# WTF? I don't believe the PSA I just saw! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 12, 2009, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-i-dont-believe-the-psa-i-just-saw/480868 "2009-01-12T03:15:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-i-dont-believe-the-psa-i-just-saw/480868/81 "2009-01-12T22:41:55Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > These aren’t terrorist specific, but they’re general disaster/emergency readiness things you can do to help keep you and your kids safe. Remember, when something bad happens, people panic and don’t think clearly. By knowing what to do when there’s an emergency, you can save your life and the lives of the people you love. Yeah, but what he’s getting at is why was the PSA described in the OP advising people to create a _terrorist_ plan of action with their kids as if that meant anything? It’s rubbish. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-i-dont-believe-the-psa-i-just-saw/480868/82 "2009-01-12T23:18:14Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > Yeah, but what he’s getting at is why was the PSA described in the OP advising people to create a _terrorist_ plan of action with their kids as if that meant anything? It’s rubbish. Well, I haven’t seen the PSA itself, and no one has linked to it, so I don’t know what it says, exactly. My guess is that it talks about a plan of action in the case of emergency or terrorist attack, because that’s how those things are usually phrased. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-i-dont-believe-the-psa-i-just-saw/480868/83 "2009-01-13T00:33:47Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Well, I haven’t seen the PSA itself, and no one has linked to it, so I don’t know what it says, exactly. My guess is that it talks about a plan of action in the case of emergency or terrorist attack, because that’s how those things are usually phrased. Actually, someone did… we just didn’t notice it. I assume this is what the OP was talking about, anyway: [http://www.ready.gov/kids/parents/about.html](http://www.ready.gov/kids/parents/about.html) It certainly makes much more sense couched as a general emergency preparedness program, rather than “terrorism plan of attack” as the OP called it. Still, it’s hardly groundbreaking stuff- it’s simple parenting. Any parent who doesn’t tell their kids “here are the emergency numbers, and if anything goes wrong, call Grandma” or whatever is negligent. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-i-dont-believe-the-psa-i-just-saw/480868/84 "2009-01-13T03:51:40Z")
> [@Baldwin](#): > > No, it isn’t, as previously explained. You’re being disingenuous. Rand Rover is being a retard. And a pussy. Retard/pussy is a dangerous combination, especially if Texas is in the mix. (Consider the past eight years.) > > I’m wondering if the PSAs actually exist. Consider the OP. **Clothahump** , do you have a link to something that would show us what you’re talking about? [http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-11-22-ads-homelandsecurity\_x.htm](http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-11-22-ads-homelandsecurity_x.htm) You can see the videos from that page. And by the way, Baldwin, fuck you and the horse you rode in on with that snarky comment about “Consider the OP”. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-i-dont-believe-the-psa-i-just-saw/480868/85 "2009-01-13T05:41:15Z")
To be fair, Rescorla wasn’t operating in a vacuum when he decided the WTC would be attacked: _it already had been attacked_, in 1993. Specifically because of the previous terrorist interest in the building, Rescorla was sure it would be targeted again. He wasn’t prescient, he was just paying attention to detail. (Please note I am taking nothing away from the man’s foresight and bravery!) Apparently, the parallel is: if your children have previously been attacked by al Qaeda, you’re well advised to form an evacuation plan. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-i-dont-believe-the-psa-i-just-saw/480868/86 "2009-01-13T08:08:54Z")
French isn’t an ethnicity. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-i-dont-believe-the-psa-i-just-saw/480868/87 "2009-01-13T12:09:59Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > And by the way, Baldwin, fuck you and the horse you rode in on with that snarky comment about “Consider the OP”. No offense intended; I was just referring to your record of not being overly bright, and not always having a grasp of facts. That’s all. ETA: Thanks for the link. Would have greatly enhanced your first post. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-i-dont-believe-the-psa-i-just-saw/480868/88 "2009-01-13T17:00:25Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > To be fair, Rescorla wasn’t operating in a vacuum when he decided the WTC would be attacked: _it already had been attacked_, in 1993. Specifically because of the previous terrorist interest in the building, Rescorla was sure it would be targeted again. He wasn’t prescient, he was just paying attention to detail. (Please note I am taking nothing away from the man’s foresight and bravery!) Per my link, Rescorla had first warned of a potential for attack when he was first hired in 1992. So he was quite a bit prescient there. > [@Sailboat](#): > > Apparently, the parallel is: if your children have previously been attacked by al Qaeda, you’re well advised to form an evacuation plan. Okay. So what do you think I should teach my kids - after all, I used to live just a few miles from the Pentagon, I was working close to it when it was hit, and today my kids are within spitting distance of a major military installation and FBI training center. They will attend college someday - one of the major universities in my state was the scene of a well-publicized shooting that left 32 people dead. What preparations do you think I should take with my kids? One of the victims of the shooting at Virginia Tech had been taught by my brother in high school - he only made it out alive because he took off his belt and used it to tourniquet his leg. He was bleeding heavily from an artery - he would have been dead within minutes had he not done this. He learned how as an Eagle Scout. Seems a good approach, frankly, and applicable in many situations. I haven’t seen the ads in question - they may be effective or not. But we can say an antismoking ad is ineffective without saying that someone ought to smoke, right? Why is it that this subject has brought out such a tremendous amount of stupidity in this thread? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-i-dont-believe-the-psa-i-just-saw/480868/89 "2009-01-13T17:11:35Z")
