Posted on 12/16/2005 7:32:03 PM PST by Coleus
I was sitting at the United Airlines lounge at O'Hare waiting for a flight to California when the news broke that federal air marshals had shot a man in Miami who had reportedly said he had a bomb in his bag.
I knew instinctively that chances were this was a case in which no bomb would be found, an instance in which the law enforcement officers of a nation on edge had used deadly force before they were sure that the threat was real. I looked across at my colleague, who was traveling on the same flight and, like me, happened to be non-Caucasian. Both of us travel a lot, and we both voiced the same concern at the same time: We have to be extra careful as we pass through airports.
In the past week, defenders of the air marshals have been on the air, saying they had acted correctly in killing Rigoberto Alpizar, in accordance with their training. To me, this latest tragedy has echoes of the tragedy earlier this year, when British police, also on edge after the London bombings, had shot and killed an innocent Brazilian man who had run into a subway train. There, too, the death had brought a strong defense of police shoot-to-kill tactics.
In both cases, undercover officers were involved, and in both cases the victims were immigrants. Would the same have happened if the victims had been white? We will never know. Let's hope the day will never come when another innocent -- white or nonwhite -- is gunned down.
We live in an age of global terrorism in which news of suicide bombings makes the headlines constantly, and understandably, we are anxious to protect ourselves. Most of us probably feel safer knowing that there are armed air marshals on flights
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
OK, I am not going to read this, so I may be way off on this but -- Are WE now responsible for this person's paranoia? Or can we let him have his feelings? And yet not be responsible for them?
Feelings -- they are just FEELINGS. "Nobody can make you do anything." Isn't that what we learned in Kindergarten? Why oh why is it that more and more people do not get it??
Moral of the story, keep your seats in the upright position and seat belts fastened until the plane reaches the gate... and by all means, don't go crazy!
"...We have to be extra careful as we pass through airports...."
Hmm. This is melodrama. This guy is smart enough to write, he should know when the authorities give you instructions, you follow them, and you will be fine (as long as you really don't have a bomb or are doing something illegal)
He should watch the Chris Rock video on "How not to get your Ass Kicked by the Police" at:
http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2458063
Let's see:
2 "non-white" (who were not terrorists...but acting like one) and he's nervous?
How about 19 "non-white" on 9-11?
1. There haven't been any bombings in London since the shooting.
2. Tragic as it is, the terrorists know for sure there are armed air marshals in the sky.
3. Don't say "I have a bomb" on an airplane. Bad things will happen.
So what's your point - whitey is out to get you?
Relax. Unless you're carrying around 500,000 shares of Google in your pocket, odds are that the honkey won't be going after you.
These are dark days indeed, for those prone to having psychotic breaks on commercial airliners.
If somebody starts banging on the cockpit door and talking about a bomb, I'd prefer that Air Marshals shoot him (or her) too, and worry about relative skin coloration later.
The answer is quite simple. When you get pulled over, keep your hands in sight until instructed otherwise.
When confronted by armed security on an airplane, DONT flail your arms in the air, scream the "B" word and run around in circles. GEEZ!
Can you imagine the whining had this guy really had a bomb and they DIDN'T shoot him ?
I really feel bad for the victim if he was truly handicapped as has been described, but these things can and will happen from time to time. Very unfortunate, but it was a potentially serious situation.
Four years since 09/11 and one person has been shot at an airport. I can't imagine any rational person developing a persecution complex over this, but I guess there are always going to be a few wing-nuts out there that can't think their way out heavy vapors.
Don't take things with you to the airport that will cause problems. Don't talk about bombs or hijackings in jest. Don't act in a threatening manner toward security, and follow instructions.
Now, don't die of fright.
Leave it to the Star Lecher to print drivel like this
The author is paranoid.
Truly amazing Saswato. Being a white, Christian American I've felt that everyone like me has a target on their back. Remember 9-11? Perhaps if you feel uncomfortable here you could go back to that third world hellhole you call home and let people of your own color saw your head off while chanting to satan.
That makes the case in London totally unlike the situation where the female Marshal shot the crazy guy. Last thing she'd be doing is tackling her target.
If you say you have a bomb, it puts you at risk that law enforcement might get nervous. Law enforcement is not done by machines, it is done by humans. And when it comes to bombs, I don't think race or ethnicity has much to do with it. The author is assuming I guess that law enforcement is lying, and the guy didn't say that, and was just done in because of color. Anything is possible, but it seems a stretch.
Deal with it and get over it, saswato (an Irish name if ever I heard one </sarc>).
Right on!
Saswato, I hope this reminded you to take your meds and avoid a nasty incident.
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