Suspicious device in Allouez park is part of game

[cheezehead]

The Death of Common Sense
By Lori Borgman

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Three yards of black fabric enshroud my computer terminal. I am mourning the passing of an old friend by the name of Common Sense.

His obituary reads as follows:

Common Sense, aka C.S., lived a long life, but died from heart failure at the brink of the millennium. No one really knows how old he was, his birth records were long ago entangled in miles and miles of bureaucratic red tape.
Known affectionately to close friends as Horse Sense and Sound Thinking, he selflessly devoted himself to a life of service in homes, schools, hospitals and offices, helping folks get jobs done without a lot of fanfare, whooping and hollering. Rules and regulations and petty, frivolous lawsuits held no power over C.S.

A most reliable sage, he was credited with cultivating the ability to know when to come in out of the rain, the discovery that the early bird gets the worm and how to take the bitter with the sweet. C.S. also developed sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you earn), reliable parenting strategies (the adult is in charge, not the kid) and prudent dietary plans (offset eggs and bacon with a little fiber and orange juice).

A veteran of the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression, the Technological Revolution and the Smoking Crusades, C.S. survived sundry cultural and educational trends including disco, the men’s movement, body piercing, whole language and new math.

C.S.’s health began declining in the late 1960s when he became infected with the If-It-Feels-Good, Do-It virus. In the following decades his waning strength proved no match for the ravages of overbearing federal and state rules and regulations and an oppressive tax code. C.S. was sapped of strength and the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, criminals received better treatment than victims and judges stuck their noses in everything from Boy Scouts to professional baseball and golf. His deterioration accelerated as schools implemented zero-tolerance policies. Reports of 6-year-old boys charged with sexual harassment for kissing classmates, a teen suspended for taking a swig of Scope mouthwash after lunch, girls suspended for possessing Midol and an honor student expelled for having a table knife in her school lunch were more than his heart could endure.

As the end neared, doctors say C.S. drifted in and out of logic but was kept informed of developments regarding regulations on low-flow toilets and mandatory air bags. Finally, upon hearing about a government plan to ban inhalers from 14 million asthmatics due to a trace of a pollutant that may be harmful to the environment, C.S. breathed his last. Services will be at Whispering Pines Cemetery. C.S. was preceded in death by his wife, Discretion; one daughter, Responsibility; and one son, Reason. He is survived by two step-brothers, Half-Wit and Dim-Wit.

Memorial Contributions may be sent to the Institute for Rational Thought.

Farewell, Common Sense. May you rest in peace.

“Common sense is not so common” — Voltare

[gotta run]

Yup, the death of common sense and blaming 9/11 for every loss of liberty. This is why we pat down granny at the airport and my kids had to take their shoes off when they were 3 years old.

Let’s face it folks, the bomb squad was called, the shiny remote controlled robot was brought out, something was going to get blowed up that day, no matter what label was on this suspicious “device.”

The news story itself is a sham, and that is my professional opinion. More than once this was referred to as a “device.” Not a “cache” or “game piece” or even a generic “container.” Word choices mean things and it was a slow news day in a town where, to the best of my recollection, there hasn’t been a big history of bombs blowing up in parks. So let’s sensationalize it. I knew there was a reason I haven’t watched the evening news in at least 10 years.

On the Left Side of the Road...

[Team Black-Cat]

@cheezehead wrote:

All it takes is one. One misplaced breifcase or thermos bottle. There is a list of “What if’s ?” that can be made. I’m sorry, but that’s the age we live in now. Like ir ot not.

Not me. If I lived in that world, I wouldn’t be able to drive or ride in a car because any car coming the other way could suddenly swerve into my lane and hit us head on. All it takes is one…

Walking in the woods would probably be out. A tree might fall on me.

Swimming… biking… crossing the road. All of these activities are responsible for more deaths in the US than “suspicious devices”.

[Firehogs]

To Happy Hodag,

I have no problem with anyone venting, however, directing people to the backyard of my house is CROSSING THE LINE.

Your post has been deleted.

This is getting a little out of hand. The Fire Department does not have the authority to stop the bomb squad from following their procedures, even if I was 100% sure this was a cache (I did not see it- I used the Internet to show the squad commander there was one in the vicinity) however, their decision was already made before I got on scene. I can’t change that. They have to follow up on a citizen complaint. Read my prior posts. There are a few people here making assumptions on how we all have to do our jobs.

