Security?

 There are reports that NYC, after arresting civilians who fight back when someone assaults them or stops the mentally ill thugs from attacking others, now are sending in the National Guard to protect the subways.

This sound suspicious. Just arresting the obviously high or taking the obviously confused for mental health (and making sure they stay detained for awhile) would protect people not just from assaults but from infectious disease from the homeless using the subways for toilets.

The National Guard has training for riots but also for helping with local disasters (for example, floods).

But the National Guard probably won't have bullets in their guns 

Years ago, the late great Mayor Rizzo  (/s) refused to call out the NG when there was a riot in Philly: telling his critics: Our cops are used to being spit at and have stuff thrown at them, but the National Guard are not...

Indeed, a few years late, Kent State showed what happens when a nervous semi trained person gets attacked.

 Of course, the National Guard just by being there might stop the gangs from attacking folks to steal their stuff. But heaven help them if they actually hurt one of these gang members who just want to terrorize people for fun and make some money doing it. And of course, what about the mentally ill? If you see a mumbling dissheveled person attacking civilians, will you be allowed to stop them?

Police or trained security guards would be better, and a lot less worrisome for civilians.

However, what came to mind when I read this: most people in the National Guard have some training in NBC/CBRN warfare.

And this made me wonder: did someone detect a threat out there about a terrorist attack.

The chemical attack in the Japanese subway in 1995 and the 2004 bomb attacks on the train stations in Spain come to mind.

Here in the Philippines, to go into a mall, one has to get wanded (or go through a door similar to those in airports) and get someone to check inside packages and purses.

However, that hasn't stopped attacks, mainly with bombs in churches, bus stations, casinos, ferries, and open air markets that usually have only one or two security guards to catch petty criminals but are not necessarily trained to detect bombs or explosives. Of course not all of these are Islamic or NPA attacks: some are just criminals or personal vendettas.

So which NG units are being sent into NYC subways? Those with expertise in crowd control, units of military police, or units with specialized expertise in detecting bombs etc.?

Why are some of them openly wearing bullet proof vests?

and why are they only being told to do random checks of bags? Anyone who has been in an airport knows that this means that grannies with bags will be searches, but suspicious looking young males will not be searched for fear of being called racist. 

Dirty little secret: Cops often detect problems by the perpetrator's body language, so are the NG trained in this? (the MP units are often cops so yes some of them have this expertise. but ordinary units not so much). 

The news reporters are a bit naive and hasn't seemed to ask such questions.

Civil rights are being emphasized by the governor, who assures the public that those with mental health problems will be taken for treatment.

the joke is that those arrested will quickly be left out on the streets, and of course the mentally ill will also be released.