I was seated on a plane recently as a fellow passenger terrorized...

[DeepModem Mom]

dozens of passengers around him, and inconvenienced an entire plane full of passengers, authorities, search dogs, etc. -- just being a cocky idiot. The authorities, and the plane's crew, incidentally, could not have been more patient, or more respectful of the cocky idiot's rights. He, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying himself as he was being questioned, with a smug smile on his face, as an entire planeload of coast-to-coast passengers, having vacated the plane, waited for the plane to be searched and declared safe to reboard.

IMO, a lot of people need to get over themselves by dismissing any possibility of terrorism. I lived in Britain for some years, a place that has lived with terrorism for a very long time. This is a people who have not, and I expect will not, live in fear -- but neither have they denied the reality of the possibility of terrorism. Nor do I think they would dismiss lightly thoughtless idiots who do careless and/or stupid things that frighten others needlessly.

Am I sickened by the Bush administration's political platform of fear and terror, do I fear the consequences to our country and our freedoms from their "nexus of politics and terror"? Yes -- as much as anyone here.

[pnwmom]

1. So what had he said to cause the commotion? And what happened to him?

[DeepModem Mom]

3. I'd rather not give more details about the incident. It appeared that he was not arrested...

or charged with anything, and allowed to leave (but not reboard the plane). From the beginning both the airline people, and the authorities, didn't seem to think he posed a threat, but were pointing out to him how much he had alarmed other passengers.

[pnwmom]

4. Could it be possible you misinterpreted that "cocky" smile?

Maybe he was just embarrassed.

[DeepModem Mom]

5. I interpreted the action as cocky, the smile as smug. You could well be right, however --

he could have indeed been embarrassed.

[pnwmom]

7. It is easy to misunderstand other people's emotions from their expressions.

When the Duke students were first accused, I remember seeing their faces and thinking how pained they looked. But other DU'ers saw cockiness and arrogance.

At one time I might have thought that too, but watching my two sons grow up has made me more aware of the way men show feelings. Or don't show them.

[DeepModem Mom]

9. Interesting thoughts. Thanks, pnwmom. nt

[spoony]

2. An excellent post.

It positively rings of common sense.

Incidentally, I was never a good flyer, and a passenger like the one you describe ran amok on the last flight I was on. The fear of that sort of chaos in the middle of the air pretty much grounded me for good!

[RoyGBiv]

6. I've seen things like that ...

I've kept my participation in recent threads hinting of this subject to a minimum, mostly because extremes of thought seem to have taken hold and precious little rational discussion seems to be taking place. This is what fear does, pushes people to extremes in various ways, not just the obvious ones.

I've wanted to mention a few experiences I've witnessed or had, but have refrained due to this, but your comments inspire me to mention a minor one.

Not too long ago, while flying out of the DC area, I witnessed an individual being arrested over a guitar. He wanted to take it on the plane as carry-on luggage and became belligerent when he wasn't allowed. TSA and airline employees were extremely patient with him until he went to open the guitar case after having been asked politely a couple of times to turn over the case to be checked as baggage. After throwing out more than a little profanity, he started to open the case and was promptly detained before he could do so. Not sure what eventually happened to him except that he wasn't on that flight.

The whole scene was ridiculous, and I mention it only to point out the obvious. Security personnel and airline employees deal with a lot of whacked out people who go off for ridiculous reasons, and they rarely know that's going to happen initially and try hard to keep it from happening, often in circumstances when the people around them are anything but cooperative. This by itself makes them more cautious and suspicious than the average bear. The added threat of terrorism, regardless of how immediate or real it is, only serves to heighten already frayed nerves.

[DeepModem Mom]

8. Thank you for your post. I was reluctant to post, too...

because I usually stay out of these "hot" discussions. But I was seated in the front of this plane, and the sight of fellow passengers suddenly streaming by me in haste to exit really made an impression on me. Some didn't reboard and took other flights, even after being assured the plane was okay.

[murielm99]

10. My daughter is a professional flutist.

She travels quite a bit for auditions and concerts. She is not going to put her flute in checked luggage. It goes with her as a carry-on. If some baggage handler loses it, she loses her livelihood.

Quite a few security people have made unreasonable demands about her instrument. She always stands her ground. Her flute is worth about $16,000.00.

I suspect she is not the only musician who has problems with often officious and overbearing security personnel.

Maybe some of these people are patient and professional. But that is not always the case.

[Phrogman]

11. Yup, I'm a marine electrician and I need to carry tools with me, and I need them when

I step off the plane to go work on the broken ship.

I cant begin to tell you the runarounds I've had trying to keep my electrical bag with me.

[mvccd1000]

12. I had the misfortune of flying through Britain....

.... shortly after the "liquid bombers" were caught. The security there (as well as the complete lack of organization), makes US airports seem like a breeze by comparison. US airports are definitely not the worst in the world.

In the last few years, I've flown through London, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Paris, Dubai, Bangkok, New York, Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Denver, Houston, and Phoenix (home)!

London, Paris, and Amsterdam are now places I refuse to fly through; it's just not worth the hassle. I'd like to try Zurich on my next trip - see if that notorious Swiss efficiency carries over into their airports, as well.

At any rate, blaming the airport mess on any one politician or group may not be terribly accurate; as far as my experience goes, 9/11 has affected the entire world.