If you listened to the authorities you might profile every kid on the school bus as threats to national security. Lock ‘em up! And for god’s sake make sure they get rehabilitation counseling.
Nothing like a lil’ fear-mongering to keep folks in line, I say. In fact, it’s a best way to justify stripping away freedoms from others. In these two cases, those under the heel of a fearful authority are an 8 and 11 years old boy.
8 year old Cub Scout on terrorist watch list
With the assurance of the T.S.A.’s mythbuster site that their No-Fly list does not include an 8-year old boy you’d think Cub Scout Mikey Hicks would be able to board a plane without any hassles. Except, this kid’s been on the No-Fly list since he was two years old… despite the fact that his mother was cleared to fly with Vice-President Al Gore.
11-year old’s school science project confused with bomb
Any reasonable minded individual might confuse a Gatorade bottle and some electronics as a bomb. Especially when it’s science project day at school, right? The local police bomb squad came to the scene and determined that Junior’s science project was indeed not an explosive device. It was a homemade motion detector.
However, for being of sound and intelligent mind, authorities have recommended that he and his family “get counseling”.
You gotta break ‘em when they’re young, see. Keep folks on their toes so they know we’re watching.
There will always be those who attempt to use fear to restrict your freedoms. Don’t let them.