Christmas 2001
OF AIRPORTS AND MIRACLES
OF AIRPORTS AND MIRACLES
Last week I flew for the first time since the events of September 11th. I used to love to fly, but this may
be my last time. I felt
oppression in an automated atmosphere that resembled a foreign, occupied
country more than an airport in America.
I had just spent more than three months on the road, hopping from the Bay area in California to the hills of Kentucky, stopping several places in-between to meet new and wonderful people who may be able to help in the work of Making The Walls Transparent (http://www.angelfire.com/fl3/starke ).
The first leg of the trip home was made by plane and it was a great loss.
I had just spent more than three months on the road, hopping from the Bay area in California to the hills of Kentucky, stopping several places in-between to meet new and wonderful people who may be able to help in the work of Making The Walls Transparent (http://www.angelfire.com/fl3/starke ).
The first leg of the trip home was made by plane and it was a great loss.
The airport in Oakland was packed and it took the entire 2-hour-required-early-arrival to process through. I checked two bags and was told, "Ms. Lee, you have been selected to be searched." Of course this offended me no end, so I explained, "Don't use the word, selected, as if I am a finalist for a prize. This is an intrusion and something like, "You've been targeted..." might be more appropriate!"
"We're doing this for your safety," growls the young man taking my bags to the table. "I didn't ask for your help," I told him, "..and whether I am a terrorist or an innocent passenger, you cannot claim to be making me safe, when this search is certain destruction of the 4th amendment, which I depend on for real safety i.e. freedom!"
"GET OVER AGAINST THE WALL!" He roars, so loudly that many others turn to look. The older lady with the plastic gloves begins to pull my clothes out of my bag, first from the top, then from the front zipper where the tear in the material leads right back into the area she had just searched.
"Does it make you feel bad to earn your living digging through other people's stuff?" I asked her.
She didn't answer, just kept digging in my bag, and during the second search upstairs, the question was worse than ignored when one of the many Orientals who were doing the searches, stopped, stared at me, turned to the military guard with the big gun, and turned back to stare deep into my eyes with his hands on his hips as if to say, "One more word and I'll have HIM take you somewhere a bit more
private."
One last search was done at the aircraft, where one of the young girls finally answered my question,
"Yes,
actually it does make me feel very bad."
In Reno, where I was supposed to board a non-stop, they informed me at the last minute that they had overbooked and I'd either have to bump a lady in a wheelchair and her companion, or take another flight around the corner. I took the later flight, and arrived in Chicago after my luggage. I was dismayed to find only my clothes bag chained up next to the baggage claim office.
Southwest Airlines had 'misplaced' my most important and irreplaceable bag. It contained prisoner letters, information on Taylor CI, all the stamps I had saved for the Christmas mailing this year, $50 for special stationary for the mailing that Bea had donated, and many other invaluable items.
I was crushed... I called the airlines persistently for a week after that. Finally they quit saying it could come in on any flight, and just told me that it was lost. They gave me a lost baggage claim letter, which had a paragraph that listed all the items the airlines were not responsible for if lost:
In Reno, where I was supposed to board a non-stop, they informed me at the last minute that they had overbooked and I'd either have to bump a lady in a wheelchair and her companion, or take another flight around the corner. I took the later flight, and arrived in Chicago after my luggage. I was dismayed to find only my clothes bag chained up next to the baggage claim office.
Southwest Airlines had 'misplaced' my most important and irreplaceable bag. It contained prisoner letters, information on Taylor CI, all the stamps I had saved for the Christmas mailing this year, $50 for special stationary for the mailing that Bea had donated, and many other invaluable items.
I was crushed... I called the airlines persistently for a week after that. Finally they quit saying it could come in on any flight, and just told me that it was lost. They gave me a lost baggage claim letter, which had a paragraph that listed all the items the airlines were not responsible for if lost:
"Southwest Airlines assumes no responsibility for money, jewelry, cameras, video and electronic equipment (including computers), silverware, precious gems and metals, negotiable papers, securities, business documents, samples, items intended for sale, paintings and other works of art, antiques, collectors' items, artifacts, manuscripts, furs, irreplaceable books or publications, and similar valuables contained in checked or unchecked baggage."
So I say, "Perhaps it would be easier if
you gave me a list of what you ARE responsible for." She
hesitated... and replied, "Clothing."
Needless to say, I still have not recovered my lost bag.
The last leg of my flight home had been booked on Sun Country Airlines, but I got a call from the travel agent that Sun Country had quit the business and that I would be sent out at 9am the next day by another method. My host drove me the two hours to the airport, arriving at 7:10am only to find that the 9am flight I had been told to get on had left at 7am. I would have been left having to purchase a $400 ticket, but I did a series of calls that began with Sun Country and ended with a fine fellow at Trans Air, who graciously rescheduled me on Ryan Airlines flying out the next day at no additional charge.
