Garrison

Years ago I was living in Rumford. I went out for a walk in the evening and passed a woman who was walking her dog. The dog immediately got hostile and began snapping at me at high volume. He was apparently keyed to threats to his mistress, but it also seems like the working definition of  "threat" that had been impressed on him was "someone walking on the same sidewalk." Making matters worse, he was on an extremely long leash that she had extended all the way out. The only way I could avoid the dog was to trespass on private lawns, which were luckily not guarded by vicious attack dogs.

There's a house I sometimes pass by. When I do, a perky female robot voice informs me that I'm being filmed. Minor annoyance in some ways. I'm out of range within a couple of seconds, and it's better to be told than not to be told. But why am I being filmed when I'm not on the stoop or anywhere near an entrance? The house, to give you a picture, is on a higher elevation than the sidewalk. The camera just spies on pedestrians going about their business.

See the underlying similarity here? The world is partway full of threats. It is absolutely chock full of security consultants. Suspicion is its own justification.