You can be SHOT because of your T-shirt art now...

[Didereaux]

This situation we have now has gone to far for me to even glean an improbable explanation for what we have become. The worst of the story is near the botton, explaining the 'fear' of those with the automatic weapons and what they were ready to do...all over an innocuous T-shirt!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/22/us/22airport.html

...

[aikoaiko]

1. The police acted prudently.

Yes, its probably just artwork and the wearer probably had no intentions of a bomb hoax, but it should be investigated, and charges dropped if she's telling the truth.

[backscatter712]

6. Yeah, I'm sure the police always act prudently.

They acted prudently at the LAPD May Day police riots, and they acted prudently in Quebec when they put those provocateurs in with the protesters of the SPP summit.

Go on youtube, search for police brutality and protest videos and you'll see endless examples of prudent police behavior...

[aikoaiko]

13. Apparently we've changed topics to all police encounters....

... I thought we were talking about the art sweatshirt / bomb looking thingy at Logan.

Of course police sometimes over reacted, but I don;t think they did in this case. An airport employee called police and reported that it appeared the student was wearing a bomb. After the police arrive, the apprehend her by the book. Its not like you walk up to a suspected bomber, tap her on the shoulder, and ask, "miss is that a bomb you have there?"

But if it appears that she is telling the truth and they can't find any evidence, emails or communications to suggest she planned a hoax, then they should let her go with nothing more than a slap on the wrist.

[tkmorris]

19. I'm sorry but..........

Anyone who thinks this



looks like a bomb should NOT be working in airport security or for the police. What next, do we make people get a license to buy stuff from Radio Shack? I will not tolerate a country this obsessed with security.

[Jed Dilligan]

24. Hey we actually agree on something

Cool.

Those guards have monkey spit for brains, with little bits of "24" sloshing around in it.

[tkmorris]

42. Just goes to show ya, huh Jed?

I'd bet we have more common ground than you think.

:beer:

[Nailzberg]

35. Good grief people - The police had to detain her first to see it.

The info desk called police after seeing it and inquiring what it was. However, the young woman either didn't hear the question or ignored it, but regardless, she walked away without explaining her "art". The police approached and detained her safely, and quickly determined the device was benign.

Get it? The cops were responding to a duty call. The cops haven't seen the device up close themselves until they have detained her.

The info desk at the airport is not manned by law enforcement, it's manned by folks who point you in the direction of the bathrooms.

[tkmorris]

43. Actually, they arrested her

What SHOULD have happened was a quick examination of the "device", and a quick "sorry ma'am, please do carry on", but instead there was an extended interrogation followed by an arrest. The woman had to post bail to get out of jail. That's the part that's ridiculous.

[Horse with no Name]

48. And we all know cops are without fault

Just like the one that "detained" Cynthia McKinney.

[DS1]

27. nice lame ass dodge

you started off with a t-shirt, but now you'll drag up anything

show me an example where someone was shot for wearing a t-shirt with art on it

[RogueBandit]

16. Stupid guards cause stupid accidents

How can we be putting guards in charge of identifying explosives when they can't identify harmless electronics?

More stuff is passed than caught, and apparently the stuff being caught isn't even a threat.

I knew what that was the minute I saw it. Why didn't the guards? Why? Because they are ignorant low paid lackies of the real terrorists.

[Canuckistanian]

2. I better put away my "Got Jihad?" T-shirt now

Whew! That was close.

[Loge23]

3. A nation of scaredy-cats

It probably wasn't a great idea to try this at an airport these days, but - I agree - "deadly force"???
This after a zealous journalism student is tasered for hogging the mike!
Everything is deadly force these days. Thank God the Jena demonstration somehow remained peaceful.

If anyone can find American, please let me know. I would like to go home again.

[Wcross]

4. You can be shot because you are seen as a threat to the public.

If I carry a replica AK-47 into a bank I can be shot. If I call the replica "Art" I can still be shot. Go figure.

BTW- I thought MIT students were the best & brightest? Maybe its just book smarts?

