posted on December 2, 2001 09:55:22 PM
"In order to combat terrorism, our government is cracking down on the usual suspects: us. As I was reminded last week, we are all suspected terrorists now, subject to insulting and invasive searches at airports.
At Dulles Airport I somehow set off an alarm, even after removing every key, pen, coin, and paper clip from my pockets. I had to stand with my legs spread and arms extended while a gent with a turban and a bushy beard checked hitherto private sections of my person with a metal detector. He was quite polite, but I couldn’t help reflecting to myself that he looked a bit more, well, exotic than I did. If such indignities become a routine part of air travel, pretty soon only nudists will be flying.
On my return trip I set off another alarm at O’Hare in Chicago. Once again a spread-eagle search failed to detect any deadly weapons, but this time the contents of my pockets moved the authorities to spring into action. A young official announced to me that he was confiscating two of the three cigarette lighters I was carrying. It seems there is a new Federal rule that you may carry only one lighter aboard an airplane.
I decided not to bring O’Hare to a halt by demanding an explanation of this novel rule. But I tried in vain to think of a reason. It seemed to me, and still does, that if you can hijack a plane with a cigarette lighter, one would be enough, and there would be no great advantage in having a second or third lighter. I can’t really explain why I happened to have so many lighters on me – my pockets are always full of unsorted stuff – but I’ve never lit two of them at the same time, and I don’t know how I’d go about lighting three of them at once. But maybe these cunning hijackers have some tricks I haven’t heard of.
Anyway, the Federal Government seized two of my cigarette lighters without even offering compensation. I’d broken a rule I’d never heard of and can’t understand, and I paid the price. This is how we live now. Do you feel safer?
I suppose the real purpose of these measures is to make us feel that the government is "doing something" about terrorism, even if what it does has no discernible relation to addressing the problem. The pettier the precaution, the greater the vigilance.
Is this also the purpose of the war on Afghanistan – to convince us that the government is "doing something"? We are assured that the war is going well, that raining bombs on a godforsaken country is somehow having an impact on terrorism – though the terrorists we have to worry about are already living here, know what to do, and presumably don’t need to be activated by orders from a cave in Asia.
Who cares? When it’s feelings that count, dropping bombs is an emotional release. Whether they achieve their stated goal is secondary. Some people who feel very strongly want to use nuclear weapons. That would really be "doing something."
Ordinary Americans feel that they are "doing something" by waving flags signifying their support for the government, or "the country." Some people seem to think they prove their own patriotism by impugning that of others; radio talk-show hosts display their patriotism by accusing the news media of lacking it, as if Peter Jennings were rooting for Osama bin Laden.
What it really comes to is that nobody knows what to do. We are faced not with a war in the usual sense, but with an extremely nasty sort of vandalism. It can’t conquer us, but maybe, because of its diffuse nature, we can’t conquer it either. We aren’t dealing with Hirohito, let alone Robert E. Lee. There will be no conclusive Appomattox moment when the enemy surrenders his sword and we know it’s finally over. It can go on until the last fanatic decides to devote his remaining years to collecting stamps.
And in the meantime, the government will keep cracking down on the usual suspects.
We all want desperately to return to the world we thought we were living in on September 10. But this desire may be a utopian yearning. That world no longer exists and may never exist again."
November 29, 2001
Joe Sobran is a nationally syndicated columnist. He also edits SOBRAN'S, a monthly newsletter of his essays and columns.
posted on December 3, 2001 05:48:43 AM
Kraftdinner
"What I'd like to know, is what's the government doing with all those seized lighters and box cutters?"
What a dumb question! Instead of expressing concern about the indignity of invasive and insulting searches at airports, you only wonder how the government is disposing of confiscated lighters and box cutters?
posted on December 3, 2001 06:32:27 AM
I betcha the families and friends of the 5000 people lost on September 11th, wish that those invasive and insulting searches had been in effect on that particular morning.
It's posssible to be concerned about indignity of searches without questioning the necessity. But to be only concerned about the disposal of the lighters and boxcutters is nuts.
posted on December 3, 2001 07:15:26 AMIt's posssible to be concerned about indignity of searches without questioning the necessity.
I agree it is necessary. I don't agree that it is an "indignity". Maybe if we were talking about stripping naked and bending over for body cavity searches....
I will not fly again until ALL checked baggage is xrayed and searched for explosives. Seems to me if they can come up with a multi-billion dollar economic aid package for the airlines, they can come up with the 400 million or so needed for the equipment to examine checked baggage. Perhaps if people felt it was safe to fly again, they wouldn't need so much money to bail out the airlines.
posted on December 3, 2001 07:33:24 AM
"I will not fly again until ALL checked baggage is xrayed and searched for explosives. Seems to me if they can come up with a multi-billion dollar economic aid package for the airlines, they can come up with the 400 million or so needed for the equipment to examine checked baggage. Perhaps if people felt it was safe to fly again, they wouldn't need so much money to bail out the airlines."
I agree with that.
