Since 1972, worldwide there have been 18,483 fatalities via plane crash. Since 2001, there have been 3,222 fatalities in the United States via terrorism, 2,902 of those occurring on September 11th of 2001. Combined, that's 21,705 fatalities. So, on average, there are approximately 528 deaths via plane crash worldwide every year and 190 deaths via terrorism in the United States on an annual basis. If we were to strip 9/11 from said equation, that average would decrease to 20 per year. Even if we go with the high end of that range, the two variables would combine for an average of 718 deaths every year. In other words, it's probably more likely for a person to die by getting struck by lightning than for him/her to die in a plane crash or by an act of terror. Yet we seem to be more paranoid than ever of being victimized by these lottery-jackpot odds, enough so that we've nonchalantly allowed our freedoms to be infringed for a false sense of security.
I say this because of a recent incident involving the TSA. Remember the time when we could go through the security line without removing our shoes, raising our hands like we're being held at gunpoint by the police, getting frisked even after walking through the metal detector unscathed? Those were the days, right? Not only that, but there's now a list of items one can't bring on a plane which may have exceeded the length of California. One item on the list? Sugar. My mother, a 64-year-old woman who feels guilty about swatting at mosquitoes, even after they've infected her with the West Nile virus, was taken aside by TSA agents due to a bag of sugar she had in her purse. This led to her missing the flight and getting to her destination 6 hours later than originally scheduled. Really? Is this really what we've come to in this country? We can't seem to pass any laws to limit gun violence, which kills approximately 35,000 people in this country every year, but we're fearful of a 64-year-old women possessing sugar at an airport? Give me a fricking break...
http://www.airfleets.net/crash/fatalities_year.htm
I say this because of a recent incident involving the TSA. Remember the time when we could go through the security line without removing our shoes, raising our hands like we're being held at gunpoint by the police, getting frisked even after walking through the metal detector unscathed? Those were the days, right? Not only that, but there's now a list of items one can't bring on a plane which may have exceeded the length of California. One item on the list? Sugar. My mother, a 64-year-old woman who feels guilty about swatting at mosquitoes, even after they've infected her with the West Nile virus, was taken aside by TSA agents due to a bag of sugar she had in her purse. This led to her missing the flight and getting to her destination 6 hours later than originally scheduled. Really? Is this really what we've come to in this country? We can't seem to pass any laws to limit gun violence, which kills approximately 35,000 people in this country every year, but we're fearful of a 64-year-old women possessing sugar at an airport? Give me a fricking break...
http://www.airfleets.net/crash/fatalities_year.htm
Comments
Post a Comment