[ExI] Terrorist? Who can tell? (indeed)

[Lee Corbin]

Keith writes

> At 10:24 PM 8/29/2008, Lee wrote:
> 
>> Here is what George Bush should have said the day after 9-11:
>> "By Executive Order I command that *all* airline travel proceed
>> exactly as scheduled and with no interruption in consequence of
>> this attack. Henceforth, all passengers are ordered
> 
> Bad wording.  "Expected" or encouraged would be more in American 
> tradition.  "Ordered" tends to upset Americans.

Perhaps, but I hardly expect that any harm would come from
"ordered", and it might console some folks (e.g. me) that
serious measures were afoot.

I cannot imagine those "upset Americans" you refer
to simply idly standing by as the rest of us did
the work of terrorist subdue.

In fact, it is precisely those types who'd have to be talked
out of bringing their cudgels, blackjacks, and brass knuckles.

And it would not be Mr. Shapiro, Mr. Metcalf, and Mr. Hathaway
that would have to be talked out of *really* taking it out on the
hijackers, the bastards who would dare inconvenience them, endanger
their lives, and be intending to commit a vast crime to boot.
It would be Mr. Fogarty, Mr. Beauregard, and Mr. Camponelli who'd
need to be held back to canes, books, and weighted handbags.
I'll bring my hardbound "Java Class Libraries", which if thrown 
hard from a distance of ten feet would probably bring down a horse.

> A better approach would have been to insist that every plane have a 
> minimum number of passengers who were trained and carried 
> guns. Issue guns at the gate if need be.

The next day? Infeasible. I was talking about what President Bush
should have said on 9/12. And really, no need for guns (although
pilots should certainly be permitted them if they so chose---in fact,
an airline should be able to advertise "armed pilot" on some of
its flights to attract customers).

> But with respect to the rest of Lee's thoughts on this subject, take 
> a look here:
> 
> http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2004/10/15/story645704087.asp
> 
> Who is less likely to be a terrorist than an obviously pregnant white 
> woman?  She wasn't of course,  and yet . . . .

Well, there are no hard and fast categories outside of mathematics,
and there will always be exceptions. No matter what, there will 
always be people whose civil rights were infringed, who were
denied due process, or who were victimized one way or another
by even the most benign government. We always gotta go with
what is statistically significant.

George Bush---had he been addressing a nation of educated people,
---could have added, "Relax. There are four thousand flights during
the day taking place at any time. The odds that *you'll* be on the one
or two that get hijacked aren't to be worried about. No, it's the insult
to our economy and the insult to our nation that has to be dealt with here."
But of course, George Bush could not be addressing a nation of 
educated people unless he went to Switzerland or somewhere.

Lee