a million monkeys typing

Stop the Peacenicks at the Border

Posted September 27th, 2004 at 08:01am

The Register has one of the more interesting takes on the recent Cat Stevens as terrorist debacle: Cat Stevens midair terror incident spurs tougher measures. Anyone familiar with the story of Cat Stevens will recall that after a number of love ballads and peace songs in the 1970’s (”Morning Has Broken”, “It’s a Wild World”, “Peace Train”, etc.), he converted to Islam and devoted his life to spreading peace and denouncing war and terrorist activities. That he would not only be put on a no-fly list, but that the plane would be ordered to an emergency landing, being greeted by federal agents and snipers, is proof that the system doesn’t work.

Only a few months before 9/11, I flew to San Diego through Toronto on a business trip. Normally, I take off my Leatherman Wave (a formidable tool which I wear everywhere) before boarding flights, but this time I forgot. I passed through all the airport security and customs without even a second glance. Now, they’re stopping well-known peace advocates, ethnic minorities, and even elderly ladies that dare bring nail clippers on board. How times have changed.