To tell the truth…
I just checked in online for tomorrow’s Air Canada flight, and was asked the Three Luggage Questions. The last of these was slightly different than the one I’ve usually met in person at the airport:
>>Do you have anything in your hand baggage which is sharp or pointed, or any item that could be adapted to cause an injury to another person?>>
Obviously, the correct answer is “No”. But there is no way *anyone* can honestly say “No” to the second half of the question. Got a sweater in your luggage? Great. Cut (with your teeth, nails, key, or belt buckle) a thread at one edge. Unravel until you have sufficient length of yard to double over. Voila! Rope to strangle someone with. More to the point, there is a certain type of mind - I call it a (stage) magician’s mind - that can see clever ways to use ordinary items that would never occur to most of us. And of course a key could be pretty dangerous if applied to a jugular with sufficient force.
I think we should avoid creating systems that teach people to use correct untruths rather than to think.
wg
April 27th, 2007 at 11:47 am
Perhaps you should ask Air Canada for an actual list of items that are officially deemed to be such that they “could be adapted to cause an injury to another person” ?
Your creative thinking “McGuyver” type example, probably falls outside of the imagination of the bureaucrats who pretend to be enhancing the security of the travelling public.
April 27th, 2007 at 11:54 am
“McGuyver” should of course have been “MacGyver”
April 27th, 2007 at 3:04 pm
Of course that’s true - hi, Mark, saw you yesterday - but nonetheless I’m not sure it’s good security to encourage unthinking hoop-jumping. It’s the Click-OK Windows interface to security.
wg
May 2nd, 2007 at 6:09 am
I’ve always thought that removing nail scissors etc is something of an insult to those trained in the discipline of unarmed combat. I’d far rather operate in a system which keeps me safe in a manner that respects my humanity and responsibility, instead of forcing me to act like a cipher, checking absurd boxes. My favourite episode from the generally unhappy history of my Dad’s descent into grumpy-old-man vagueness was to hear of him (imagine an elderly 6′8″ retired and knighted diplomat) finally losing his patience with a check in clerk “Of COURSE I’ve got nail scissors - what am I supposed to cut my nails with?” Looking after himself was integral to how he preserved his dignity.