Thank you everyone for your 2 cents worth, however, learn the facts before going off the deep end over something so minor. Whether you agree or disagree over this matter is fine, but pointing out where I live was not a good idea.

Firehogs

[3 Hawks]

Captain,

I’m sorry you’ve had to endure the “wisdom” of some of our more outspoken members. Please remember, the vast majority of cachers understand and appreciate the actions taken by Fire and Police in response to this incident.

The geocaching community,

Yes, common sense seems to be a thing of the past…..so lets all apply a liberal dose and stop attacking the responsible actions taken by those charged with protecting us from ourselves.

A proactive and responsible response on our part to such an incident goes significantly further toward ensuring we have the continued support of city and municipal authorities. Waving an indignant finger, ranting, and shifting blame makes us all look bad.

[seldom|seen]

@Firehogs wrote:

I have no problem with anyone venting, however, directing people to the backyard of my house is CROSSING THE LINE.

AGREED. And, if my prior posts seem like personal attacks, you have my apologies and I too need to dial myself back a bit.

@Firehogs wrote:

The Fire Department does not have the authority to stop the bomb squad from following their procedures, even if I was 100% sure this was a cache (I did not see it- I used the Internet to show the squad commander there was one in the vicinity) however, their decision was already made before I got on scene. I can’t change that. They have to follow up on a citizen complaint. Read my prior posts. There are a few people here making assumptions on how we all have to do our jobs.

Thank you everyone for your 2 cents worth, however, learn the facts before going off the deep end over something so minor.
Firehogs

For geocachers who understand what happened and why, there’s a logical progression from initial police contact to picking up the remains of the cache, just as there are a logical number of contributing factors to the decision and reaction of the various departments involved. Saving face, following through on department procedure (the “just-doing-our-job” rationale), breaking out the Bomb Squad equipment to justify expenditures and get some real field time in with the equipment. Certainly, we can argue which of these has more merit than the other, but they all contributed to the demolition of the “device”. And, in and of themselves, I’d tend to agree that the incident is small potatoes and “minor”.

However, on the matter of keeping the “big picture” in mind. It’s the portrayal of the incident and characterization of the sport by the local media outlet that truly bothers me. If you watch the segment as if you are a non-cacher, you come away with the uneasy feeling that there are people placing “devices” in the woods that may or may not be life-threatening. Indeed, even an experienced geocacher who was on the scene could not identify that this was a geocache. The use of words like “scare”, “explosive device” etc. can leave no other impression. I certainly didn’t come away thinking this was a great sport to be involved in, is practiced by hundreds of people in the community and is fun for the whole family, did you? This should concern us all.

Certainly, no one has control over what is edited for a news real and how the topic is framed, but having a Fire Dept Rep who is also a geocacher, suggest that there was some degree of uncertainty tells the community at large that no matter what they find in the woods or who they see hanging around in parks, they’d better call the Police and Bomb Squad to investigate, cause you never know – it could be a bomb or a terrorist. This is the paranoia that I referenced earlier. Instead of making light of the whole situation, the segment put everyone on alert to be watchful. Here’s the opening segue:

“… now back to that story about the “scary” and “costly” morning in Allouez this morning and “all because of” an internet game…”

and the closing few lines:

“This is at least the second time the bomb squad was called in to investigate what was later determined to be a geocaching device, Deneys said.

Several communities have laws in place to regulate the placement of geocaching devices. Some of them include Madison, Milwaukee and Waushara County.”

I can’t think of a single geocaher that would suggest this was a decent and fair portrayal of the sport

@3 Hawks wrote:

Captain,

I’m sorry you’ve had to endure the “wisdom” of some of our more outspoken members. Please remember, the vast majority of cachers understand and appreciate the actions taken by Fire and Police in response to this incident.

Yes, common sense seems to be a thing of the past…..so lets all apply a liberal dose and stop attacking the responsible actions taken by those charged with protecting us from ourselves.

A proactive and responsible response on our part to such an incident goes significantly further toward ensuring we have the continued support of city and municipal authorities. Waving an indignant finger, ranting, and shifting blame makes us all look bad.

