The plane, a 50-seat regional aircraft that was less than a third full when it took off from La Guardia Airport, had been climbing through the early-morning sky for about 25 minutes. A 17-year-old passenger in a whitish sweater took out something he had carried onboard, and strapped it onto his wrist and his head.
To some people in New York, that is a relatively common sight: an observant Jew beginning the ritual of morning prayer. But to at least one person on US Airways Express Flight 3079 on Thursday — the flight attendant — it looked ominous, as if the young man were wrapping himself in cables or wires.
And in a time when in-flight thinking is colored by the brutal knowledge that passengers have hidden bombs in underwear or shoes, she told the officers in the cockpit.
The pilot decided to divert the Kentucky-bound plane to Philadelphia. In less than 30 minutes it was on the ground, police officers were swarming through the passenger cabin, and the Transportation Security Administration was using terms like “disruptive passenger” and “suspicious passenger” to describe the boy.
This is called living in fear, folks. When you assume that ANY suspicious behavior is reason to land the plane, you're giving in to terror. This is how terrorism works. You start to jump at your own shadow. Statistically, odds are that NONE OF US will see firsthand a terrorist attack EVER. Statistically, odds are that NO PLANES WILL BE ATTACKED BY TERRORISTS TODAY. Knowing that, we all need to be DAMN SURE that suspicious behavior is just that. And by that, I mean, make sure you see an actual weapon or explosive before you cry the sky is falling.
That's what is so brilliant about terrorism--you don't even have to succeed to succeed. The underpants bomber failed to blow his groin up, but we're still peeing our pants when someone *prays*. And for every person who cries wolf when there ain't no wolf, another moron is going to feel encouraged to overreact when they see something they *think* is suspicious. Fear begets fear.
Don't quote Yoda on me--Phantom Menace was crap and you know it. The point is, if we live in fear we've already lost the war on terror.
As always, just my ¥2.
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