One little side note about the federal takeover of the airports: My ride had left the car parked in the usual loading/unloading zone in front of the small Minn/St Paul airport. As we emerged to reload my bags, a woman in some kind of uniform rushed towards us. In a loud, aggressively commanding voice she began a tirade, "Is that your car? You can't park here... Move the car... You want problems?...Move the car...NOW!"
I look up from putting my bags in the car to respond, "We've always parked here. The cop down there said this would be fine. We are moving 'NOW'."
Needless to say, I still have not recovered my lost bag.
The last leg of my flight home had been booked on Sun Country Airlines, but I got a call from the travel agent that Sun Country had quit the business and that I would be sent out at 9am the next day by another method. My host drove me the two hours to the airport, arriving at 7:10am only to find that the 9am flight I had been told to get on had left at 7am. I would have been left having to purchase a $400 ticket, but I did a series of calls that began with Sun Country and ended with a fine fellow at Trans Air, who graciously rescheduled me on Ryan Airlines flying out the next day at no additional charge.
One little side note about the federal takeover of the airports: My ride had left the car parked in the usual loading/unloading zone in front of the small Minn/St Paul airport. As we emerged to reload my bags, a woman in some kind of uniform rushed towards us. In a loud, aggressively commanding voice she began a tirade, "Is that your car? You can't park here... Move the car... You want problems?...Move the car...NOW!"
I look up from putting my bags in the car to respond, "We've always parked here. The cop down there said this would be fine. We are moving 'NOW'."
She shrieks, "THAT
COP HAS NO JURISDICTION... I am the only authority here..."
at which point she pulls a holder out of her back pockets, and just like in
the movies, flips this badge at us. She is a little awkward, as if the
movement is new to her, and she closes the badge very quickly, yelling,
"NOW move the car NOW before I arrest you!"
While she screamed, we had already got the four bags loaded and waved from
the window as we drove off. Phew. If that's an example of the
'government' making me feel safe, I want no part of it!
We drove again to the airport the next day. Another tragic loss to my work occurred at the airport prior to checking my bags in: my laptop computer, donated by Dr. Korn to replace my own computer that the viruses had burnt up, simply disappeared from my side. I had it one minute with the other bags, and before I got to the check-in counter, I looked down and it was gone. There were so many people milling about that I have no idea what happened to it.
As you can imagine, at this point I was sadly about to give up on the Christmas mailing. But, without even knowing about my losses, people began to send cards, stamps, the money to buy more stamps, replace the stationary and get the copies made. What a blessing. I was able to send out over 750 Christmas cards and copies of the Open Letter, Christmas 2001 to the prisoners.
(http://www.angelfire.com/fl4/prison/christmas2001.html )
We drove again to the airport the next day. Another tragic loss to my work occurred at the airport prior to checking my bags in: my laptop computer, donated by Dr. Korn to replace my own computer that the viruses had burnt up, simply disappeared from my side. I had it one minute with the other bags, and before I got to the check-in counter, I looked down and it was gone. There were so many people milling about that I have no idea what happened to it.
As you can imagine, at this point I was sadly about to give up on the Christmas mailing. But, without even knowing about my losses, people began to send cards, stamps, the money to buy more stamps, replace the stationary and get the copies made. What a blessing. I was able to send out over 750 Christmas cards and copies of the Open Letter, Christmas 2001 to the prisoners.
(http://www.angelfire.com/fl4/prison/christmas2001.html )
OF FREEDOM AND FEAR
I've now read all the interesting reactions to 'Of Airports and Miracles', replies ranging from "I am happy to be violated that way" to "The security measures that we are experiencing at this time are for the benefit of us all if not for the entire world" to "you brought it on yourself" (by using my freedom of speech at the airport, I assume). Now I'm probably going to make some people really mad, but thank God that's provided for under the first amendment.
I am nearly 60 years old and I can remember when, if you were not doing a crime, you weren't stopped by cops, searched, nor arrested. You could go your entire life without anyone digging through your things or invading your home. Cops didn't steal your stuff back then and they had to have evidence that you had committed a crime to hassle you and particularly to send you to prison. Crimes then were really crimes, not choices, and children could play out alone after dark. Presidents didn't steal elections and terrorists weren't the talk of the year.
As the decades have gone by, I've watched laws passed, with or without the support of the citizens, that have made all these things the norm. But I notice that, despite all our attempts to give up our freedom in exchange for supposed security; despite alterations and destruction of the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, and 13th amendments, the crime rate continues to rise, drugs continue to flow freely, incarceration rates are higher than in any other country, diseases have spread more widely, the highways and airways are less safe, more accidents of all kinds are reported, new and more confusing crimes are occurring in increasing numbers (like child murderers and 'terrorist' actions): All in all we are far less safe according to all statistics than we were 30 years ago.
