Flickr photo by granitepeaker
An article I wrote---"He Tried to Blow Up the Plan with a Condom Bomb & Why Getting Hysterical About Airport Security is Wrong"---was, perhaps, one of the most oddball humorous op-ed pieces I have ever written. But, someone with BBC World Today came across it, was looking to discuss airport hysteria, saw the word "hysterical" in my title, and found that I would make a good fit for a two or three minute interview on the reactions to the botched Christmas Day bombing that have been occurring.
You can hear my interview by clicking here (although after January 11th it will be replaced by the next edition of World Today). I am interviewed at the 49 minute mark.
I was given a great lead-in. A montage of American comedians set me up. Wanda Sykes' line, "If your ass is darker than khaki, you gettin' searched," was followed by a portion of George Carlin's classic comedy on airport security:
"Have your bags been in your possession the whole time? No. Usually the night before I travel, just as the moon is rising, I place my suitcases out on the street corner and leave them there unattended for several hours."
The setup was perfect. The continuous line of stories coming out of airports since Christmas Day has been like an assortment of scenes from a farce or satire. (I cite many of these stories in the op-ed they interviewed me about.)
On air, I made the case that everyone is reacting hysterically. And, as long as there is a focus on streamlining intelligence and adding $1 billion worth of airport screening equipment (which will most likely include full body airport scanners) as the solution, I am comfortable with making an argument against the increase of security in airports as a response to the failed Christmas Day crotch bombing.
Government in America can tighten security all it wants but tightening security does not address the policies or the motives, which lead "terrorists" from other countries to come to the United States and carry out attacks.
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