Fear Less Part 8

Cappy Gagnon Among his many law-enforcement and security positions, Cappy Gagnon was Executive a.s.sistant to the Los Angeles County Sheriff, Director of Special Programs for the department, and a.s.sistant Director of the Police Executive Inst.i.tute of the Police Foundation, of Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C. He is currently a coordinator of security and Manager of Special Event Security for the University of Notre Dame.

Paul Mones Paul Mones is an attorney and author. He has a nationwide practice devoted to representing children, and he is the author of When a Child Kills. Mr. Mones conducts lectures and training throughout the country on issues relating to child abuse, delinquency, and family violence.

- Appendix A - WEB SITES FOR UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION.

NEWS SOURCES.

www.eclecticesoterica.com/news.html News Web site with links to the top twenty-five newspapers in the world, local newspapers and television stations in every region internationally, many of them in English. Also links to major U.S. news sources such as the New York Times, Was.h.i.+ngton Post, CNN, etc. Useful for developing your own international perspective on the news.

www.a.s.signmenteditor.com/index,cfm Links to national and international news publications, media outlets, government organizations, and Web sites for news in business, entertainment, politics, and media as well as sites that feature the local concerns of specific large cities. Specific link to a page designed to gather resources related to the 9/11 disaster.

www.miis.edu Perspectives on the conflict from academics who have international political, diplomatic and espionage backgrounds, from the faculty of the Monterey Inst.i.tute of International Studies.

www.janes.com/ Articles about the conflict in Afghanistan from a weapons-manufacturing perspective: strategies, alliances. Coverage of military actions and tactics by countries besides the United States. Weapons a.n.a.lyzed include biochem.

www.alertnet.org Breaking news from Reuters about war, aid, disasters.

SECURITY.

www.firstgov.gov Central home page for all national government links. Search by topic to find latest government thinking on the state of the crisis. For example, www.firstgov.gov/featured/ usgresponse offers protection tips for mail, anthrax, bombs; a place to report leads and clues; and an emergency contact list.

www.whitehouse.gov/homeland Office of Homeland Security. Press releases about government activities, speeches. Straightforward information on emergency preparedness.

www.usps.gov Updates on mail, safe handling of mail, and government positions on mail handling.

www.ccmostwanted.com/mostwantedterr.htm America's most wanted cyberterrorists, with pictures.

E-mail or phone (1-866-483-5137).

www2.sbccom.army.mil Military's description of its preparations.

www.epa.gov Water-supply security, air-quality-monitoring tables, FAQ, anthrax.

www.fbi.gov Information on the hunt for the terrorists, most-wanted photos, rewards for information leading to the capture of bin Laden, anthrax cases. Link to place to leave tips. To report information over the Internet: www.ifccfbi.gov or phone 1-800-CRIMETV www.ndpo.gov The clearinghouse for state, local, and federal weapons of ma.s.s destruction information. Training materials and fact sheets.

www.stimson.org Private research inst.i.tute that focuses on issues of national and international security. Site offers a.n.a.lysis of bioterror-ism: proliferation throughout the world, history, FAQs.

www.hhs.gov Department of Health and Human Services home page: anthrax, Cipro availability, how to get help if affected by biological terrorism.

www.anser.org Private research inst.i.tute that publishes its own journal on homeland security with articles written by major government figures and academics. Journal is called Homeland Security Journal, but is not to be confused with the government Office of Homeland Security. Site also offers links to academic and private inst.i.tutions that study this issue.

PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS.

www.aacap.org/publications/disasterresponse/index.htm American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry on how to talk to children about 9/11, other disasters, news watching.

www.ces.purdue.edu Purdue University Extension program articles on how to discuss terrorism with children.

www.nimh/nih.gov/publicat/violence.cfm National Inst.i.tute of Mental Health recommendations on helping children and adolescents cope with violence and disaster.

www.helping.apa.org/daily/terrorism.html General recommendations on how terrorism affects us psychologically, warning signs of stress, and how to cope with trauma.

AIRLINE SAFETY.

www.airlinesafety.com Opinionated forum for discussing policies and issues related to airline safety. With articles, editorials, letters, and links.

www.airsafe.com Provides safety data and advice for traveling on pa.s.senger airplanes, including accident-news articles, tips, and weather reports. Specific articles about the status of reinforced c.o.c.kpit doors on different airlines, airport-security issues, in-flight transportation of chemicals, suspicious mail. Separate section about rumors and misinformation.

www.airsafetyonline.com Up-to-date news on security breaches, airport status, and recent crashes.

http://www.faa.gov Security regulations, requirements for flying, what you can carry on board.

www.ntsb.gov Descriptions of major accidents and recent accident reports.

