6 ms·

Star Simpson's first interview on the Boston airport LED sweatshirt scare

22 points by polvi 18y ago

sanj 18y ago
if you were the boston police and wanted to minimiZe nuisance calls from the airport, making an example of this seems like an efficient way to do so.
- noonespecial 18y ago
  That's just it. They'd prefer to send a strong "don't be different" message. They think if they can coerce everyone into absolute conformity, it will lower the cost of searching out tur-ists. What really happens is they create a set of protocols that are simple to learn that will allow real terrorists to hide in plain sight.
  - sanj 18y ago
    I think they send a strong "don't waste our time" message.
    - MaysonL 18y ago
      They also send a "we're incompetent, dangerous (carrying around loaded automatic weapons in an airport terminal is dumb) fools" message.
      - sanj 18y ago
        Ever flown out of Tel Aviv?
shard 18y ago
Reading that she dropped out of MIT and that the judge required her to do community service and make a public apology makes me so sad.
- tdavis 18y ago
  Me too. Sad for the country, the world and for human beings. Sometimes (okay, most of the time) it's really embarrassing to be one of us.
- deleted 18y ago
  [deleted]
- jrockway 18y ago
  She must have had a terrible lawyer. "possessing a hoax device" requires that the person possessing the hoax device intended to scare someone. Since she was just meeting a friend and wanted to impress him (her?), I just don't see the hoax intent. It's like brushing your teeth and shining your shoes before picking up a friend at the airport -- not illegal. Anyway, if she is appealing, I would like to donate some money to her legal fund so she can get a fair trial.
  - pmorici 18y ago
    The "possessing a hoax device" charge was dropped and she was only convicted of disorderly conduct which she explains doesn't require intent. The real disgusting thing here is the abhorrent conduct of the police and judicial system.
    - menloparkbum 18y ago
      The real disgusting thing here is the abhorrent conduct of the police and judicial system. This happened in Boston. You know all those movies and TV shows that stereotype Boston cops as a corrupt tribe of violent irish guys? That's really what they are like. Plus, Boston cops like to seem tough on terror since their community supported IRA terror during The Troubles and they feel a bit guilty and conflicted about it these days... This is a classic case of town vs. gown. The townies won.
- tjic 18y ago
  Agreed. Someone that stupid should definitely have faced jail time, not just community service.
kzar 18y ago
Poor girl, really sad to see this.
peakok 18y ago
Being perfectly honest, her device could be confusing in an airport context, given the fact that you never know who is the person you deal with. I can understand the arrest, but not what has happened next. The press seems to have been called too early and my guess is that the officials didn't want to look like fools when their sensationalistic "suicide bomber" story - that was supposed to get them promoted - just vanished. "Suicide bomber arrest" was the first thing I ever heard about this story in a french newspaper. If the lies didn't spread so fast, the story wouldn't have gotten so big and the officials would prolly have released her the next hour with no charges at all. Fuck that, I hope she recovers well.
- jrockway 18y ago
  If the lies didn't spread so fast, the story wouldn't have gotten so big and the officials would prolly have released her the next hour with no charges at all. This is all the more reason to hold the government accountable for their actions. They did not deserve to win this case and ruin Star's life. Why don't the TSA employees go to jail when actual bombs get past the security checkpoints? That's an actual risk. Oh right, it blows the illusion of security theater. Never mind. I thought we were actually trying to protect the traveling public there for a second. Silly me.
  - tjic 18y ago
    Geez, the drama. How has her life been ruined?
    - hbien 18y ago
      She had to drop out of MIT and move out of Boston because of jerks spitting in her face, who think the media gave them 100% of the story that she tried to do a "bomb hoax".
andreyf 18y ago
This is what terrorism does - it terrorizes people. The unfortunate deaths on 9/11 were a means to that end.
pavelludiq 18y ago
Americans never had the honor to live in a real dictatorship, i would suggest you guys try it for a few decades, you will learn not to trust the guys making laws pretty fast.
- Zev 18y ago
  Unless I'm hugely mistaken, American trust in the government isn't anywhere near a high point right now. Unfortunately I can't find a source to back this up, so take it as you want.