The question of what constitutes indignity is personal but we agree that it is necessary
Back to the original question by Kraftdinner....<quote> "What I'd like to know, is what's the government doing with all those seized lighters and box cutters? <end quote>
That is a dumb and inappropriate comment as the first response to this thread.
posted on December 3, 2001 07:51:10 AMI will not fly again until ALL checked baggage is xrayed and searched for explosives. Seems to me if they can come up with a multi-billion dollar economic aid package for the airlines, they can come up with the 400 million or so needed for the equipment to examine checked baggage.
It isn't that they don't think they need to x-ray baggage, it isn't that they don't have the money to purchase the x-ray equipment. The equipment simply isn't available. It's not like something they can go down to Walmart and purchase. The 2 companies manufacturing this equipment at present are producing 1 or 2 units a month. It's going to take time to gear up production to come up with the units.
In the meantime I'll fly. Driving 800 - 1,200 miles is a higher risk in my opinion, and a whole lot more effort.
posted on December 3, 2001 08:42:22 AM
[i]"It isn't that they don't think they need to x-ray baggage, it isn't that they don't have the money to purchase the x-ray equipment. The equipment simply isn't available. It's not like something they can go down to Walmart and purchase. The 2 companies manufacturing this equipment at present are producing 1 or 2 units a month. It's going to take time to gear up production to come up with the units"[i]
Nonsense. If it was prioritized any number of companies could be enlisted to manufacure that equipment. 'Sposed to be a war, isn't it? during WW2 cash register companies made rifles, automakers made airlanes, dressmakers made uniforms, and so on. Even if they couldn't come up with enough machines to xray I'm sure that many of the half million newly unemployed in cities around the country would be happy to hire in as baggage inspectors.
It's that they don't care enough about the safety of air travel to spend the money to make it safe. But to show the hapless public traveler that they do care they'll confiscate lighters and have people in turbans publically probing under the clothing of ma and pa for pocketknives.
posted on December 3, 2001 10:26:02 AM
Unfortunately Helen, your posts only show how narrow-minded you are. While everyone's mind is on security, behind our backs, the government is probably auctioning off all those lighters and knives. Not all the lighters are Bic's, you know. Some could be "good" ones like Ronson's or Zippo's.
posted on December 3, 2001 01:24:03 PM
ARE YOU BLIND???
Can't you see all the personal insults being bandied about by Kraftdinner and HJW??
See if I tattle anymore...all the good it did me.I can see who your favorites are now.Some people can do anything at all and never ,ever ,get moderated!
Going to have to discuss this with my lawyers.
posted on December 3, 2001 09:03:44 PM
I have to say it...kraftdinner's comment was funny. Perhaps he/she chose to be funny because the opening statement in this thread really was strange...imagine complaining about new rules at the airport. I just can't think of any response to that.
...why do you carry 3 lighters, anyway?
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.~Nelson Mandela
posted on December 3, 2001 10:44:12 PM
Helen, Kraftdinner has no excuse but I am not quite sure that virakech knows we are playing "moderator for a day."
posted on December 3, 2001 11:36:40 PM
LOL Helen! I am not even sure what the rules are anymore!
I'd been thinking today how strange all these remarks would look to someone that hadn't been here before or not for awhile. They would think we had all lost our minds!
I worried about it for about a minute. Then figured what the he** and jumped back into the fray.
See you tomorrow, Helen. We have to give Enchanted a day to remember!
posted on December 4, 2001 05:35:02 AMWe have to give Enchanted a day to remember!
Don't forget to suck up in between being bad. Or else just try to schedule all your evil-doing done in the afternoon since I have to go out for an appointment this afternoon.
Anybody who makes me work too hard is gonna be sorry
"I'd been thinking today how strange all these remarks would look to someone that hadn't been here before or not for awhile. They would think we had all lost our minds!"
I've been thinking about how strange one of these comments would be when taken out of context by one of my "buddies". They will have a field day.
But what the hell. It's the only pitiful pleasure that they have left on earth.
posted on December 4, 2001 07:31:50 AM
Wow, this place has really gone downhill. Used to be some good scraps, but now KRS has stooped to reposting Letterman's Top 10 List, and Antiquary is over in the corner playing "dolly dress-up." It's a sign 'o the times.
posted on December 4, 2001 12:45:31 PM
How ironic, twinsoft posting to a thread entitled "Doing Something." Doubtlessly his wishful thinking that the forum is going downhill makes him feel especially comfortable posting here.
But he's right; I have been doing something, putting my own modest talents to use creating an illustrated history of OAI posting. It was going to be a surprise, but since the moment seems appropriate to the content, I'll reveal the dress up that I've done for twinsoft. It's been especially challenging, having to try to replicate all of those anonymous and fake IDs over the years into one little plaything, but I think that I've captured the essence here:
Now, if we only had a poll to see if I've done the subject justice. I think that the upper right version is the most accurate, but it takes a while to truly refine and some important character traits will always have to be sacrificed in the combination.
