“I have no idea what a real bomb looks like,” writes a blogger at machinist.salon.com, “but I don’t think it’s a plastic board with a 9-volt battery on it.”
19 year old M.I.T. student, Star Simpson showed up at Logan International Airport Friday to pick up a friend. Such an event would not normally kick up an international news storm, but Simpson had not taken the general stupidity index into account; something we’re apparently required to do now.
She was wearing a black sweat shirt with a white plastic board attached. The board itself, known as a socket or bread-board, is a familiar site to decades of engineering and science students and hobbyists. On college campuses throughout the country fall delivers chillier weather, colored leaves, and students with socket-boards, 9-volt batteries, and little flashing lights. But – as if we needed further proof – not everyone gets the joke: “Socket to me” written on a sweat shirt with a socket-board attached; not even when you add the title of the school course you’re in.
Even if you have never taken a logic course in engineering, in our abundantly technological society, there isn’t much of an excuse for over-reacting. What’s next – grandpa gets tasered for the flashing Rudolf nose on his Christmas tie? Walk in the park, grandpa! Star was taken at gun-point, an exercise that included troopers with submachine guns. Good thing she cooperated, it has been observed, or she would probably be dead.
The woman at the information desk who started things off really cannot be blamed. I can certainly believe that everyone who works in airports has been trained to be on the lookout for suspicious articles. If she couldn’t identify the device, it’s not terribly difficult to understand that she would report it. State troopers, hearing of a suspected bomb in an airport, would quite naturally show up prepared. But now, in the calm light of day, when it is clear that it was just a misunderstanding, the idiots among us can’t let it go. Thank something – at least they’ve let her out on bail.
Star; you don’t get it yet. You’ve done well enough academically to have made it into the second year of M.I.T.’s electrical engineering and computer science program. If you were called a nerd in high school, it was nothing. In this big adult world, you will be surrounded by idiots for the rest of your life, and they will be in powerful positions. If you need more perspective on that, just think; “Dan Rather.” It’s not just Dan. Somebody hired him. Millions of people watched and listened to him every night. It goes on and on. It’ll drive you crazy if you let it.
It’s unfair, I know. Back when I was a kid, it was compassionate to look out for those less fortunate. But, when they screwed up, it was clearly their fault and they had to take the consequences. Today however – idiots control everything (thanks Dan). The world is a very different place.
You have an obligation to care for them, to protect them, and whatever you do – try not to confuse them. They can become quite dangerous. The worst thing is if you show “insensitivity” to them. This is when you assume that they’ll understand something that’s really really obvious to you, and then it turns out that they don’t. They’ll blame it on you, of course. That’s what every little smirk and joke is about. There are many people who are not able to comprehend things that seem really really obvious to you; including the humor – Socket to me! Star – honey – they really don’t get it and they’re not going to; and – for lack of a better alternative – they’re going to continue to give you a hard time until they feel better about themselves.