I should also add - the most terrified I’ve ever been in my life, and that includes being uncomfortably close to the 9/11 attacks, was when the Beltway sniper was killing people pretty close to where I live - and nobody could be sure where he would shoot next. My wife was pregnant with our twins at the time. It was horrific - I was gassing up our cars late at night and deliberately choosing a station where the pumps were shielded by an embankment. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-i-dont-believe-the-psa-i-just-saw/480868/90 "2009-01-13T17:57:51Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > Texan is an ethnicity? What are you, retarded? I’m the goddamn Lone Ranger! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-i-dont-believe-the-psa-i-just-saw/480868/91 "2009-01-13T18:03:44Z")
> [@Mr.Moto](#): > > Per my link, Rescorla had first warned of a potential for attack when he was first hired in 1992. So he was quite a bit prescient there. I was going to say the same thing as Sailboat when I first read the account you posted, until I noticed he started making noise about evacuation in 1992. > [@](#): > > One of the victims of the shooting at Virginia Tech had been taught by my brother in high school - he only made it out alive because he took off his belt and used it to tourniquet his leg. He was bleeding heavily from an artery - he would have been dead within minutes had he not done this. He learned how as an Eagle Scout. > > Seems a good approach, frankly, and applicable in many situations. The DHS is not telling anyone to show their kids how to apply a tourniquet, or evacuate a high-rise office building. I certainly agree that teaching your kids to be prepared for emergencies in general is a good thing, and that would include first aid training. That’s not what this thread is about, though. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-i-dont-believe-the-psa-i-just-saw/480868/92 "2009-01-13T18:26:28Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Oh, come on. A so-called PSA advising parents to establish a terrorist attack plan with their kids? > > How frigging lame can you get? My plan is to trip the kids and run, prolly shouldn’t tell them beforehand. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-i-dont-believe-the-psa-i-just-saw/480868/93 "2009-01-14T05:01:13Z")
> [@Baldwin](#): > > No offense intended; I was just referring to your record of not being overly bright, and not always having a grasp of facts. That’s all. If I were in a nasty mood, I would take offense, but a snarky little asshole like you making jibes at me is not worth wasting time over. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-i-dont-believe-the-psa-i-just-saw/480868/94 "2009-01-16T04:26:07Z")
> [@Fiveroptic](#): > > There’s a [Hell, MI](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell,_Michigan) as well, often confused with Detroit or Clarkston, but it’s its own place. I suppose if Texas is its own race, then the denizens of Hell, Michigan would be even more likely to do something in retaliation to an amusing but slightly offensive remark. > > Personally, I’d rather wait until I die to cash in my ticket to Hell (I’ve got box seat tickets) so I’m not saying a word about my fellow mid-state Michiganders. [http://www.goohf.com/](http://www.goohf.com/) :D:D ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-i-dont-believe-the-psa-i-just-saw/480868/95 "2009-01-16T13:37:32Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > How exactly do you plan for a terrorist plan attack with your kids? First, you have to teach the little buggers to handle heavy explosives. … ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-i-dont-believe-the-psa-i-just-saw/480868/96 "2009-01-16T14:30:12Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Having a disaster preparedness plan, whether it’s for a natural disaster like a flood or a hurricane, or for a man-made one like a terrorist attack, isn’t really a bad idea, even if, hopefully, you’ll never have to use it. I can’t help but suspect that the bureaucratic drones rejected that more sensible approach because “anti-terrorism” is sexy while reminding people about preparation for generic disasters is embarassing (_koff_Katrina_koff_) to the Powers That Be. ---
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-i-dont-believe-the-psa-i-just-saw/480868/97 "2009-01-16T14:46:54Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > What, don’t you want her to have 72 virgins?:dubious: I’ve never understood this 72 Virgins thing. I mean, they aren’t gonna stay that way for long. And then waddya got? Seventy-two nagging wives. And Og knows how many crying babies. This is to die for? Anyway. I realize some of the critters in the outgoing administration sorely miss the Cold War, but do we really need to revive Duck and Cover? Talk about retro. . . . ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-i-dont-believe-the-psa-i-just-saw/480868/98 "2009-01-16T19:56:09Z")
> [@BJMoose](#): > > Anyway. I realize some of the critters in the outgoing administration sorely miss the Cold War, but do we really need to revive Duck and Cover? Talk about retro. . . . Again, for all that it is ridiculed, duck and cover is pretty good advice. It remains the standard shelter-in-place rule for earthquakes and tornadoes, with some modifications. And a second’s thought would show that it has utility against explosive attacks from whatever source. Let’s remember that a good portion of the fatalities and even more of the injuries in the Oklahoma City bombing were from flying glass. And while that likely couldn’t have been prevented in that case, it could have been different had advance warning of the bomb been obtained. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-i-dont-believe-the-psa-i-just-saw/480868/99 "2009-01-16T20:18:13Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > Yeah, but what he’s getting at is why was the PSA described in the OP advising people to create a _terrorist_ plan of action with their kids as if that meant anything? It’s rubbish. Just based on the way you phrased it here, I read that as “spread the fear to your children in the hopes that they grow up to be Republicans, because damn it, things aren’t looking good for our political party.” ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-i-dont-believe-the-psa-i-just-saw/480868/100 "2009-01-16T23:34:11Z")
> [@](#): > > Texas doesn’t come any where near the French. Talk about bad aim. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-i-dont-believe-the-psa-i-just-saw/480868.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-i-dont-believe-the-psa-i-just-saw/480868.md?page=6)