As originally said by rhiannonstone via <lj site="livejournal.com

[wolfwings]

First they came for the knitting needles, and I didn't speak up
Because I wasn't much of a knitter
Then they came for the shoes, and I didn't speak up
Because I wear sandals
Then they came for the lighters, and I didn't speak up
Because I don't smoke
Then they came for my Dr Pepper
And now it's on, motherfuckers.

And for me, it's perfectly, exactly true.

And now this puts me between a rock and a hard place between gas prices and travel speed. Especially the likelyhood of them banning all electronics on carry-ons here in the USA I fear. I out-right refuse to part with my laptop and cell phone because of the sheer reliance I have on them both for my data and reading material.

And the amusing part? As far as I can tell, I'm the only person I've ever heard of that nearly got refused access to a plane because I didn't have shoes on. I was lucky I had a pair of socks in my carry-on luggage.

Honest-to-god, I get to the security checkpoint, wait for my flight, get stopped by the at-the-door screener and told if I don't have footwear I can't board. Not 100 feet (though about 90 minutes) after I pass through a security checkpoint where if I do have footwear on, I have to take it off. First time I've been told I needed to wear shoes to board an airline though. =o.O=

Comments

[sardonicus.livejournal.com]

The thing that has half-amused me is.....liquid explosives aren't exactly new, even those of a binary nature.

But *now* it's an issue.

Sigh.

[shepherdwolf.livejournal.com]

The shoe thing makes sense -- it's a sanitation thing, and they don't want you to step on something sharp and sue them for ninety million dollars. =, There's LOTS of businesses that won't let you inside without shoes, including most forms of transportation. Try to get on a city bus barefoot. :)

This isn't directed at you, but I don't know what the hell peoples' problem is with parting with laptops and cellphones if the alternative is possibly getting blown out of the sky.

And I don't even know why I post here since you hardly respond to comments anyway. =p ;)

At least in the US...

[wolfwings.livejournal.com]

...checked luggage is infamous for having high-value items swiped by baggage handlers. Pre and post-9/11. For well over a decade now every travel book has sworn up and down to never leave your laptop, cell-phone, camera, or other expensive item in your checked baggage. And for most US folks, the basic understanding of checked versus carry-on is disposable (checked) versus valuable (carry-on) luggage. And in this day and age, many people become effectively disabled and highly impaired without their 'stunt brain collective' as I refer to my cell phone and laptop combo. I rely on these devices to store important knowledge I need on an hourly basis, as do numerous other people.

And seriously, let's look at Israeli airlines. Do they ban electronics? No. Banning carry-on luggage entirely, let alone just laptops and other electronics, will not stop someone from blowing up a plane, nor does it make it any more difficult really. Someone can just store the chemical what-ever inside themselves the same way a drug-smuggler would (wrap in condoms, swallow) and make the 'detonator trigger' a literal piece of pierced jewelry. (unscrew and touch one forehead piercing to another, explode plane, the 'devil' motif just allows for extra irony)

Israeli airlines run all cargo through chemical sniffers, and all checked luggage through multiple-cycle (randomly determined) pressure-shifts to simulate going up and landing repeatedly, and similair things. And the scary part to me? Their security process takes less than a tenth of the time of most major US airports, and they are dealing with an area where people are super-actively trying to cause harm.

As for the shoe thing: Um, I've never had a problem riding the bus barefoot. Even greyhounds. I drive barefoot. There are no laws against going barefoot most places except food-related establishments, and often no regulations against it either except those that are made up on the spot when someone in some low level of authority notices. Feet are no more dirty than the bottom of shoes, and going barefoot can often be safer than wearing simple, easilly-pierced footwear (slipper-socks, some types of high-heels) or open-sided footwear (sandals) that can have things either pierce it while you step, or get between your foot and your shoe. If you walk barefoot a lot, as I do, you can stop yourself from stepping on a sharp object before it breaks your skin quite easilly because your feet become more sensitive to sensation, while also becoming tougher due to the varied surfaces they tread on. Ask any barefoot hiker or camper.