Plane Conversations

From our first article with Plane Conversations, we have advocated for general aviation, pointing out how aircraft charter can be a logical solution to travel difficulties and why corporate flight departments and private aircraft ownership are far more than the corporate excess Main Stream Media supposes.  However, we realize that while we have said that air mass transit is not always your best solution, there are particular instances when it does  makes the most economic sense.  In those cases, travelers have to suck it up and deal with the hassles and inconveniences of scheduled air service.

One of those hassles is airport security.  As I have said before, while I am not a fan of the process, I recognize the need for it and I understand that it is a necessary evil.  In July, a woman was arrested for disorderly conduct at the Nashville International Airport when she refused to allow her teen-aged daughter to go through the body scanner.  This meant that the girl had to be screened using a standard pat-down, a procedure far more thorough than it looks on Law and Order.  The mother wasn’t happy with that, either.  She proceeded to complain loudly, repeatedly and abusively enough that the airport police finally put her under arrest.  She has now achieved some kind of bizarre martyr status in the Main Stream Media.

This absolutely blows my mind.

Her attitude reflects  a common sentiment, though.  The traveling public insists on government protection for fliers. Snicklefitz Traveler cries, “Keep me safe!  Keep me safe!  But do it by screening that other guy, ‘cause I’m not a threat.”  “Keep me safe, but handle it in the way that I want, even though I don’t really know how the whole process works.” “Keep me safe, but don’t inconvenience me.” “Seat me next to people like these….”

Security measures are not created out of a vacuum.  They are in response to a specific threat or incident.  Thanks to Richard Reid, we have our shoes screened.  Thanks to Umar Farouk Abdulmatallab, we have our bodies scanned and our groins checked.  Organizations all over the world use both women and children as soldiers and terrorists.  Security screening is a thankless job and the TSA an easy target for criticism; but, the fact is, the TSA has to get it right every time – or as close to every time as humanly possible –  because the cost of being wrong could be catastrophic.  The terrorist has to get it right only once to achieve that same catastrophic effect.

Flying is a privilege, not a right.  To take advantage of the privilege, we must agree to abide by the rules of the airlines, airports and related agencies.  If you disagree with the measures in place, you don’t have to fly.  People crossed the oceans in ships.  They settled Utah using hand carts.  There are other ways you can get to your destination.

By the way, the attractive, harmless people in the photos are Alyssa Bustamante, a 15-year-old who strangled, stabbed and cut the throat of her nine-year-old neighbor and Anders Breivik who murdered 77 people in Norway.

If Timothy McVeigh taught us nothing else, he should have taught us that evil may look innocuous and that not all of those who would do us harm are from outside our borders.

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