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My apologies and I wish no ill will or to cause flames, but your comment makes me sad and reminds me of "First they came..." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First

My apologies and I wish no ill will or to cause flames, but your comment makes me sad and reminds me of "First they came..." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came... I only wish to be at least half as noble, brave and bold as some who have come before me. And, I am grateful that our forefathers of the United States were willing to risk their LIVES (forget dinner or jobs) to stand up for what they believed in to make this country independent. Also, while I never really bought into the notion--rather the ideal, if it weren't for those who lost their lives in WWII we would all be speaking German or possibly be slaves or dead if we didn't fit the ideal of one man or group's belief is the perfect race. I am just as guilty as I find your comment, as so far I have just sat by (but have at least talked about to whoever listens) as our freedoms are stripped away, but I realize my fault and hope to change it.

edw519 16y ago
My apologies and I wish no ill will or to cause flames, but your comment makes me sad and reminds me of "First they came..." My comment makes me sad, too. I think my actions and beliefs today would probably disappoint the "10 years ago" instance of myself. A little background... The incident in question happened 4 weeks ago, when I had an extra 2 hours before my flight. Sure, I had plenty of time to stand up for what I believe in. On Friday, I was running late because of traffic and crowds. If I had refused the naked machine, I would have missed my flight, and I would have missed Startup School. Funny how strongly we believe in something until it's our turn to act. That's when we find out, for better or worse, who we really are.
notahacker 16y ago
Sure, but do you honestly think that use of full body scanners before boarding flights is remotely linked to the threat of oppressive rulers targeting unpopular minorities? Or that the levels of bravery involved in missing your flight really compare with the people who died to stop dictators enslaving the human race? You can accept irritation whilst remaining committed to stand up to evil. I realise that the levels of airport security might be verging on excessive (pilots don't exactly need to be carrying banned sharp items to seriously threaten passenger safety on board an aircraft anyway...), but for some reason I find the equivocation of freedom fighting and moaning about being mildly hassled at an airport more objectionable than the airport officials themselves. Coming across as paranoid and self-righteous* every time law enforcement comes up with any new directive detracts from legitimate criticism of more disturbing trends and behaviour. If you're really afraid of the power of government then security personnel asking to see your genitals without asking you taking your clothes off ought to be the least of your concerns. A healthy majority of American citizens think the government has the right to take away people's _lives_ (should they be convicted of a capital crime). *this isn't intended as a direct personal criticism either of you or the pilot; merely an observation of how it potentially appears to a large swathe of the general public. The "boy who cried wolf" analogy sounds more apt than any Godwin's-law-invoking slippery slope arguments.

edw519 16y ago

My apologies and I wish no ill will or to cause flames, but your comment makes me sad and reminds me of "First they came..." My comment makes me sad, too. I think my actions and beliefs today would probably disappoint the "10 years ago" instance of myself. A little background... The incident in question happened 4 weeks ago, when I had an extra 2 hours before my flight. Sure, I had plenty of time to stand up for what I believe in. On Friday, I was running late because of traffic and crowds. If I had refused the naked machine, I would have missed my flight, and I would have missed Startup School. Funny how strongly we believe in something until it's our turn to act. That's when we find out, for better or worse, who we really are.

notahacker 16y ago

Sure, but do you honestly think that use of full body scanners before boarding flights is remotely linked to the threat of oppressive rulers targeting unpopular minorities? Or that the levels of bravery involved in missing your flight really compare with the people who died to stop dictators enslaving the human race? You can accept irritation whilst remaining committed to stand up to evil. I realise that the levels of airport security might be verging on excessive (pilots don't exactly need to be carrying banned sharp items to seriously threaten passenger safety on board an aircraft anyway...), but for some reason I find the equivocation of freedom fighting and moaning about being mildly hassled at an airport more objectionable than the airport officials themselves. Coming across as paranoid and self-righteous* every time law enforcement comes up with any new directive detracts from legitimate criticism of more disturbing trends and behaviour. If you're really afraid of the power of government then security personnel asking to see your genitals without asking you taking your clothes off ought to be the least of your concerns. A healthy majority of American citizens think the government has the right to take away people's _lives_ (should they be convicted of a capital crime). *this isn't intended as a direct personal criticism either of you or the pilot; merely an observation of how it potentially appears to a large swathe of the general public. The "boy who cried wolf" analogy sounds more apt than any Godwin's-law-invoking slippery slope arguments.