Today I heard on a local radio station that there was a new policy going into effect at CT’s own Bradley International Airport; BDL was to be tested along with a few other airports as part of a new airport security process. For those of you that aren’t from the northeast, BDL is a small but international airport – nothing that’s even 1/4 as big as JFK or LGA in New York nor Logan in Boston, but it does get some traffic. For example, when a jet as large and as fast as the Concorde is diverted from the NYC or Boston airports for whatever reason, BDL will get it. Since it’s got all of the international procedures in place and the fact that jets of these speeds require longer runways, BDL is perfect – the place is surround by tobacco farms and a Honda factory building, it’s so rural. It does get all of the normal airport traffic of the major carriers and some independent, but for the most part it’s a nice small quiet airport.

So anyway, according to the federal government, they are beginning to institute their federally employed baggage screeners in these new test airports, BDL being one of them. They are throwing out the current scanner people and bringing in some federal employees to do the job; assumedly with a whole new set of procedures to help increase the level of security for the boarding process. Great news, right? According to the representative that was tasked to give a comment about the new policy, he has said that most people wouldn’t notice a difference; hopefully shorter lines and better customer service. That’s grand. I mean I have no issues with lines in this regards. They should be screening packages and mindful of things smuggled onto airplanes, etc. etc. etc. I had that thought long before last year’s debacle. More technology, sure; better trained screeners, yes! All of that. I never have and still don’t have an issue with this. What I do find to be a bit of a bugger is the way that this is being presented to us, the public.

First off, let me dispel a myth right now. Speaking for myself (sort of redundant given this site’s purpose but anyway), I don’t think that there was even a small percentage of Americans that would have thought that what happened on 9/11 was viable. If you told someone about it the day before it happened, they would not have believed it possible or even remotely likely. Why? Not because people couldn’t have carried a gun, knife or razor onto a plane, but because that no one would have that amount of hate against our nation nor the hate and passion against our own citizens. That was our naivet, and it’s gone now. No, the fact of the matter is that before 9/11, we, as Americans, were taught a very simple rule with hijackers: Don’t fuck with them and you might live. In every other instance that comes to mind, if the hostages involved in a hijacking behaved, they usually lived; either because the hijackers got what they wanted or because they had to land and some army moved in. It was simple. Play it calm, play it safe, and there would be no bloodshed. That was part of our innocence, which is also gone, sadly. I can safely say, and the brave citizens of the fourth plane demonstrated, that no American will ever let a hijacking occur in the air without some type of fight. Having seen a loaded jet be used as an interactively guided missile is something that will stick with every American citizen, if not all citizens of the world, for at least the next fifty years. It will not be repeated, in this country.

Given the above, I think the increase of security doesn’t suck. I think it’s a good thing. But it’s a bit of closing the barn door after the horses escaped, or putting up a firewall after you’ve been hacked (modern analogy!). It’s something still should be done, but it’s not going to effect what has already happened. Increased airport security is good. The way that it’s being presented to us, the general public, however is not so good. Every time I’ve ever heard this particular topic brought up by the government and/or the media, it’s some “brand new, new fangled, grandiose thingy.” Like we couldn’t live another day without it – that everything will be just fine forever and ever, because of this new airport security team. Hate to burst the bubble, but as much as I hope that we never again have a day like last years attack (and I say attack because as tragic as it was it was not a “tragedy” as I’ve heard some people say – this was premeditated and deliberate and therefore an attack even if it is a tragic event) the airport security maybe or may not play a roll. Does it give a warm and fuzzy safe feeling? Well it doesn’t take away from any I have, but it doesn’t make me giddy with safe feelings. I know what they’re trying to do, the media and the government – I just wish they didn’t feel they had to… we’re Americans; we’ll go on all right, but we don’t need to be patronized getting there. I am glad that they aren’t making out the old teams to sound completely useless – they keep saying the new federal team will be better, is all. However you look at it, it’s good to have the added security.

More or less? “We got new airport security – we suck less!” is the slogan the US is currently using… they should just quietly slip it into place an move on.

Side note – while I was proof reading this, some huge nasty woman in a tie-dyed moo-moo just put her ass on my shoulder while walking past me. BLUH!