Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Gimme My Water Bottle Back

Near as I can figure it, the terrorists have won.
Why?
Because we have to surrender personal care items if we try to bring them on the plane with us.
No toothpaste, no shampoo, and only a small amount of fluids as long as they're properly encased. What possible difference does it make what size the clear plastic bag is?
Are we really safer now that we've had our shoes checked?
If I were a terrorist in a faraway land reading about all this nonsense I'd be having a good laugh.
We'll be getting full body scans soon. Those I'm okay with and, in fact, I'd get on the plane stark naked, but let me take my stuff with me when I do it.
Every time something happens we are reactive. The terrorists do something so we take measures so they can't do it like that anymore. This forces them to think of something new and when they do we lose a bit more of our freeedoms, privileges, rights, and common sense.
All we do is roll over and take it.
I'm sick of it.
We look to the government to protect us and have yet to realize it's not going to happen.
This is not fear-mongering. It's a sad statement that we refuse to look after ourselves. We gladly give up personal responsibility for the illusion of safety.
Our government does a lot of stuff to make it look like it's doing something. It isn't, but we are lulled by the pretense of action.
I've had it.
I'm sick of being a victim.
We must stop being scared and reactive. Put an end to the absurd notion that taking away personal care items is a security measure. The only people who would use them against us will simply come up with something else, and there we'll be, helpless.
Give us back our shampoo and nail clippers and our Swiss Army knives.
But... but...they can be used as weapons.
Damn straight they can.
By us against anyone trying anything deadly on a plane.



12 comments:

MizFit said...

We gladly give up personal responsibility for the illusion of safety.

ahhh you said a mouthful there. with regards to flying and so many other things in our world. we attempt to control the chaos and surrender personal responsibility when what we need to do (I need to do?) is recognize that we do what we can and the rest we need to let go of.

because this post was about me...right? :)

Leah J. Utas said...

Miz, of course it was!
Seriously, thanks. I'm so disgusted by out sheepesque behaviour and our willingness to give our power away.

the Bag Lady said...

Hear, hear!

The ridiculous lengths they have gone to in order to give us a false sense of security are simply that - ridiculous.

But at least they are forcing the "terrorists" to be creative..... that's a good thing, right?

(ouch, I bit my tongue - better take it out of my cheek....)

Leah J. Utas said...

df Bag Lady. Thanks. Oh, yes, what the world needs now is creative terrorists.

Reb said...

OMG! You mean my safety is just an illusion? Did the communists with their papers to go to the bathroom have it right? Is that the only way to control the populace? Wipe all religion from the world and see if we can get along then.

Okay, before I bite my tongue right off, (runs in the family) I was thinking of sheep as I trailed behind the pack of bus riders making their way to the LRT this morning. Everywhere you turn, we are being encouraged to behave like sheep, so why would we not rely on an unprepared government to take care of us?

Leah J. Utas said...

Baaahh, Baaahhhh, Reb. It's for the best.

Frank Baron said...

I share your frustration, Leah. Governments tend to react as opposed to being proactive. And in many cases they overreact. Like in this instance, where they've decided to treat everyone as a potential terrorist, rather than focus their attention where it more properly belongs - on those who fit the profile of those who have attempted to do us harm.

messymimi said...

In his mother's Bible my Sweetie found a handwritten piece of paper that said, "The Government that is powerful enough to give you everything you want is powerful enough to take away everything you hold dear."

And perfect safety is an illusion.

I'm with you. We need to defend ourselves, be responsible for ourselves, not look to the government to be our nursemaid.

Leah J. Utas said...

That's exactly it, Frank.

Messymimi, I love that quote. I wish more people knew and understood it.

Thomma Lyn said...

Leah, I couldn't agree more, and I'm saying Hear, Hear.

There's no such thing as safety or security. Both are illusions. And relinquishing freedom, personal responsibility, and common sense makes no sense whatsoever when those are what we should hold onto the tightest.

Leah J. Utas said...

Thomma Lyn thank you. I suspect many people agree with this stance, but can't or won't speak up out of fear or apathy.
I wish we respected ourselves enough as a society to accept responsibility and look after ourselves.

Anonymous said...

The Dark Knight handled the scanners for us.

Joker gets arrested, his minions send a fat man in with a bomb inside his belly. Joker gets his phone call, and he calls to detonate the bomb.

Hollywood handled that aspect. We already have drugs being transported inside people and animals.

The question is, how long until they begin implanting bombs inside people this way? What about an anal bomb? Swallow a bomb?

It sounds like I am being stupid, but these are things that in given time someone will try.