[backscatter712]

5. Got two t-shirts I'll be wearing more often:

One quotes Thomas Jefferson, saying "The strongest reason for people to retain the right to keep and bear arms, is as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."

The other one says "The tools to preserve liberty are as follows: soapbox, ballot box, jury box, ammo box - Use in that order."

Next time I fly, I'll be wearing one of these shirts...

[stillcool]

7. I wonder...what did she expect?

The trouble began when Ms. Simpson, wearing a lighted circuit board sewn to her black hooded sweatshirt, walked up to a customer service desk at Logan International Airport and asked about an arriving flight carrying a passenger she was to meet. A nine-volt battery was attached to the circuit board, and Ms. Simpson carried a wad of modeling clay in one hand.

The employee, fearing that the board was a bomb, “asked Ms. Simpson what was on her chest, and she didn’t answer,” Major Pare said. “Ms. Simpson then turned around and left the building.”

[Didereaux]

20. ...but you have to ask yourself

How are these 'Brownshirts' going to react to some kid with the blinking lights on theie sneakers? If the kid dosn't know to throw their hands up and freeze, will the guard be compelled to riddle its little body with bullet holes?

...think about it.

[Lucinda]

8. It was a stupid thing for her to wear to an airport in times like these

Genius doesn't always = common sense

[angrycarpenter]

9. I am all for art and fun BUT

that device in an airport setting might freak anyone out. You would think that someone that smart would at least consider that.

[Rabrrrrrr]

10. Oh, bullshit - stop sensationalizing and lying. It's as bad as the fucking media.

What a fucking load of bullshit you offer.

No, you can be shot for refusing to follow orders of security personnel at an airport.

It has nothing to do with a t-shirt.

And there's nothing at the bottom of the article about the "fear" of the guys with the guns.

Jesus Christ, be a little more responsible.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

11. I would not get on board anything with someone who had a t-shirt like that.

I also wouldn't try get on board with art like that. Not with the shit that's going on in this country.

Better safe than sorry.

[cali]

12. Totally disingenous thread title and argument n/t

[Raejeanowl]

14. Stupidity

T-shirt art?

Art, my behind.

How could this young woman have worn this into an AIRPORT and expected to NOT have it questioned as a potential suicide bomb or bomb threat? To walk away from being questioned about it and NOT have authorities react? She was being deliberately provocative and to claim otherwise is dishonest and disingenuous.

There is NOTHING "innocuous" about a fake bomb, however obviously fake or artistically presented you think it might be. It's a stupid, juvenile stunt like yelling "fire" in a crowded theater to prove how you can exercise your First Amendment rights, or waving a faux revolver in public because you want to make a ideological statement about gun ownership.

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

22. The damn thing doesn't even look like a bomb!

I've posted this argument a dozen times today. Spend an hour on google researching explosive and detonation system, and you will quickly find that this device would never be a decent candidate for an electric ignition system. This device's only half decent purpose is to make a couple LED's light up and obviously scare the dumbasses of the world. While she should have considered the amount of ignorant people out there, I still hope she made them shit themselves.

[Raejeanowl]

23. It Doesn't Have To Look Like the Real Thing

A carved black soap brandished in public doesn't need to look like a real gun, either, before close inspection, to get oneself detained and questioned, or worse. I'm sorry if I didn't make that point clear enough.

People who don't know a real bomb from a fake one are not "dumb-asses," any more than people who don't know real drugs from fake drugs, real crazy people from performance artists, real street whores from tackily dressed, sidewalk-loungers, friendly anarchists from unfriendly ones, etc. And I have no intention of spending a moment of my life googling bomb stuff.

I would think that the elements of a REAL detonation device are a somewhat specialized area of knowledge...usually foreign to peaceful, LAW ABIDING people, and God knows airport ticket agents and security personnel aren't required to be bomb experts...but they have been told by more expert people (than you) about what to look for. I can also understand if an obviously fake bomb can still pose a credible threat on someone...shall we say...twisted enough to wear it?

