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A vociferous crowd turned out Monday night for the Riders Advisory Council public meeting on Metro’s newly implemented security measures. Introduced in December, the policy means that the bags of Metro passengers are randomly selected for screening inside the station. Though representatives from Metro police said that no one has yet to refuse a screening and the agency has received a miniscule amount of comments from the public (55 so far), a full crowd slammed the new measure from every possible angle. The List tallied the most common complaints against Metro’s bag screenings.

1. D.C.'s distance from Russia

   Where the last effective subway bombing was, according to one man.

2. Ineffective

   For one reason or another, six people oppose the policy for being "ineffective."

3. Creates a false sense of security

   Twice.

4. Creates an atmosphere of fear

   Four times.

5. Dictators

   One person invoked the history of dictators using "these tactics."

6. Invasion of liberty

   Struck a chord with two people.

7. Lower ridership

   Six predicted lower ridership because of the new policy. Several threatened to stop riding themselves. "I will skip Metro for the next five roundtrip rides I would have taken," one young man announced solemnly.

8. Measure will cause delays

   Invoked twice.

9. New York

   New York City's subway security measures came up three times, each time to say that just because New York was adopting a policy didn't mean D.C. had to. "It's not right because it's ok in New York," one man said.

10. Profiling

    Five times the public expressed their concern over racial profiling.

11. Security theater

    The big buzzword of the night got seven mentions. Closely related "security theatrics" also got a mention.

12. Something or other about Afghanistan

    Brought up twice.

13. The Constitution

    Invoked seven times. Lots of 4th Amendment talk.

14. The terrorists will win

    "Every time someone is searched for no reason, the terrorists win," one man announced. Twice echoed.

15. Waste of time, money, resources, and officers

    Ten mentioned the policy's "wastefulness." Several suggested that officers would be put to better use watching for violence on trains; one proposed fixing the doors; and another expressed his dismay over an eight-minute search that took place in January. "Eight minutes of his life taken away," he lamented.