Investigations, statistics, formal results of accident reports.

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS.

www.cdc.gov/nceh/emergency/prev_em.htm Centers for Disease Control recommendations on disaster preparedness.

www.fema.gov/pte/prep.htm How to prepare for a variety of disasters.

www.noaa.gov National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration information on natural disasters, storm watch, ozone layer, with satellite imagery.

www.usgs.gov Hurricanes, extreme storms, volcanoes, earthquakes, with links to preparedness recommendations.

www.esri.com Hazard awareness. Allows you to make a hazard map of your area or one you may be visiting.

RELIEF EFFORTS AND DONATIONS.

www.uwnyc.org/sepl 1 / United Way of New York City donation site: The September llth Fund United Way of New York City 2 Park Avenue New York, NY 10016 U.S.A.

1-800-710-8002.

www.nypfwc.org/ New York City Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Fund P.O. Box 3713 Grand Central Station New York, NY 10163 www.fema.gov Latest on relief efforts, how to apply for relief or donate funds.

www.redcross.org Latest on relief efforts around the world, disaster-preparedness tips, first aid information, how to donate money, blood, tissue. Links to other helpful sites.

www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf International perspective on humanitarian relief efforts.

BIO-TERRORISM.

www.anthrax.osd.mil/ Department of Defense anthrax site.

www.cdc.gov/ Centers for Disease Control main page: latest press releases, state of the nation, information on anthrax and other biological agents.

wwwbt.cdc.gov CDC page specific to bio-terrorism. Regularly updated.

www.hopkins-biodefense.org/ Johns Hopkins University Schools of Medicine and Public Health Information for Clinicians on Anthrax; JAMA consensus statements on botulinum toxin, plague, smallpox, tula-remia; concise diagnostic criteria and treatment guidelines for anthrax, botulism, smallpox and plague; how to handle anthrax threat letters; BT preparedness and response post-Sept. 11; FAQ: information for the general public.

www.fda.gov/ Government information on approved drugs for various bioagents.

www.who.int/home-page/ Health status of refugees and Afghanistan, world recommendations on vaccinations such as smallpox, advisories about "deliberate infections" - meaning bio-terrorism.

www.osha.gov/ Mail-handling recommendations, air-quality-monitoring information for those working at the World Trade Center from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

www.bact.wisc.edu/Bact330/lectureanthrax Anthrax history, photos, information.

www.ama-a.s.sn.org/special/infohome.htm Journal of the American Medical a.s.sociation search: excellent site for research on bio-terrorism, history, vaccines.

- Appendix B - TALKING TO CHILDREN ABOUT TERRORISM.

MY FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE Paul Mones is a wise attorney and author who has dedicated his life to protecting the rights of children. Paul wrote the seminal book on children who kill (When a Child Kills). In his research and his law practice, he has met many children who were profoundly traumatized. Accordingly, he has an extraordinary inside look at how children react to great stress and fear. I asked Paul to share some of his thoughts on how to best approach children's fears about terrorism.

GdeB Perhaps the single most important factor that determines how we as human beings deal with fear is age. Children, especially those under thirteen, are highly vulnerable members of our society in this regard because they lack the intellectual and emotional capacity to process fear in the ways that adults can. Because children have no significant life history upon which to reflect and compare current events, they are more easily p.r.o.ne to misinterpret the meaning of those events and have an exaggerated response to them. Vast numbers of adults watching repeated newscasts of the Twin Towers collapsing during the first few days following September 11 were seeing something that was clearly traumatic, but a number of very young children who saw the same repeated images actually believed that the attacks were happening over and over again.

As adults we are responsible for helping our children cope with the aftermath of 9/11. And the first step is to realize that you cannot help your child unless you first help yourself. You set your child's emotional compa.s.s. Your child relies upon you to navigate through these rough Waters. When dads or moms are nervous and anxious, their kids know it - immediately. Remember the warning you get on an airplane about the oxygen masks: "If "you are traveling with a young child, first put the mask on yourself, then a.s.sist your child." Similarly, you are your child's anchor - take care of yourself first.

As you manage your own fears and build new strengths in the times ahead, there are a number of concrete things you can do to help your children. These brief suggestions are aimed primarily at helping the most vulnerable children, those under thirteen, but they can be applied to helping teens as well.

TALKING TO CHILDREN ABOUT TERRORISM.

While we cannot nor should we completely s.h.i.+eld children from post-9/11 events, we must screen how much information they receive. To this end, as many experts have said, don't let young children watch TV news. Television news is, to say the least, not kid-friendly. If there had ever been any question in your mind before September 11, there should be no question now: TV news is not intended for youthful consumption. It is purposefully intended to intellectually and emotionally engage the viewer on a level young children simply have not as yet attained.