No you can't regulate morality, nor prohibit accidents, nor save our destructive nation from the hatred that the victims of our foreign policies feel for us, no matter how much of the constitution we ignore, nor how many of the amendments are tossed out the window. This world can never be made perfect through legislation, only through the spirit.
There's only one way to retain the freedom we are famous for and make our nation more secure and that's by setting a better example, being a better people, asking for far better leaders.
Yes, it was frightening to see our country attacked. It hurt to helplessly watch 3000 or so civilians lose their lives on September 11th. But, destroying the foundation of America will not prevent suicide missions from succeeding, nor make us safe. As long as we are the plague of the world, we will suffer the results of the hatred we breed.
Here are some examples of the violent crimes against other nations that we are answering for.
In 1991, Daddy Bush ordered the death of 130,000 Iraqi civilians. We cheered in the streets over that one.
American politicians provided weapons and money to Saddam Hussein, which the Iraqi soldiers used to kill 200,000 civilians before the USA turned all our power against Iraq.
Taliban troops supported and trained by the CIA killed 150,000 Afghan and Russian civilians.
The USA dropped Atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and killed 100,000 Japanese civilians.
Vietnam was the death of thousands of civilians in that country, not counting our own young men who died needlessly.
In Panama in 1989, American troops destroyed the homes of 20,000 villagers and massacred thousands of civilians.
Millions of children have died because of the USA embargoes on Iraq and Cuba.
Hundreds of thousands have been brutally murdered throughout the world by USA-sponsored civil wars and coups d'etat (Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Guatemala, El Salvador to name just a few)*.
These are just a few of the reasons we are
hated enough for 'terrorists' to attack our nation. When we are
finally done following Baby Bush across the globe, destroying everything in
our wake, we will have created more hatred for our nation, leaving ourselves
more open to outside threats, while Ashcroft and his ilk will have made us
less free and more vulnerable to control inside our own country.
Hatred, vengeance, destruction, and leaders who encourage these negative emotions will eventually destroy all that we once stood for. If seeing the truth makes a citizen "un-American", as Ashcroft calls it, then we are sadly living in a country that deserves what it gets.
Our founders fought hard to establish the concept of freedom. Our servicemen have always believed they fought valiantly to preserve it. While the rich play monopoly, the rest of us follow blindly and obediently. And behind the backs of our dead and wounded soldiers, we are giving away the precious freedom we sent them to protect.
My heart and soul feels secure in the risks I must take to remain a true free American. I understand the risks of life and am willing to take responsibility for my own choices. I am not willing to give up my freedom
for some make-believe security fostered on us by war-mongers and terrorized people. People who are trying to make the trade, as Thomas Jefferson said, do not deserve freedom nor security, nor respect for that matter.
So arrest me as anti-politician, anti-war, anti-dependant on big brother if you must, but you can never claim that I am not true to the free nation I was born in. If you tape my mouth shut and shackle me, I'll watch from my cell as the fearful among you become slaves to your dishonest, corrupt, horrible, hateful political choices!
I remain one American who will never quietly give up my country to the enemy within,
Hatred, vengeance, destruction, and leaders who encourage these negative emotions will eventually destroy all that we once stood for. If seeing the truth makes a citizen "un-American", as Ashcroft calls it, then we are sadly living in a country that deserves what it gets.
Our founders fought hard to establish the concept of freedom. Our servicemen have always believed they fought valiantly to preserve it. While the rich play monopoly, the rest of us follow blindly and obediently. And behind the backs of our dead and wounded soldiers, we are giving away the precious freedom we sent them to protect.
My heart and soul feels secure in the risks I must take to remain a true free American. I understand the risks of life and am willing to take responsibility for my own choices. I am not willing to give up my freedom
for some make-believe security fostered on us by war-mongers and terrorized people. People who are trying to make the trade, as Thomas Jefferson said, do not deserve freedom nor security, nor respect for that matter.
So arrest me as anti-politician, anti-war, anti-dependant on big brother if you must, but you can never claim that I am not true to the free nation I was born in. If you tape my mouth shut and shackle me, I'll watch from my cell as the fearful among you become slaves to your dishonest, corrupt, horrible, hateful political choices!
I remain one American who will never quietly give up my country to the enemy within,
Realizing Enlightment and Visualizing Professionalism!
Kay Lee, MTWT In Florida
Pacific Institute of Criminal Justice
1868 San Juan Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94707
510-528-4603
kaylee1@charter.net or kaylee@idiom.com
Pacific Institute of Criminal Justice
1868 San Juan Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94707
510-528-4603
kaylee1@charter.net or kaylee@idiom.com
http://www.angelfire.com/fl3/starke
*Sources:
Justice Department Figures
Sam Smith editorial, "Internet Sightings"
Common Dreams at
http://www.commondreams.org/views01/1109-09.htm
As published in North Coast Press Winter 2001
INDEX OF OPEN LETTERS ON MAKING THE WALLS TRANSPARENT
http://www.angelfire.com/fl4/prison/kay.html