No one needs to jump to a conclusion that she was innocent. After stopping her, not finding explosives, and understanding that they had misled themselves into believing what wasn't a bomb was a bomb, they could just conclude that because she was innocent she was innocent.
A tautology is a tautology, and 9/11 did not change the nature of logic. What is dangerous is to think that 9/11 somehow changed the moral landscape and that not not innocent is somehow different from innocent.
What I deride is that the security forces, having deluded themselves about the nature of her activities could not just apologise and let her go, but had to press charges.
9/11 does not excuse that. It really does not excuse turning ourselves into moral monsters.
Innocent of having a real bomb -- but she wasn't charged with having a real bomb. She was charged with having a hoax bomb. There's been nothing so far to indicate that was not her intention from the onset other than her own statements. She'll have her day in court and then we'll determine whether or not it was a deliberate hoax (the hoax bomb charge) or whether it was accidental (the disorderly conduct charge).
“...they could just conclude that because she was innocent she was innocent.”
How do you know she’s innocent? Can you read her mind? Do you know for a fact that it wasn’t her intention to make airport people think she was a suicide bomber?
Her actions are pretty clear, and it would take one heck of a good explanation to make me believe she wasn’t purposely trying to make airport people believe she had a bomb, at least for a few seconds.
And that’s all it took. She was reported as a suspicious person, because she was wearing a circuit board and carrying modeling clay, and someone suspected a bomb.
This is not a laptop, a camera, or some other common device, and it didn’t look just a little suspicious.
She was arrested using a modicum of caution. It wasn’t an abundance of caution, since the cops didn’t shoot her immediately, like they probably would do in Israel.
She is being charged w/ carrying a hoax device.
If she’s not guilty of that, I’d really like to hear a better explanation than the one I’ve heard at last report.
And, once again, you forget to mention the modeling clay that was a part of her overall ensemble, thus lending credence to the whole bomb idea.
Also, do you even know what a tautology is? Because it is utterly incompatible with this situation. 9/11 changed everything about the way we react to perceived threats, ie now we know that there are dedicated maniacs who are willing to die to kill innocent Americans, and that they are, at least loosely, organized.
Thank God for Americans who are NOT complacent.