Perhaps just as damaging as watching the television news is for children to hear their parents and other adults discuss disturbing news events. Be careful what you say to other adults in person or on the phone when children are present. And do not a.s.sume that they don't hear you merely because they are in another room. Their ears have tiny radar for the tones of agitation or distress in a parent's voice. And if you are sharing your anxiety and bits of news with friends on the phone, they're getting it, even if they don't actually hear the words - even if they don't completely understand the words. It will be difficult to convince them to remain calm when they see and feel your agitation. So do the best you can to reserve your expressions of anxiety and fear for when they are sleeping or out of the house.

I am not advocating keeping your children completely in the dark. Inevitably children will hear things from other adults or friends or directly witness certain events in their lives, like armed troops on bridges or in airports. It is therefore your responsibility to become a current-events translator for your child. There are two things you know about any news report: First, you are likely not getting the whole story, and second, whatever you hear today may change tomorrow and may change again next week. Witness the information roller coaster surrounding the anthrax problem. One strategy is to reduce the events of the day to their simplest, most logical common denominator. For example: The soldiers we have fighting for the United States are like the policemen you see every day. Police protect us from people who may want to hurt us in America, soldiers protect us when people from other countries may want to hurt us. As for the anthrax scare: Somebody put some bad stuff in a few letters, and some people who opened them got sick. But you have to remember that there are billions and billions of letters sent every week, and only a very, very few of them had that bad stuff in them. You have nothing to worry about because everybody is doing everything they can to make the mail safe and catch the people who put the bad stuff in the mail.

In explaining terrorism to children, it is much more important for children to know about all the people who will protect them from anything bad happening than it is to know what some terrorist can do to hurt them. Let's be honest: Few of us can fully grasp the nature of the terrorist threat or all the issues of foreign extremists. So stick with what you know. Children should be told that their protection and safety is the most important thing not only to Mommy and Daddy but to the President of the United States and all the people who help him run the country.

In these times one of the best salves for all of us, and especially your children, is to go back to what you can rely upon: your family's history and that of the United States. Tell your children that your mom and dad protected you in tough times and that your grandparents protected your parents during similar times. In fact, if the children's grandparents (or for that matter, any elderly person) are available, ask them to tell your child the same thing. What parents do best is protect their children. It's what you have been doing since your child was born, and you're not going to stop now. Tell your children stories of resiliency. Tell them about their ancestors who survived wars, slavery, or the depression. Hope about the future lies in the strength of the past. You can tell them whatever stories out of history have inspired you, but just make the stories age-appropriate, which usually means short and simple, for that is what a child best understands.

It is difficult being a wise parent even in easy times, and it's especially difficult now. Your job will be made easier if you involve yourself and your children in any of the wonderful community projects that have come out of this terrible tragedy. One of the most comforting things for children is to know that they aren't alone, that they don't have to face the future by themselves. As important as it is to help your children deal with their fear, it is equally critical to involve them in all the good that has been produced from these horrific events. You can chose numerous ways to involve your children: becoming part of a school or community project writing letters to public servants who acted and continue to act so heroically in responding to 9/11 (firefighters, police officers, etc.), collecting money for refugee or survivor relief, etc. Whatever you chose to do together with your child will make your child stronger and will bring your child the good that can always be found in difficult times. Just seeing you prevail so well can be a valuable experience that stays with your child for a lifetime.

Paul Mones (Some resources about talking to children and teens are offered in Appendix A.)

- Appendix C -

ESSAY ON HOW 9/11.

AFFECTED PEOPLE OF.

DIFFERENT AGES.

CHRIS MATTHEWS is a writer and syndicated columnist you may know best from his popular television show, Hardball.

Was.h.i.+ngton - For some reason, this anthrax scare is tougher on younger people. It's the people in their twenties who fret the loudest. They wait on line to be tested. They want their Cipro. They want people like me to stop our "denial."

They are puzzled by older people's reactions, as embodied by the angry defiance of Tom Brokaw and Tom Daschle.

It's a generational thing, and I have my suspicions about why.

One theory is that we older people have been through worse. Some still hide jars of quarters in the bas.e.m.e.nt for fear of another Great Depression. World War II and Korea took men from the cla.s.sroom and threw them into battle. The early Cold War had kids huddled under our desks waiting for the big "flash" that meant the beginning of World War III - and the end of the world.