While I am a vocal member who contributes “wisdom” to the threads, let it not be said that I don’t “appreciate the actions taken by Fire and Police” to keep us safe. I have a series of caches dedicated specifically to them, for that very reason.

“A proactive and responsible response” BY THE LOCAL NEWS MEDIA would certainly have been appreciated.

[-cheeto-]

Well, that is the news company that is “fair and balanced”.

[3 Hawks]

@seldom|seen wrote:

For geocachers who understand what happened and why, there’s a logical progression from initial police contact to picking up the remains of the cache, just as there are a logical number of contributing factors to the decision and reaction of the various departments involved. Saving face, following through on department procedure (the “just-doing-our-job” rationale), breaking out the Bomb Squad equipment to justify expenditures and get some real field time in with the equipment. Certainly, we can argue which of these has more merit than the other, but they all contributed to the demolition of the “device”. And, in and of themselves, I’d tend to agree that the incident is small potatoes and “minor”.

However, on the matter of keeping the “big picture” in mind. It’s the portrayal of the incident and characterization of the sport by the local media outlet that truly bothers me. If you watch the segment as if you are a non-cacher, you come away with the uneasy feeling that there are people placing “devices” in the woods that may or may not be life-threatening. Indeed, even an experienced geocacher who was on the scene could not identify that this was a geocache. The use of words like “scare”, “explosive device” etc. can leave no other impression. I certainly didn’t come away thinking this was a great sport to be involved in, is practiced by hundreds of people in the community and is fun for the whole family, did you? This should concern us all.

Certainly, no one has control over what is edited for a news real and how the topic is framed, but having a Fire Dept Rep who is also a geocacher, suggest that there was some degree of uncertainty tells the community at large that no matter what they find in the woods or who they see hanging around in parks, they’d better call the Police and Bomb Squad to investigate, cause you never know – it could be a bomb or a terrorist. This is the paranoia that I referenced earlier. Instead of making light of the whole situation, the segment put everyone on alert to be watchful.

I can’t think of a single geocaher that would suggest this was a decent and fair portrayal of the sport

@3 Hawks wrote:

A proactive and responsible response on our part to such an incident goes significantly further toward ensuring we have the continued support of city and municipal authorities. Waving an indignant finger, ranting, and shifting blame makes us all look bad.

“A proactive and responsible response” BY THE LOCAL NEWS MEDIA would certainly have been appreciated.

We don’t own the woods and parks. Others use the woods and parks and the vast majority of them have no idea about geocaching. We are not an island unto ourselves.

What should the media have said? “The container in question turned out to be a game piece in a high tech game called geocaching, so if you run across something while playing in a park or section of woods, don’t worry about a thing. Just go about your daily business and rest assured that anything you or your children find out there will not cause you any harm. Just because it might look like a bomb does not always mean it is a bomb.” They could have then run a segment about geocaching and all of the reasons it is a great family activity. Would that have changed the simple facts of this incident? Would that have changed the mind of anyone who already thinks geocaching in bad? Would that have made us look better? No…No…and No.

My goodness people!!! I don’t think there is any part of the country in which there is not a documented history of actual pipe bombs/explosives in parks. Some of these even killed children. My daughter will be five at the end of May and I can assure you, I’ve told her never to pick up or touch anything that looks suspicious. I don’t care what is inside the thing, who placed it, who gave permission, or why it is there. That is not paranoia and that does not breed paranoia. That is called responsible parenting. The 1% chance that something could happen is far to great a risk for me. Would you offer the services of your child (or yourself for that matter) to retrieve a container for Fire and Police if you were not 100% sure?

As such, blow ’em all up if there is any question about public safety. Maybe this is a little extreme, but the point is we can all do our part to minimize exposure to situations like this by taking a few simple steps when placing a cache. Say to yourself. “Self…What would the average overprotective parent or grandparent think if they ran across this container? Does the container look like a pipe bomb? Would someone who has never seen a pipe bomb or a geocache make this kind of connection? Does every postage stamp park need a geocache or is there truly a need to cram another cache into a park simply because there is just enough room for one more? Does the camo tape and/or black duct tape make this thing look rather intimidating to the untrained eye? Is it ever a good idea to place a cache that looks anything like a pipe bomb? What are the chances someone other than a geocacher will stumble across this cache and what would they think? Some of these questions are not necessarily applicable to this incident, but the questions are still valid.

