Hysteria

Perhaps you've seen this story about a Muslim family that was thrown off a AirTran flight for having a conversation about what's the safest part of an airplane to sit in.

The airline says that's an "inappropriate conversation" on an airplane, which is funny, because I've heard just that conversation many times over the years. I'd say their lawyers are going to try out the "inappropriate conversation" argument if this goes to court. That's the best they can do, and they're sticking to it.

Of course, we all know the complete thought is that it's an inappropriate conversation to have while being a Muslim on an airplane. And that may be the case, but good luck using that argument in court.

The family sounded philosophical about the whole thing. One said, "Nothing came out of it. It was paranoid people. It was very sad."

That about sums it up.

Back during the anthrax scare in 2001 I learned an important lesson: We are at the mercy of the most hysterical people among us. I haven't seen any evidence to contradict that since then.