TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY!

Yes indeed, folks, you read that correctly. I think we, as Americans, need to stop relying mindlessly on the poobahs of the Federal government and start relying on our own, rather formidable, selves for security. Over the weekend, according to the Daily Mail (UK): Passengers "stormed off the Monarch Airlines Airbus A320 minutes before it was due to leave the Costa del Sol at 3am. Others waiting for Flight ZB 613 in the departure lounge refused to board it."

The article further states: "The trouble in Malaga flared last Wednesday as two British citizens in their 20s waited in the departure lounge to board the pre-dawn flight and were heard talking what passengers took to be Arabic. Worries spread after a female passenger said she had heard something that alarmed her. Passengers noticed that, despite the heat, the pair were wearing leather jackets and thick jumpers and were regularly checking their watches."

Now I am sure that there will be a mighty chorus about how that is profiling and profiling is wrong. To which I now proclaim: "Hogwash!"

Every terrorist attack in the last decade (the Oklahoma City bombing was on April 19, 1995) has been performed by Muslim men in a certain age range, so I feel quite confident in stating that we ought to be keeping a close eye on people who fit that description! And if our government won’t assure our safety on air transportation by doing so, then it’s up to us to do for ourselves.

The Daily Mail article makes a point that these two young men were British citizens. So? I believe that all those who have been arrested in Britain over the past two weeks were also British citizens and THEY were planning some pretty unspeakable activities vis-à-vis international air transportation. So what’s the point being made? Other than to attempt to label these justifiably uneasy airline passengers as paranoid?

In today’s world, a little paranoia can be a good thing. I am a 64 year old white woman and I KNOW without a doubt that I will be searched or otherwise inconvenienced when next I fly. The fact that it is a waste of governmental resources is almost beside the point – since our government loves to waste taxpayer money – no matter which political party is in power. I’d just like a little bit more attention paid to people who are more likely than I to create problems. But if my government isn’t going to protect me, I do not intend to behave like an over-the-hill lamb going to my slaughter! My responsibility to myself and to my fellow passengers on any flight is to keep my eyes wide open and my attention firmly focused on all other passengers boarding my flight. And in the event that I do see someone behaving in a suspicious manner, I have no intention of keeping my mouth shut.

That is only simple common sense. And if some politically correct jackass wants to give it another label, that is not MY problem – it’s theirs. And congratulations to those uneasy passengers in Malaga over the weekend. While I’ll grant you the threat was not real, at least all of you took responsibility for your own safety. That’s what grown-ups do!