Knives On A Plane

You can always tell when a person is about to start complaining about a topic because they will start by saying the following phrase: "I'm all for [fill in the blank with something no one is against], but..." In reality if they were all for something that would be the end of the sentence. Of course, what this really means is that they are only in favor of that thing as long as it doesn't change the way they will be doing something that afternoon and that "but" is their cue to start telling you a story about how they were inconvenience once, usually in the most first-world-problem way ever. The most common time to hear this phrase it when someone gets stopped at the airport to go through security and the TSA agents make them do something annoying, like empty out their carefully packed bag or pour out the drink they just bought. And for the most part I get their anger. It is very frustrating to be treated like a potential terrorist when you know damn well all you want to do is make your flight. It is moments like this where I am conscious to take a moment and remind myself that not everyone is as peace-loving as I am and just because I know all I want is to get into my seat and turn on my iPod, the guys working the gate don't get that. It comes with the world we live in today and while people may grumble about it, for the most part they understand why these measures exist.

It is because most of the world is so accepting that I was really surprised to learn that the TSA has decided it will start scaling back restrictions on items which had been banned from planes in the last few years. Some of them are relatively harmless, such as putters and lacrosse sticks. (Not the most convenient idea for fellow passengers, but I guess they don't take up as much room as your average suitcase.) However, the one everyone is (rightly) focused on is knives. Yes, the TSA has decided that people will once again be allowed to bring small blades, such as pocket knives and the blades attached to bottle openers, onto flights. The TSA says it will still not allow any knives over 2.6 inches long, but that certainly seems like enough of a blade that you could do some damage if those are your intentions. I mean, you hit the right spot and you can cause a lot of damage, no matter how short your blade is. The people who represent the air marshals and flight attendants have said they will petition the TSA to reconsider, but so far their pleas have been falling on deaf ears and the measure is expected to be in place by the end of April.

At first I was quite pleased when I heard the TSA was going to start scaling back restrictions. Sometimes they can take it too far, such as insisting on stripping a baby down to their diaper or hauling the cripple person out of their chair, and perhaps a little discretion is in order. Plus, a lighter touch would make people a little more open to the idea that flying for their next vacation won't be so bad because it won't involved a cavity search. (Which is why I'd bet the main people behind this idea were pushing for it as a way to promote tourism, not because security has improved so much.) I guess I just thought we would start smaller. You know, drinks from outside the airport, maybe 4 ounces of shampoo in our carry-on. Baby steps. It feels like going back to the days when people could carry pocket knives onto planes seems like a bigger step than is necessary. As I said before most people are trustworthy and just want to go on vacation or their business trip with as few issues as possible, and those people having a knife onboard a plane would be no problem. Here's the problem - while we have come a long way in the fight on terrorism and passengers are more vigilant than ever, we still haven't gotten to the point where terrorists feel as though they need to declare their presence. Thus, the people who can't be trusted to have a knife on a plane still look suspiciously like the people who can. I'm no terrorist, but I'm pretty sure that's their whole point.

But even if it weren't for the safety issue, letting someone have a knife on a plane is still a bad idea. We're constantly hearing about a drunk passenger causing an emergency landing. Does anyone think that situation would be improved if people had to start wondering if he had a knife on him as well? I can only hope that this is one of those rare moments when the general population hears of an idea which is so bad we just decide to keep acting like it was never announced. I would like to think that there are enough smart, forward-thinking people on this planet who are aware that just because they can bring a pocket knife onto a plane that doesn't mean they have to and decide it would just save everyone a little hassle if they left their knives at home. Adding to this theory is the notion that an entire generation of people have been brought up in a world in which the idea of bringing a pocket knife to a public place has been out of the realm of possibility for as long as they have been alive and thus never started carrying one. It's not a habit most people are going to pick up now. Believe me, between keys, wallet and cell phones most people's pockets are already too full of crap as it is. In other words, we should be rooting for people to be too lazy to carry extra items instead of expecting the TSA to know that while not everything need to be treated as a weapon, actual weapons are still ok to be banned. I feel safer already.