But as to this - how many people ought to feel safer without actually being safer to make this a viable argument? I think Karen is spot on with her assement that most of the security improvements are a total waste. Personally, having to put up with all this useless screening crap makes me feel less secure and less free. So if it makes some people feel more secure, and others, like me and Karen (and maybe even you) fell less so, I still consider it hugely ineffective and a waste of time and money.
On the topic of airline/airport security nonsense:
I got sucked into "the flight that fought back" on tv on 9/11 and the thing that struck me was that while someone had been killed with a knife, the thing that kept people subdued was not the threat of a knifing, but the threat of a bomb and the implication that they would land safely if no one interfered. When the passengers found out that they weren't landing safely, bomb or no bomb, they fought back with all the weaponry they had on hand - and there was a lot! There was boiling water in the galleys, there was a hundred+ pound service cart they used as a battering ram.
If you really want to have a weapon on a plane, there are plenty aready there. My little eyeglasses screwdriver (that I got to/from and used in San Diego) is the least of your problems:
- I know from my malfunctioning tray table that the end of those things that attaches to the seat is like a sharpened crescent wrench.
- If someone wanted a jagged blade that rips, they could twist and rip open soda cans.
- Hair spray and a lighter makes a nice fireball (I've flown with matches, but not a lighter) - just hairspray or perfume or spray deodorant makes a nice eye and lung irritant.
- I have some shoes I could use to club someone with, and some heels that would take out an eye.
- The attendants have these plastic clubs for breaking up ice that could get a good whack to a knee or temple.
- Someone could use the string from a jacket, a tie, or a belt, or a suitcase strap as a garotte or a restraint.
I would say "I could go on" but I have. And that's before I get to the metal supports that hold my luggage together, but come apart easily and have never once been questioned.
I read somewhere once that you can be effective against terrorism until suicide bombers/attackers are thrown into the mix - there's just no way to adequately screen for suicidal tendencies (or brainwashing) that doesn't total kill the freedom of everyone around. I agree that education is the best way to make people realize that it's better to be able to walk down the street assuming that you'll live to get to the end of the street, than living with the fear of imminent death. But alas it's not an immediate solution to the suiciding terrorists of today, many of whom are honored as heroes by the people whom they care most about. (It's crazy!) It may take another generation to make them go away, if they ever do. And until then, I don't really know what we can do that isn't just over the top worthless.
So, who is most effective against terrorism in the modern world? Yoikes? I don't really know. What does effective mean (yeah, I know Andrea already asked) - does it mean that there are no terrorist attacks, or does it mean that most people are free to do what they want without too much conformance to societies strictures/fear of imprisonment? Does it mean that they aren't much of a target (Canada), or that being a target, they repel a vast amount of trouble before it happens (Israel)?
Off the top of my head, I'd say the swiss do a good job (every male citizen serves in the army and has automatic weapons and ammo at home, their bridges are wired with explosives, but they seem pretty peaceful, prepared, and calm), but their model might not work too well in a larger geographic area with more diversity in background, education, religion, and geography.
Ok, that's a lot of rambling to do after a day that started an hour earlier than usual. But at least it was fun for me to vent all that bit about the worthless nature of "increased" airline security. Screen for bombs/explosives and firearms, anything else is not worth the effort. IMNSHO.
-Erika