Just like Dan!
2001-11-04 13:56:34+00 by ebradway 13 comments
I think I probably would have been a little more co-operative but Nancy Oden is banned from airport for passive resistance.
2001-11-04 13:56:34+00 by ebradway 13 comments
I think I probably would have been a little more co-operative but Nancy Oden is banned from airport for passive resistance.
[ related topics: Coyote Grits ]
comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):
#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:33:11+00 by: Larry Burton
I think that Nancy may be leaving something out of the story.
#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:33:11+00 by: ebradway
I don't know if you've ever seen someone use 'passive resistance', but it is terribly effective to getting trigger-happy National Guardsmen to over-react.
I doubt she is leaving anything out - other than the fact that she may have been encouraging the situation. She may have been flagged for a search but she decided to push the point with the guards. Ever try to make a bomb joke with a baggage screener? They get quite upset.
#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:33:12+00 by: Dori
Here's a little more news (with possibly a little more balance).
#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:33:12+00 by: Larry Burton
Grinning is also terribly effective in getting someone to overreact and its little things like that that I believe Ms. Oden left out of her story. As an activist she knows exactly which buttons to push to increase the likelihood of getting the reaction she is looking for. With Bangor being an airport that some of the terrorist used to get through the first level of security those folks at that airport are going to be more cautious than at a lot of the others.
#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:33:12+00 by: Pete
Trigger happy National Gaurdsmen? Have they shot anything since Kent State?
#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:33:12+00 by: ebradway
I meant 'trigger happy' in the coloquial sense. Guardsmen traditionally have problems dealing with the public because they are trained for battle - not crowd control.
Thanks for posting the article from the Bangor paper. I tried looking on CNN and other news sites but found nothing. As far as balance goes, here are some quotes from that story that make me think Oden's suspicions are correct:
'While acknowledging that Oden was singled out for added extensive screening, authorities said it was more likely due to the manner in which she purchased her ticket'
but 'Oden bought her nonrefundable ticket online'.
Does that mean EVERYONE who buys their ticket online is going to get screened like this?
'her name is unknown to the FBI'
Hmmm - a search on Google immediately gives a hit for her name as a member of the Coordinating Committee for the Green Party. Somehow I doubt that the FBI doesn't maintain files on every high-ranking official in all politcal parties.
While I think she probably should have just cooperated with the search, I do think she was singled out for the search because of her political affiliations.
#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:33:12+00 by: Larry Burton
Oh, I believe she was singled out for he political afflictions also. However, her being banned from the airport most likely had more to do with her personal behavior during the search than her activism.
#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:33:12+00 by: Pete
I always buy my tickets online. I have been singled out for additional searching, but only once and that was pre-911. It looked like they used a chem sniffer on my carry-on bag. Took maybe 30 seconds.
Even if the FBI had files on her, which I doubt, that wouldn't translate into her appearing on an airport watch list.
#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:33:13+00 by: Pete
http://world.std.com/~emg/2001_11_01_blog_archive.html
#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:33:13+00 by: markd
I purchased tickets through a tavel agent over the phone for a trip from Pittsburgh to Omaha. Out of 8 total opportunities to get searched (4 on each leg), I actually got searched 6. Each time I was told it was "random".
#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:33:13+00 by: Dan Lyke
Before September 11th, ever time I've been through OAK I've always had to turn on my laptop or my Palm, or let them do a chem test on my bag. Heck, they've even asked me to open my wallet. Never had any attention paid to me at any other airport. Obviously I trigger some Oakland profile.
As the rest of the story about Nancy Oden filters out, though, it sure looks like she had it coming. I'd be reluctant to fly with anyone who put up that much of a fuss at security, even before the attacks.
#Comment made: 2001-11-29 18:04:20+00 by: Pete [edit history]
http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/oden.htm
The passenger in question was asked to undergo additional screening (i.e. a hand wand examination) because the manner in which she purchased the ticket triggered a concern under the new Federal screening guidelines post September 11. She refused to cooperate and became quite abusive. It is illegal for an airline to fly an unscreened passenger. Accordingly, the airline denied her boarding. She never got near a plane.
She never went through security. No screen, no fly -- it is as simple as that.
#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:33:29+00 by: meuon
2 years ago, I flew around a lot with my bag containing 2 small knives, crimps, cutters, screwdrivers, a Palm 7, a Palm 5, a GPS, a Laptop, a digital camera and my Gerber folding knife (5" blade) and two clean shirts, in a single carry-on bag. Kansas City, Washington DC, Baltimore.... no one said a word except one guy who asked what I did, I told him I was a rent-a-geek, he laughed and on the plane I went.
I think a LOT depends on what you look/dress like and how you act.