I am "poking" somewhat, but in all seriousness ... what people seem to fail to realize is that an airplane is essentially a flying missile. The airplane itself is a weapon. A person hijacking a bus or a car can do a lot of damage ... as can someone on a subway train, etc. But 9/11 did change certain dynamics of travel, turning an airplane into a "Weapon of Mass Destruction"
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Well, while i basically agree with your points, i think that what is going on nowdays, in terms of "security", is just silly.
Yes, planes can be turned into weapons. In fact, pretty much everything can be turned into a weapon. But does that really justify these extensive measures? Do people really have to accept such intrusions into their privacy?
I'm pretty sure that i get into really hot waters with the following, but i hope that people will try to fully understand what i am saying next.
Yes, 9/11 was extremely tragical. No doubt about that. Many people died for no real reason at all.
However, many people die every years due to traffic accidents. They die because doctors or surgeons make mistakes. Many people get stabbed to death by other people using ordinary knifes. Many people die because they live an unhealthy life.
Should we now go ahead and impose very strict regulations if someone wants to drive a car? Or wants to use a knife? If we impose the use of airbags onto people, why not impose the requirement to live a healthy life as well?
Fact is, far more people have died in the last 10 years (and in the 10 years before 9/11) than at 9/11 itself. Don't get me wrong, every loss of a living person is a tragedy for all involved. But i think that that the sense of proportion is pretty much lost since 9/11.
We simply can not control all the people. We can try to impose more and more restrictions, but the effect would be just that those who want to do harm, will find more and more ways to circumvent these restrictions.
A democratic society has to live with these things, as hard as it may seems at a glance. But there is just no way around it. No one will ever get 100% security. No society will ever have 100% law abiding people.
On the other hand, all these "anti terror laws" and procedures put the people into constant fear of possible attacks. Wherever you go, or if you want to travel, you are reminded of that fear. It pushed and and pushed. The society changes towards one that fears all and everyone that may look/behave suspiciously in the slightest. Even if, as in most cases, there is no reason to think something bad about that person. A state of constant, exaggerated fear can and will change the people living in/under it.
Again, please don't get me wrong. In no way i want to downplay 9/11. But it still is a very rare event. People die due to other means way more often. More people die due to regular airplane crashes than due to terrorists using airplanes as weapons.
Really, security and safety is a good thing. But it has limits. Panicking around and putting people in constant fear does not help at all. In fact, i would go so far and say that these terrorists achieved one of their goals: Putting people into fear.
I really hope that you all will understand my point of view here. I think we simply have to live with the fact that really, really bad things can and will happen, no matter what. But the bad actions of a few should never result in such drastic changes in a society's behaviour. At least not if such a society suffers from far more losses due to things they legally allow. And no, that does not mean to disallow the otherwise allowed things.
Greetings,
Chris
, have only links in German at hand. But take a look 
