Sign of the times

This morning my driver dropped me at Manila Airport at the ungodly hour of 3:35 AM. We left Baguio at 11 PM and that's the fastest we've ever covered the distance.

We have different agendas of course. Mine is to travel from Baguio to the airport and arrive early enough for a smoke or two, but no earlier, before checking in for the flight. Check-in time is 5:30 or thereabouts.

His agenda is to cover the distance as fast as possible. We pay a flat rate of 5000 pesos each way and since our drivers live in Baguio that means they do the trip twice for each once we do it! Why would he want to take 16 hours to drive there and back if he can do it in 10 hours, given that he's paid the same amount no matter how slowly he does it? Since I understand that I don't attempt to get him to slow down even when it's apparent I'm going to arrive much earlier than I want to!

Thus I was at the airport way too early. I stood outside for a while smoking but, to be honest, I don't much like Manila Airport. It just doesn't feel safe, especially on the outside of the security checks leading into the building itself. Vehicles entering the airport have to pass a security check which consists of a torch shone in the face of each passenger and an examination of the contents of the boot (trunk) and glove box. Not once have my bags been checked!

So there I was outside, smoking, when someone walked up dragging a suitcase on wheels. He dumped it and walked away into the crowd. And, as the minutes passed, I found myself getting more and more apprehensive of that damned suitcase. No sign of the guy dragging it. It was about 1 metre away and if it blew up I was in the direct path of the blast. London on my mind. So I took the last puff on the ciggy and backed away from it. I even drew it to the attention of an airport security guy, who shrugged his shoulders and wandered away. If it had been LA Airport I'm sure there'd have been a SWAT team in the blink of an eye.

I see no news of a terrorist attack at Manila, which is good news. I see no news of a plane blasted out of the sky, which is also good news. But on the other hand, are we letting them win by default? As I stood in the queue to enter the building, passport and valid ticket for today at the ready, I glanced back and saw the guy collect his suitcase. I don't know where he went or if he boarded a plane. What I felt was that maybe I'd overreacted. You may disagree but it sometimes seems as we're sacrificing way too much in the way of liberty in defence against what? The faceless persons no one could identify ahead of time.

We've managed to turn the airport into a security nightmare for the average traveller. Do we now do the same for buses and trains? And then, when they're tied down, then what? Taxis? Private cars? Supermarkets and movie theatres? Public parks and museums? (Oh wait, that's already happened at the Smithsonian). Where does it end? Do I spend the last 20 years of my life weakly smiling again and again at some underpaid security guy in the hopes that I'll be allowed through that metal detector unmolested?

Or do we dig our feet in, accept the risks and say, in effect, don't treat me like I'm a terrorist? These aren't just empty words. I do accept the risks. If I chose not to then I'm effectively saying I'll never ever visit my home country again; I'll never travel farther from here in Phoenix than I can drive. But then, to be consistent, I'd have to refuse to drive because of the statistics. And then I'd have to refuse to leave the house and so on and so ad absurdum.

When I read about the two minutes silence in London last Thursday I have to admit that my eyes watered. And when I saw some of the photos of ordinary British people defying terror my eyes also watered. I agree with the sentiment.

Two weeks ago I had a beer with Vern (political blogger - his link is on the left). As a patriotic American who doesn't support the 'War on Terror' he has some interesting things to say. But one thing we talked about was the policy on dealing with terrorist kidnappings. We both agreed on the non-negotiable stance whilst also both agreeing that such sentiments are easy when you're sitting in a bar in Phoenix. I could say the same about what I've just written. Easy to say and think now that I'm on the ground; I don't know how I'd react if I were on a plane being hijacked.

Hmmm, this didn't end up at all where I'd intended to go with it.