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

33. Fair enough. However, those who are going to argue about it should be

properly informed. The issue to me is that since the public is so obviously scared of the idea of bombs, then our police officers and security officers SHOULD be 'bomb experts' (I use the term expert here lightly. The general knowledge behind it is fairly simple. That's what is so frustrating. People are so willing to fight and argue about something they don't know, and could fix in moments).

Perhaps you're correct. We shouldn't have to know what it takes to detonate explosives, but the way our world is, the more knowledge the better. If we're going to act like explosives are such a threat, I think it's best that we know what we're dealing with instead of hoping someone else does.

As I've said before, I don't really worry about explosives. The day I find myself next to a suicide bomber is a day I must have seriously fucked up. I like electronics and chemistry. Explosives make loud noises. I'm easily amused. Seems like a pretty good fit. I research TONS of things I'll never need to know, simply because I like the idea that I know more than I did before.

I apologize if I've come off as an elitist douchebag (believe me, I know I have many times today). It's just so utterly frustrating talking to people, presenting the facts, and another person comes right along and completely ignores it.

[AnotherGreenWorld]

26. I'm sure an explosive could be made to resemble that.

And if such a thing is what now passes for 'art,' why wouldn't a real terrorist try to disguise a bomb as such?

[baby_mouse]

32. ... because there would be no point...

....

um

so, dude, what you're saying is that the terrorist is, like, attaching a bit of plastic explosive... carefully molded to, uh, look like a *circuit-board*, i.e. an integral component of a bomb, with batteries, so that he can attach it IN DISGUISE to the front of his shirt.

Why?

Is this a plot from a Ren and Stimpy episode that I missed?

[AnotherGreenWorld]

38. No...

It's a pretty simple point.

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

36. Could you? Sure. One can do alot of things.

Even concealed, a circuit board would have been impractical for a suicide bombing. Outside of a timed explosive device, circuit boards are unnecessary and just a pain in the ass. Chemical detectors (which I assume Logan has) would have picked up most garden variety explosives as well.

If they wanted to be safe, then they could have stopped and talked to her about 30 seconds and examined the shirt (She wouldn't have even had to take it off), and we could have been on our way.

[AnotherGreenWorld]

40. What would a conversation reveal?

Couldn't a real terrorist also say, "Hey fucker! This is art!"?

And so on.

[Nailzberg]

41. But it doesn't matter if it doesn't look like a bomb to you

Cops needed to detain her to get a look at it.

Officers were responding to a call from the employee at the info desk, whose training I'm guessing doesn't cover recognition of explosive devices.

[WilliamPitt]

15. Bullshit

[Nailzberg]

17. You can also get shot because you wore a ski mask into a bank!

Fascist PIGS!

[treestar]

18. ITA. Cannot believe their ridiculous assertions they might have killed her

over it.

I can tell you, I'll avoid that city and that airport. Who knows but what some stupid thing I do gets them suspicious.

[renie408]

31. Definitely avoid it if you plan to wear a circuit board attached to a battery

on your shirt.

I thought the 'she almost got shot' stuff sounded stupid, too.

But then, I also think it was stupid to wear a circuit board with wires attaching it to a battery on your chest into an airport.

[treestar]

52. I wouldn't do that, but who knows what else they could interpret

as suspicious? How do I know my judgment is in sync with theirs?

Granted, I probably exaggerate, since at my age, and never having been particular prone to unusual behavior, it is unlikely. But if they are that paranoid, how do I know there isn't something I might do that might trigger their response?

[11 Bravo]

21. Horseshit.

[ourbluenation]

25. horseshit. she's dumber than a bag of hammers for someone from MIT

would you wear that t-shirt into an airport?

[Rosemary2205]

28. Yeah, the cops are just haters of good art.

:crazy:

[spanone]

29. it's like wearing a target in a hunting zone....not too bright imo

[noshenanigans]

30. 9V battery?

