October 16, 2003

Airport Security

First it was box-cutters, knitting needles and nail clippers. Now it's Teddy Bears, pillows, and ping-pong balls. Twice now in two days I've heard someone mention that we'll all be flying naked before long, maybe wrapped up in colored tamper-proof security saran wrap to prove who's gone through the mandatory pre-boarding body cavity search.

Security Hostess: Coach on the left, First Class on the right.

Passenger: What's the difference?

Security Hostess: Vaseline.

Posted by Ted at October 16, 2003 09:20 AM
Category: Square Pegs
Comments

Ya know I've probably ranted about it before, but if the feds wouldn't have been prohibiting passengers from exercising their Right to Arms on Sept. 10th, then Sept. 11th would've been just another day & the NYC skyline would have been no different than the day before.

But if they 'let' us defend ourselves, then we wouldn't need 'them' now would we?

Not that i'm bitter or anything...

Posted by: Publicola at October 16, 2003 11:20 AM

I tend to agree with you, except I honestly don't trust Joe American to have the sense not to shoot a hole in a jetliner at cruise altitude. This is one of those tricky gray areas in my mind. More sky marshals!

Posted by: Ted at October 16, 2003 11:49 AM

Yep, can't have cousin Vinnie shootin' in a pressurized cabin at 30,000 feet. The answer? Give everyone a butcher knife upon boarding.
Four hijackers with box cutters, meet 200 fellow-passengers with meat cleavers. Problem solved!

Posted by: Tuning Spork at October 16, 2003 08:46 PM

I don't have a problem with Joe American being armed. The fact that everyone else could be armed will probably deter any really stupid behavior. & even if a hole was shot in the airliner at cruise altitude it wouldn't be detrimental to the stability of the aircraft. It'd just scare a few passengers.
But assuming we had an extrodanarily high rate of stupid or malicious behavior by Joe Americn whilst he's packing on a plane & 10 people died a year as a result of violence on the plane itself, it'd take 300 years or so for it to be cost ineffecient when compared to what haeppened on September the 11th of 2001. Even at 100 deaths per year it'd take 30 years.
So I still see it as the benefits outweighing the potential risks.
Besides, the sky marshall program isn't doing so well. Neither is the armed pilots program. I think it has something to do with a lady in charge of the program, as I've heard the problems were because of Miss Management. :)

Posted by: Publicola at October 17, 2003 02:26 PM
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