Maybe we should simply ask ourselves if we could have done anything to avoid this situation and is there anything we could do to prevent this from happening in the future. Then again, it is far easier to blame someone else because they didn’t say nice things about us and didn’t give us equal time.

Adversity often leads to opportunity and a mended break is usually far stronger than before the break. How could we turn this negative exposure into a positive? We can’t expect someone else to do that for us.

[gotta run]

@3 Hawks wrote:

What should the media have said? “The container in question turned out to be a game piece in a high tech game called geocaching, so if you run across something while playing in a park or section of woods, don’t worry about a thing. Just go about your daily business and rest assured that anything you or your children find out there will not cause you any harm. Just because it might look like a bomb does not always mean it is a bomb.”

They’re called news “stories” for a reason. They are packaged and written to sell a product–the news and, by connection, advertising.

They (broadcast news) called it a “device,” several times. Is your fridge full of plastic “devices” to hold food? Or do you have “containers?” Words mean things and these were carefully chosen to make a portrayal. Casting geocachers as a bunch of freaks in the woods makes for a better “man bites dog” story.

They also did not characterize the “device” appropriately, according to the cache owner (and my recollection of the cache). The audience was left with the impression this was a pipe bomb with just about everything but wires leading to a Acme Explosives plunger.

The cache owner, tkks, says that wasn’t the case. Tkks was also not quoted in the news story and as far as I know was not approached.

@3 Hawks wrote:

How could we turn this negative exposure into a positive? We can’t expect someone else to do that for us.

Now that actually makes sense. And it would seem to be one of the reasons we have an association.

On the Left Side of the Road...

[3 Hawks]

@gotta run wrote:

They’re called news “stories” for a reason. They are packaged and written to sell a product–the news and, by connection, advertising.

They (broadcast news) called it a “device,” several times. Is your fridge full of plastic “devices” to hold food? Or do you have “containers?” Words mean things and these were carefully chosen to make a portrayal. Casting geocachers as a bunch of freaks in the woods makes for a better “man bites dog” story.

They also did not characterize the “device” appropriately, according to the cache owner (and my recollection of the cache). The audience was left with the impression this was a 6 inch metal pipe cord with just about everything but wires leading to a Acme Explosives plunger.

The cache owner, tkks, says that wasn’t the case. Tkks was also not quoted in the news story and as far as I know was not approached.

What they call it makes no difference. An unidentified container is a device in the context of the situation. Even if the late Bob Ross had done the story and called it “a happy little container, in the happy little section of woods, hidden in a happy little tree, by happy little people who love everybody and everything and poop rose petals,” that would not change the underlying issue here. Perception IS reality and there is nothing the cache owner could have said aside from “Sorry, and I can see how the cache could have been perceived as something it was not.” I’m not talking about the perception cast on us by the news story. The story did not create the issue. The issue lead to the story. I think we are all familiar with the concept of cause and effect. The public perception cast by the story is the direct consequence of our actions. There is nobody, and I mean nobody, else to blame here but ourselves.

Why does everybody always have to be a victim? Why is everybody always misunderstood? Why is big brother always out to get us? Why is the other person always at fault in the equation?

Who is paranoid in this picture?

[gotta run]

@3 Hawks wrote:

Why does everybody always have to be a victim? Why is everybody always misunderstood? Why is big brother always out to get us? Why is the other person always at fault in the equation?

Who is paranoid in this picture?

Dude, you have some serious anger management issues. Or something. Chill.

On the Left Side of the Road...

[3 Hawks]

@gotta run wrote:

@3 Hawks wrote:

Why does everybody always have to be a victim? Why is everybody always misunderstood? Why is big brother always out to get us? Why is the other person always at fault in the equation?

Who is paranoid in this picture?

Dude, you have some serious anger management issues. Or something. Chill.

Thank you for your concern. I can see how you could come to that conclusion through you read of my posts, but you are mistaken in your assumption. However, if that was your perception, I’m sorry.

See how that works? Don’t we all feel better now?

Thanks for helping me make my point.

