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Tuesday, 8 October 2002
1014 - The right answer to terrorism
I'm a follower of Eric S. Raymond's weblog. His latest entry, citing an essay published in the Boston Globe, is dead on target (so to speak) when he argues that the only way to respond to terrorism aboard airliners is to arm the passengers. This will, no doubt, distress the leftists among the few of you who read this, but the experience of 9/11 is instructive: the armed forces could not stop the attacks, but the passengers could. Personally, I do not believe that terrorists will try that again, simply because they have to know that the passengers aboard the aircraft will conclude that their lives are forfeit in any case and it is better to go down fighting than in meek submission.
Of course, it'll never happen so long as anti-gunners abound in Congress. Even the obvious step of allowing pilots to arm themselves - after all, airline pilots are overwhelmingly drawn from the ranks of the military, and so know something about firearms - is bogged down in Congressional politicking. Allowing the citizenry to arm itself aboard aircraft is simply going too far, to their way of thinking.
current mood: ![[mood icon]](https://www.livejournal.com/img/mood/neko/kaokitty/determined.gif) determined
current music: Milo Tremley - Kick Ass USA
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Comments:
What, all the passengers? Would I hafta go thru weapons training just to go to Anthrocon? I don't like the sound of that...
And besides, wouldn't arming the passengers mean the terrorists would have guns as well? 'Cos, y'know, they'd be passengers too. What happens if the terrorists are quicker on the draw?
Anyway whatever happened to the idea of doing what El Al does & making the cockpit inaccessible from the passenger cabin with a big thick wall with no door? What, all the passengers? Would I hafta go thru weapons training just to go to Anthrocon? I don't like the sound of that...I doubt he was advocating mandatory carry; no gun advocate I've seen seriously believes that would be a Good Idea. The right to keep and bear arms necessarily implies the right not to do so.
And besides, wouldn't arming the passengers mean the terrorists would have guns as well? 'Cos, y'know, they'd be passengers too. What happens if the terrorists are quicker on the draw?
The terrorists would likely get some folks before going down, but the eventual outcome would be the same.
Anyway whatever happened to the idea of doing what El Al does & making the cockpit inaccessible from the passenger cabin with a big thick wall with no door?
This is possible on larger aircraft, but would require major structural modifications on the average 737, for example.
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