This will probably get me on some kind of list, but my God I'd be impressed by someone who was able to make an actual bomb with deadly force out of a circuit board and a nine-volt battery. I know much of our illusion of security is based on reaction to scenarios from Die-Hard moves, but i do have to begrudgingly admire that kind of technology.

[renie408]

34. It didn't look like a bomb to me, but on the other hand, I haven't ever

actually SEEN a bomb.

I don't think she was smart to have worn her art piece to an airport. But I think the reaction was a little over the top, too. It seemed like a situation with some responsibility on both sides.

[Igel]

37. Rather depends what can't be seen.

I mean, there's a sweatshirt. Obviously a person.

And what else? Explosives?

[Divine Discontent]

46. exactly

the guys going crazy yelling about how stupid people are to believe this is a bomb are scary to me, as if people have time to research bomb making one-oh-one on the net! the fact that someone would walk into an AIRPORT (hello, 9/11) with some kind of wired circuit board looking thing sure could be construed that beneath it she had bombs under her clothing. she was out for attention or to sense the reaction, one would summarily think, right? it just sounds that way on first thought.

she's said she has been ""traveling the world and saving the planet from evil villains (sic) with my delivered-just-in-time gadgets."
lol...

umm... okay.

I mean, c'mon, we all know how 19 year olds can be.

[WilliamPitt]

51. You can destroy a city with a 9v battery.

The battery is there to trigger the initial charge, which then triggers the main charge.

You can take down a building with a bomb powered by a watch battery...if you had enough of the other stuff on the other side of the initial charge.

[Forkboy]

39. Guess I better leave this one at home....

[HuffleClaw]

44. i don't believe for a moment that they ever thought it was a bomb

not at all. some asshole decided to fuck with her, pure and simple. that 'employee' needs to be prosecuted for wasting the authorities time

[Warren DeMontague]

45. You can be shot for your squirt gun, too.

If it looks like a real gun, and you point it at a cop.

[piesRsquare]

47. Something many DU discussions have failed to address...the Play Doh.

What was the deal with the Play Doh?

As one of the state cops said, of all the things this person could have had in her hand, she had a lump of Play Doh. As it turns out, Play Doh is what's simulated as C4 in training, as it is very similar in consistency.

If she were indeed clueless, why the Play Doh? Why did she break into a wide grin when the charges were read to her in court? Why the smirk?

It's not just what was on her shirt. It was also the Play Doh.

[Didereaux]

49. yes, that is a problem...

At last someone caught that. It is a problem. But as no explanation has come forth judgement will have to wait. Questions such as the following must be answered in order to assess the 'threat of the PlayDoh.

1: Since it was NOT attached in anyway to the T-shirt and its circuit board(called a breadboard)what led the security to believe they were in any way connected.

2. Did security notice the PlayDoh before or simultaneously with the T-Shirt, or did they discover the PlayDoh only AFTER stopping and inspecting the girl?

There a couple other questions, but are follow up depending upon the answers to the first two.

I agree it is not good to prejudge before all the facts are in. ;)

[Warren DeMontague]

56. I think a useful question for her defenders is, "what if it turns out it WAS deliberate?"

Right now, I've been accepting the explanation that it was an honest mistake. If it was, they should drop the charges. But what if it wasn't? What if evidence comes up, or she admits, that she deliberately wanted to provoke a response, stage an "event"? What then?

Will her defenders then acknowledge that maybe some kind of charges are in order?

We'll see, I suppose. It's interesting that, in one article I saw, a friend or relative of hers referred to it as a "stunt". :shrug:

[mitchum]

50. It wasn't very good art

:)

[Dr. Strange]

53. You can also be shot because of "performance art."

If you go to an airport with a gun loaded with blanks and start dancing around and firing those blanks in the air, you'll get shot!

What has Amerika come to?

[LisaL]

55. Oh the horror of it all.

[Swede]

54. No one can know what a home made bomb looks like.

They did their job,anyone that thinks differently is either lying or uninformed.