edited to ask... is that something to post in Sunnydale?

Prolly not, but thanks for posting it here.

I've not seen pictures of her at all, and that was the first I've seen of the shirt. Either she hasn't flown in the last five or six years, or she's a fucking idiot.

Or, more likely, just wasn't thinking Flight Security before going and picking up her friend (as full disclosure, I can totally see myself wearing/carrying something to the passenger pick up area that I'd never in a million years fly with--my purse would need a lot of editing before I could carry it on, and depending on the purse, yes, that does include Silly Putty) and did something pretty freakin' asstastically dumb.

But I'm with Trudy on the fact that the cops who said she's lucky she's not dead were speaking more to the crazy over-reactiveness she could have provoked, and not making a judgment about whether that would have been an appropriate response.

The wording they used REALLY doesn't read like that to m. It reads like a global threat to anyone who goes near an airport, ever, not a, "Thankfully, Ms. Simpson was compliant and cooperative. Had she not been, this could have had a different and tragic end." caution and reminder not to do stupid things.

And if this report is true (from the Salon letters section)

This morning I happened to be dropping off my husband, who works in Terminal C of the airport and so I was "lucky" enough to see this circus first hand. Walking into a scene where the police (machine guns pointed) were screaming at this little girl like she just killed a bus full of elderly people or something was awful to watch and literally one of the most terrifying things to ever be part of...until we realized that we were not, indeed, standing next to a bomb laden terrorist. I cant help but think that the response to this was not the greatest- yeah walking into an airport with an electronic device strapped to your shirt is reckless and irresponsible, but the hoodie she was wearing was clearly not a bomb- it was a tiny little rectangle with blinking lights in the shape of a star. Had I seen this girl walking down the street, I would not have looked twice- the police response to it was insane and utterly terrifying.

Makes me think there were better ways they could have handled it.

Won't argue that. And if she wasn't flying herself, then yeah, I don't know what I would or wouldn't have thought about ahead of time. Though, did she go inside? I'm unclear, mostly through inattention.

But, seriously, a circuit board and a battery? Even on the bus, I'd guess you'd see some reactions - I can almost rationalize it more as performance art than that level of obliviousness. [Personally, I'd have assumed it wasn't actually a bomb but a deliberate attempt to call one to mind. ]

And, just to be clear - the cop comment I saw seemed to me very couched in relief that no one over reacted and nothing irreversible had happened. I don't doubt that there are a lot of people out there taking a slightly different tone with it.

Though, did she go inside? I'm unclear, mostly through inattention.

She was inside, IIRC, asking about an incoming flight. Not, obviously, past security check points.

I don't think human bombs come with flashing LED lights advertising that they're bombs. Probably not star shaped either. I think you just have a vest with explosive and a detonator.

I think the Boston Police Department has conditioned itself to freak out when they see flashing lights which aren't attached to the roof of their car. Which will certainly make Christmas interesting, but I don't think there are a lot of flashing lights actually involved in terrorist activities.

However, Electrical Engineers and flashing lights definitely go together.

I heard thunder!

I heard thunder!

But did you see any flashing lights?

I wasn't looking so, no.

this is... odd

Holy Crap.

No idea what the context is, but - holy crap.

Meanwhile, it's difficult to know at a remove quite what was going on with the girl in the airport, and I can understand Trudy's suspicion given that she has friends who might pull this kind of thing as performance art - but it does sound to me like this kid is more likely to be a Plei-style tech geek who didn't put on her 'I am flying and thus must be super safety conscious because airports are super suspcious of terrorism' hat, since she was just meeting someone, rather than being a smug artist. I mean, what the hell do I know at this remove - but the odds seem stacked in favour of the former, unless there's any evidence of a history of performance art style stuff.

eta

Crap, Anne, just saw your news. I'm so sorry.

I heard thunder!

:: pats head ::

There there. it's called weather. It happens in So Cal sometimes. I didn't hear it, but I saw lighting!