plane violence

[Cumberland]

I just read on cnn.com that the person who brought box cutters and a fake bomb onto Southwest last week is back at his college attending class and he will probably serve no prison time. What kind of message does that send? That it is ok to break laws and disrupt thousands of airline passengers just to prove a point everyone already knows anyways. It really burns me up.

[DCJenn]

He didn't bring them onboard last week, he brought them on board six times over the spring. The scary part is that he then TOLD TSA that he'd done it- via email, and told them repeatedly and told them months ago.

This guy did everything except wear a big neon sign on board saying what he was going to do.

They found two of the boxes in the spring but didn't bother to do a full check- and then when they discovered them recently (finally) they tracked him down.

I think the scariest message was from TSA, which has been trying to underplay the entire thing- they have essentially said 'oh, well, we're changing our email screening system'.

As one who flies every week, I am actually glad this kid did what he did. Maybe it will bring needed attention to an already screwed up federal agency. TSA is underfunded with major personnel problems (including hiring criminals) without the proper equipment.

Jenn

[migirl]

I agree with you, Jenn. What this kid did should be treated as a major wake-up call for those in charge of airport security. I think that they're treating him so harshly (which I think is ridiculous) because they're embarassed at what he was able to get away with in this environment of 'improved security.' Ridiculous.