Then came Vietnam. That war cost ten times the number of American lives than the World Trade Center attacks. Some young men went to Vietnam willingly and courageously. Some were grabbed and found the courage for the fight. Some just sweated it out back home. You think anthrax was bad? You should have seen the draft.

My second suspicion is more subtle. It has to do with loss. When I came to Was.h.i.+ngton thirty years ago last spring, you could walk right into the office of any senator or member of Congress. You could go anywhere you wanted in the Capitol any time of day. There were no metal detectors, no ID cards to show, nothing. The right to pet.i.tion Congress was as literal as it says in the Const.i.tution. You wanted to pester some politician, you went ahead and did it.

The same was true of the president. The no. 33 bus from Friends.h.i.+p Heights drove right in front of the White House on the way to Capitol Hill. When President Richard Nixon got into trouble, a driver could honk his horn as he pa.s.sed 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. and the occupant upstairs knew it meant, "Resign!"

All this is gone.

Now, checkpoints dot the Capitol plaza where FDR said we have nothing to fear but fear itself. You can't drive a truck anywhere near the Hill. Pennsylvania Avenue is closed to traffic from 15th Street to 17th Street.

Even the air has a perimeter. If anyone leaves their seat during the thirty-minute approach to Reagan National Airport, the plane may head directly to Dulles.

Want to write your senator? Forget it. That anthrax-tainted letter to Tom Daschle from Trenton virtually shut down the Capitol.

It took years for this shutting of the democratic gates. First came the bombing in the Capitol in '71. Then Oklahoma City. Then September 11 and United Flight 93, the fourth plane that may have been headed for the Capitol, but was brought down by courageous pa.s.sengers.

This thing called terrorism has wormed its way into our collective consciousness. Anthrax spores are in the Senate mail. Little particles of h.e.l.l are in the Capitol air. Staffers with nervous systems once wired to the news cycle now wait in line for Cipro. The big questions of foreign policy and fiscal policy have shrunk to the small one: How do I stay alive?

"We have some planes," we hear a hijacker say. "Just stay quiet and you'll be OK - n.o.body move, please - don't try to make any stupid moves."

We older people refuse to buy it. Maybe it's because we've been through worse. Maybe because we've been through better.

Chris Matthews

- Appendix D -

GAVIN DE BECKER AND a.s.sOCIATES.

GAVIN DE BECKER and a.s.sociates is a seventy-member firm that advises clients on the a.s.sessment and management of threats of violence, inappropriate pursuit, stalking situations, workplace violence, biological attack, and terrorism.

The Threat a.s.sessment and Management Division (TAM) a.s.sesses inappropriate, alarming, or threatening communications and develops management plans for dealing with unwanted pursuers and safety hazards. TAM also conducts sensitive investigations relevant to safety and a.s.sists clients with strategies to reduce their vulnerability to inappropriate pursuit and to enhance privacy. TAM provides expert-witness consultation on cases involving stalking, threats, and prevention of violence. This division runs the special team that surveys sites and screens mail for the presence of biological pathogens.

The MOSAIC Threat a.s.sessment Systems Division provides advanced training to law enforcement, prosecutors, state and federal agencies, corporate executives, and school administrators on threat a.s.sessment, case management, and the prevention of violence. MOSAIC refers to a computer-a.s.sisted threat-a.s.sessment method that helps ensure fairness, consistency, and thoroughness. MOSAIC systems designed for specific a.s.sessment applications are available to government agencies, universities, school systems, corporations, and some other inst.i.tutions: - MAPP-MOSAIC for a.s.sessment of Public Figure Pursuit - MDV-MOSAIC for a.s.sessment of Domestic Violence Situations - MAST-MOSAIC for a.s.sessment of School Threats - MAST-U-MOSAIC for a.s.sessment of School Threats in a University Setting - MAT-W-MOSAIC for a.s.sessment of Threats in the Workplace - JUDICIAL-MOSAIC for a.s.sessment of Judicial Threats The Protective Security Division (PSD) provides advance planning and coordination, logistical support, and protective coverage for public figures and other at-risk individuals. Protective coverage is provided at public appearances, while traveling, as well as round-the-clock protection at private residences and corporate offices. PSD also provides secure transportation using highly trained drivers and specially equipped armored vehicles.

The Technical Security Services Division (TSS) conducts security surveys of residences and offices, providing detailed written recommendations for improvement. TSS reviews plans, coordinates with security vendors, and develops installation specifications for security enhancements.

Three times a year, Gavin de Becker and a.s.sociates gathers leading experts to conduct advanced training in threat a.s.sessment and management for government officials, law-enforcement professionals, university police, and corporate security personnel. These four-day academies are held at the UCLA Conference Center at Lake Arrowhead, California.