PrettyFakes

Welcome to America in 2003. For all the freedoms we’ve sacrificed, are we safer than the america attacked nearly two years ago?

Absolutely not. When a federal judge allowed about seventy plaintiffs to proceed in a suit against airlines, airplane makers, and the Ports Authority of New York and New Jersey today, he expressly acknowledged the plaintiffs’ argument that planes should be made so terrorists, or other unruly passengers, can’t break into the cabin. Why is this a novel idea?

I flew last week. Was there an air marshal on board who might have gunned me down, had i headed for the cabin? Probably. Could I have possibly made it? Oh, yeah. Why are the cabins still open to all who dare? Why have we not plugged the holes that most desperately needed plugging?

Instead, we shuffle towards surrendering more freedoms in exchange for the ho-hum usefulness of flight. Beginning next year, each airline passenger will be assessed individually for their “risk.” The assault on privacy astounds me. In their article, the Washington Post highlights other problems:

Still, [despite $9 billion in airline security spending since 9/11,] many holes in security persist. Airports and aircraft still appear easy to penetrate, illustrated last month by an accidental landing of several boaters on the airfield at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Air cargo remains vulnerable, as virtually none of the items stowed alongside luggage in the aircraft hold are screened for explosives. Government officials continue to assess how best to respond to the possibility of a shoulder-fired missile attack at a commercial airliner, which they maintain is a serious threat.

Not to mention that apparently any sucker can stuff themselves in a box and fly halfway around the country. What if this guy had a gun? What if he had a bomb? What if, god forbid, he was one of those terrorists we’ve allegedly been fighting?

At least the Port Authority really busted the hell out of a reporter and a photographer for the New York Times who were following the story of how three lost fisherman just wandered around the PA for a while—you know, since nobody stopped them, so they had to “go looking for the cops.” But Wow! The Times reporter that was arrested had an outstanding warrant for riding his bicycle on a sidewalk! Boy, take that guy to fucking jail! He’s the real threat to New York City!

Not to mention this isn’t exactly a lone incident. The pattern is obvious: something is broken there. Nothing is better than it was.

Do you want to know the truth, the fucking dirty truth? There is no airline terrorism in America. Two years ago, did we get fucking punched in the mouth by a handful—a bare handful—of religious lunatics armed with nothing more then what any fucking sixteen-year-old stock boy at the Food World has?? Absolutely. Absolutely. Are we at risk again?

Yes. Have we averted the risk by spending nine billion dollars? Absolutely not. Not to mention that we’re scrutinizing the hell out of our own citizens—who had not one goddamn thing to do with 9/11.

So who gets searched? The quintessential little old lady in front of me at DFW, who is asked to remove her shoes. The well-dressed black businessman behind me at San Jose. Me. And you know what? I’m fucking sick of it.

It’s bullshit, total bullshit. Not one life has been saved, not one threat averted (Who? The fucking guy with the crap in his shoe? Or the fucking guy with the fake weapons?) by this insane, intrusive, overwhelming failure of a system. Why not?

Because there’s still no door on the cabin. A reporter can drive right up to the Port Authority and walk around. We’re color-coding the threats of our own citizenry, who weren’t the problem in the first fucking place, while we’re delaying stricter measures for citizens of other countries, “because of the chaos that could have resulted next month when travelers unaware of the new rules tried to enter the United State with old-style passports.”

If “there’s no door on the cabin” reminds you of “the emperor has no clothes,” it’s for a good reason. Despite what the bush administration is telling you, America is not one bit safer today then she was two years ago. In exchange for no more safety, we’ve tossed a host of civil rights. If you’re worried about that, you should be.

And if you’re still believing what they tell you, stop it right now.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 9th, 2003 at 3:47 pm and is filed under Gorjus. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.