22 points by polvi 18y ago

sanj 18y ago

if you were the boston police and wanted to minimiZe nuisance calls from the airport, making an example of this seems like an efficient way to do so.

noonespecial 18y ago
That's just it. They'd prefer to send a strong "don't be different" message. They think if they can coerce everyone into absolute conformity, it will lower the cost of searching out tur-ists. What really happens is they create a set of protocols that are simple to learn that will allow real terrorists to hide in plain sight.
- sanj 18y ago
  I think they send a strong "don't waste our time" message.
  - MaysonL 18y ago
    They also send a "we're incompetent, dangerous (carrying around loaded automatic weapons in an airport terminal is dumb) fools" message.
    - sanj 18y ago
      Ever flown out of Tel Aviv?

shard 18y ago

Reading that she dropped out of MIT and that the judge required her to do community service and make a public apology makes me so sad.

tdavis 18y ago
Me too. Sad for the country, the world and for human beings. Sometimes (okay, most of the time) it's really embarrassing to be one of us.
deleted 18y ago
[deleted]
jrockway 18y ago
She must have had a terrible lawyer. "possessing a hoax device" requires that the person possessing the hoax device intended to scare someone. Since she was just meeting a friend and wanted to impress him (her?), I just don't see the hoax intent. It's like brushing your teeth and shining your shoes before picking up a friend at the airport -- not illegal. Anyway, if she is appealing, I would like to donate some money to her legal fund so she can get a fair trial.
- pmorici 18y ago
  The "possessing a hoax device" charge was dropped and she was only convicted of disorderly conduct which she explains doesn't require intent. The real disgusting thing here is the abhorrent conduct of the police and judicial system.
  - menloparkbum 18y ago
    The real disgusting thing here is the abhorrent conduct of the police and judicial system. This happened in Boston. You know all those movies and TV shows that stereotype Boston cops as a corrupt tribe of violent irish guys? That's really what they are like. Plus, Boston cops like to seem tough on terror since their community supported IRA terror during The Troubles and they feel a bit guilty and conflicted about it these days... This is a classic case of town vs. gown. The townies won.
tjic 18y ago
Agreed. Someone that stupid should definitely have faced jail time, not just community service.

kzar 18y ago

Poor girl, really sad to see this.

peakok 18y ago

Being perfectly honest, her device could be confusing in an airport context, given the fact that you never know who is the person you deal with. I can understand the arrest, but not what has happened next. The press seems to have been called too early and my guess is that the officials didn't want to look like fools when their sensationalistic "suicide bomber" story - that was supposed to get them promoted - just vanished. "Suicide bomber arrest" was the first thing I ever heard about this story in a french newspaper. If the lies didn't spread so fast, the story wouldn't have gotten so big and the officials would prolly have released her the next hour with no charges at all. Fuck that, I hope she recovers well.

jrockway 18y ago
If the lies didn't spread so fast, the story wouldn't have gotten so big and the officials would prolly have released her the next hour with no charges at all. This is all the more reason to hold the government accountable for their actions. They did not deserve to win this case and ruin Star's life. Why don't the TSA employees go to jail when actual bombs get past the security checkpoints? That's an actual risk. Oh right, it blows the illusion of security theater. Never mind. I thought we were actually trying to protect the traveling public there for a second. Silly me.
- tjic 18y ago
  Geez, the drama. How has her life been ruined?
  - hbien 18y ago
    She had to drop out of MIT and move out of Boston because of jerks spitting in her face, who think the media gave them 100% of the story that she tried to do a "bomb hoax".

andreyf 18y ago

This is what terrorism does - it terrorizes people. The unfortunate deaths on 9/11 were a means to that end.

pavelludiq 18y ago

Americans never had the honor to live in a real dictatorship, i would suggest you guys try it for a few decades, you will learn not to trust the guys making laws pretty fast.

Zev 18y ago
Unless I'm hugely mistaken, American trust in the government isn't anywhere near a high point right now. Unfortunately I can't find a source to back this up, so take it as you want.