You may recall that terrifying movie of decades ago, “Jaws.” For some time after that whenever you took a dip in the ocean the phrase, “Just when you thought it was safe to go in the water . . .” would come to mind and your brain would start to play the menacing music as the imaginary predator was coming your way.
The fact of the matter was the odds were similar to those of being struck by lightning but it still gave us pause before swimming out beyond the breakers at dusk.
We are faced with a similar terror today with the random shootings, suicide bombs, and maniacal truck drivers, all looking for an innocent crowd on which to unleash their savagery. While shark attacks are vanishingly rare, the threat of mass mayhem is much higher albeit still small.
It is important to put this real fear in perspective. We are told to “be vigilant.” What exactly does that mean? How can one survey a crowd and not see a myriad of people who might be plotting harm? The likelihood of seeing someone strolling along with an obvious bomb, an assault rifle, or driving in a homicidal way is totally unlikely; until the carnage is unpacked there will be no warning.
Great credit must be given to the intelligence community for uncovering potential acts of mass terror, but the so-called lone wolf is almost undetectable. Such perpetrators can be as occult as the person sitting in the next seat on the subway.
Does that mean that we should never ride public transportation? Obviously, that’s not a viable option. Should we not populate open markets where vehicular traffic is unrestricted? Is air travel safe? Again, we cannot live normally if we give into these fears.
The horrific event in Ft. Lauderdale raises a point that one would suspect TSA has known would happen. A weapon (a gun, in this case) can legally be declared to be in the screened luggage and the passenger allowed to board. After reclaiming the potentially deadly baggage, all it takes is a trip to the rest room to remove the gun and begin the mayhem. Perhaps guns in checked luggage are limited to hand-held weapons but even assault rifles can probably be disassembled to fit in a suitcase.
Whenever something like this happens, there will likely be some group that will claim responsibility. The lone wolf attack is always suspect and gives “free” publicity to any terrorist agency that wishes to enhance their terrible presence. We are now hearing that the terrorists are being told to claim mental illness if they are not themselves killed. At least, that part is true; by any standard of civilization they are violently deranged.
To restrict the transport of lethal weapons in checked luggage would immediately be seen as an infringement of the second amendment. If a weapon is properly registered to the owner, then the clause prohibiting unlawful search and seizure becomes front and center.
It’s disturbing the shooter reported to the FBI he was hearing voices and had a weapon. That he was not deemed dangerous or mentally impaired warrants further analysis.
Any thinking citizen by now must realize that if we are to have freedom there will inevitably by a collision of individual rights with removal of liberties. Recognizing this, we have to accept a number of unpleasant realities. There are people, crazy or not, who for a numberless variety of reasons, are determined to act violently against innocent victims. They are, by and large, undetectable. While vigilance is marginally helpful protection, it still should be employed.
A final point to remember is that we must not change our normal patterns of behavior. To do so does not lessen the danger, small though it may be, that we may personally suffer at the hands of those who would harm us. In fact if we are to become stymied by such potential threats it would strengthen the impact of these dangerous people.
Hayden Hollingsworth
