The Plane Truth


As I watched the media coverage last night over the alleged plan to blow up several trans Atlantic flights, I could only shake my head. It is so sad to see things taken to such extremes, not to mention how naïve the attempts to prevent such attacks are.

The world is in a sad state. This is an understatement. Calling the recent events in Lebanon as a prime example, I see bombs tearing apart the lives of thousands of innocent people in an attempts to neutralise a handful of insurgence. Having traveled extensively and having lived in several foreign countries, I have observed a common denominator. The average citizen has a point of view, but, for the most part, is concerned with the rigours of day to day life, friends and family. Take our attitudes in the West as an example: If we are so committed to the war on terror, then why aren’t we joining the military in droves? We aren’t. We are concerned with paying our mortgages, car payments and lining up a group to watch Monday Night Football. Certainly if bombs were hitting our homes, we might approach the issue with a lot more fever. I would certainly scream for revenge if my family or circle of friends was brutalised or attacked. Guaranteed the Israeli bombings in Lebanon are creating a whole new crop of suicide bombers and people who despise Israel and the West.

Next there is our ignorance or naivety when it comes to plotting to stop the bombing of airplanes. So, we make people empty all their water bottles, perfume, toothpaste, hair gel, etc. and run people through metal scanners with their shoes off. Excellent. I have worked in a maximum security prison for going on five years and can tell you that people are far more resourceful. If I wanted to smuggle a liquid explosive onto a plane, there are several manners in which to conceal it. People planning to murder thousands wouldn’t think twice about concealing things in various body cavities – you’d be amazed to see what people can “hoop”. There’s babies diapers. A woman in a dress/skirt could easily strap bags of liquid the size of I.V. bags to their legs, breasts, waist, etc. The only thing close to working would be to fully strip search, x-ray and use sniffer dogs on passengers to successfully catch anything of this nature getting onto an airplane.

I don’t know what the answer is. Fundamentalism can not be reasoned with and confrontation only makes for a stronger resolve. Sadly, my hopes for peace are as likely to come true as my hopes that the media would ignore Paris Hilton. We are such dangerously silly beings.