Why do some people only feel safe when they are helpless? Is it some form of self-loathing that makes them fear their own strength more than any external threat?
Today we learn that the new administration is taking action to prevent airline pilots from carrying firearms. I was surprised to learn that, for many years, pilots who carried the mail were required to carry a firearm. We should have learned after 9/11 that passivity is a bad strategy.
I corresponded with someone earlier today who questioned why I would live in rural Texas where we occasionally encounter rattlesnakes. The short answer is that this other person also lives in an area where she could encounter rattlesnakes but chooses to believe otherwise. Mine are Western Diamondbacks; hers are Eastern Diamondbacks (and other varieties). The Eastern Diamondback is larger and packs more venom than most any other variety.
In looking for information on the web to prove my point, the first site I came across was devoted to telling me what a fine creature the Eastern Diamondback is and how we should try to understand it and avoid killing it indiscriminately. Fair enough. But if I find one coiled at my feet, I am not likely to explain to the snake that I read what a fine fellow he is and, like him, I would just as soon avoid an encounter.
I understand the snake well enough to know it will act like a snake, just like criminals act like criminals and terrorists act like terrorists.
The web site takes the position that any encounter I have with a snake is my own fault, with the implication that a nasty bite is what I deserve for not developing sufficient serpentine sensibilities.
All understanding people in Georgia, please vacate the state now lest you disturb the snakes. (Oops, I forgot. All understanding people did vacate Georgia and there are only retrograde redstate rednecks left there.)
Pilots, from what I understand, have been trained to take responsibility for the safety of their passengers, and they have a pretty good record in that regard. Every pilot I know has a bias in favor of soft landings. Terrorists have a very different record.
So here’s a policy being implemented that defies understanding. It assumes pilots will act recklessly and that terrorists will take pity on our helplessness.
Image by Sophro - Creative Commons
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