “crime at the Mall” topic, the more likely they were to believe things like the following:

• Police response is always good, the bigger the better
• Crime comes from the outside
• We never had crime when I was younger
• Crime is always committed by “those people”.

These are the people who are inclined to say things like “I want my county back” as though it belonged to them personally. Maybe the more you listen to the scanner or watch Ring camera footage, the more you feed your fear. 

You become the scanner. 

Strangely enough, the more one watches birds at the feeder - - camera or no camera - - it doesn’t alter one’s world view. It just has more birds in it.

I haven’t come to believe that I have to watch it every minute or something bad will happen. 

Enjoying birds at the feeder has not made me forget that there are other things happening in the world. I am still aware of local news and other current events. 

Here’s an odd conclusion, but I’m pretty sure it is true: whether you are a crime watcher or a bird watcher makes absolute no difference in whether you are likely to be the victim of a crime. Neither one makes you safer or less safe. 

But being a crime watcher makes you feel less safe. And it can convince you to think and do things that, honestly, can make the world less safe for people in your community.

Lets get rid of buses and renters and Black people and people who look foreign and…

…anyone who we have convinced ourselves is making us less safe.

Taking on the mantle of crimewatcher may just be the gateway drug to condoning behavior that harms others. I’m serious here. 

If you go the birdwatcher route you may eventually have some strong feelings about deer and squirrels but I sincerely doubt you will harm anyone other than your own pocketbook. 

Any activity we choose that makes us more fearful, less trusting, and more likely to pass blanket judgments about others will damage us and make everyone around us less safe. 

What do you think? 

Village Green/Town² Comments