[seldom|seen]

@3 Hawks wrote:

What they call it makes no difference. An unidentified container is a device in the context of the situation. Even if the late Bob Ross had done the story and called it “a happy little container, in the happy little section of woods, hidden in a happy little tree, by happy little people who love everybody and everything and poop rose petals,” that would not change the underlying issue here. Perception IS reality and there is nothing the cache owner could have said aside from “Sorry, and I can see how the cache could have been perceived as something it was not.” I’m not talking about the perception cast on us by the news story. The story did not create the issue. The issue lead to the story. I think we are all familiar with the concept of cause and effect. The public perception cast by the story is the direct consequence of our actions. There is nobody, and I mean nobody, else to blame here but ourselves.

Why does everybody always have to be a victim? Why is everybody always misunderstood? Why is big brother always out to get us? Why is the other person always at fault in the equation?

Who is paranoid in this picture?

An unidentified container is an unidentified container. I just can’t see the leap from a container suspended on a string inside a tree hole to a “device” meant to explode and cause harm to what, a tree?, unless it’s viewed through the eyes of a child. Are we really to assume that the public at large is so daft that they would come to this same conclusion, that a small plastic tube on a string is more than likely a bomb? By that definition, isn’t anything we pick up in the parks in a few weeks at the Appleton CITO suspect if we can’t readily identify it? I guess that’s why we sign waivers, in case my kid’s arm gets blown off when he picks up that plastic bottle. Hey -cheeto- you’d better make sure you have the Bomb Squad on call that weekend, you never know how many small, suspicious devices we’ll uncover in the Appleton parks.

I challenge ANYONE to provide me with a list of REAL bombs that have been found in public parks in Wisconsin. Yes, there have been incidents in the state; bombs in mailboxes, bombs in schools and bombs in dorms or on campuses, but a tiny bomb on a tree in a public park? NEVER.

What I am trying to do here is make a distinction between what is reasonable to assume and what is a lack of understanding or training. It’s a moot point anyway, isn’t it. This cache was not destroyed in the name of public safety, it was destroyed for any other number of reasons that trumped common sense as so many have pointed out.

There are thousands of caches in thousands of parks across this country, many of them without labels and without specific “per cache” permission. All of the caches in Appleton Parks for instance have been given a green light by the P&R director, do you think the police or bomb squad would have the fortitude to contact him on a Sunday morning? Do you think a tagline on the cache page for this cache that said “Permission Granted to Place this Cache” would have prevented it from being destroyed? No, as was stated earlier, the decision was made the minute the bomb squad arrived – lets make some news.

[3 Hawks]

I had a lengthy respone to every point of your post with links prepared but the whole thing was whiped out during my spell check and preview. I was going to recreate my post, but I’m too tired to continue arguing this issue. I’ve decided to only comment on your assertion that the police and fire squad lask fortitude. In my humble opinion, the bravery and courage of firefighters and/or police officers should never be questioned and their actions were justified.

[zuma]

Lots of interesting discussion here. I think that there is more agreement than disagreement than one would think at first blush.

1. I think we can all agree that the cache owner did nothing wrong. The cache was placed in a legal spot for a cache and really did not resemble a bomb or dangerous device in any way. While it might be desirable to label caches as a “geocache” or use clear containers in urban areas to decrease paranoia, this particular cache in no way should have been mistaken for something dangerous.

2. I think we can all agree that the cache finders that alerted the nosy neighbors did nothing wrong and probably did not come dressed to cache looking like the Unabomber.

3. I think we can all agree that the bomb squad and fire department did what they had to do within their respective protocols once they were called out, and they handled the issue as professionally as they could, given the circumstances.

4. I think we can all agree that the media behaved badly. Whether they did this because of simple ignornance or laziness or because by sensationalizing what is really a boring story they thought they could sell more ad space is unknown, though I have to suspect the latter. However, I am no longer surprized when the media behaves badly and accept this as the norm.

5. And maybe some wont agree with my final point, but here it is: The nosy neighbor who called in the complaint is symptomatic of one of the things that is wrong with this great country. We have allowed propaganda and lies by political hacks and wackos to be accepted as fact to the point that some one would actually think that a tree in a neighborhood park might be a terrorist target. The sad thing about this story is that media hysteria, stoked by people who profit from paranoia, has gotten out of hand to the point that a bomb in a neighborhood park seems plausible. I mourn the loss of common sense.

zuma

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