[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>
> > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> >
> > > Carrying box cutters and knives onto an airplane.
> >
> > On another list I'm on a representative for a computer company explained
> how
> > he *always* flew with box cutters. You see he carried a lot of printed
> > materials in boxes with him. And he was often asked to open them up at
> > security. So he carried the box cutter so he could open them and reseal
> > them quickly and easily. I'm not sure this, in itself, is so strange.
> >
> > And, honestly, who thought of these as weapons before Sept 11th...
> >
> Not to mention that it was not in any way illegal.
>
> rob
>
> Which is precisely my point. Neither is buying one-way tickets in cash at
> the last minute. Nor, for that matter, is asking for lessons on how to fly
> planes but not land them. All are, however, _suspicious_ because they are
> out of the ordinary. Therefore they are worthy of attention.
I agree on the tickets and flying lessons, but the box cutters weren't
so out of the ordinary before Sept. 11. I flew a few times with a very
small box cutter, because I knew I'd be opening boxes and I don't like
messing up my knife with tape goo. I figure the odds of my being on any
particular flight with a box-cutting tool that wasn't a pocketknife in
the past 10 years was around 15%. The odds of my having a pocketknife
were more like 90%. (I wouldn't necessarily take a pocketknife if I
were just going to a science fiction convention, but I'd feel a need to
have one with me for other sorts of trips.)
Of course, the time I was carrying the saw, it went into my checked
luggage. If I were to be checking a saw now, I'd say something to the
person accepting my checked luggage. Not that I'd expect it to be a
problem, but still.
Julia
