How Stupid Can You Be?

And for the stupid is as stupid does award…

We bring you the story of MIT student, Star Simpson.  She's attending MIT, so she's brainy and likely somewhat techy and geeky (not that there's anything wrong with that).  She has to go to Logan International Airport in Boston to meet her boyfriend.  She decides to wear a sweatshirt upon which she's attached a lighted computer circuit board with visible wiring, and she's holding a wad of play doh in her hand.  After having the authorities level machine guns at her and arrest her, she's actually protesting what happened, and pleading "not guilty" to a charge of disturbing the peace and possessing a hoax device.

OK.  Was what she did a harmless statement (as she said)?  Technically, yes.  She was not wearing a bomb.  Did she exercise judgment that goes beyond stupid?  Hell yes.  Let's examine this.  Post 9/11 USA.  "Let me dress like a suicide bomber, but it will just be a joke.  Nobody should misunderstand what I'm doing.  And to add to the excitement, maybe I'll do it at the airport where two of the four highjacked 9/11 planes took off from.  And just to extract maximum irony, I'll do it in the city that went apeshit over the Aqua Teen Hunger Force goofy fake bomb thing.  I should really be able to make a statement that way."  And you wonder why the men with the big guns told you to get face down on the pavement.  And you wonder why you were placed under arrest.  Did the authorities overreact?  To the ATHF thing, probably.  To her, nope.  I'd say they did their jobs correctly, and I'm glad for it.  Besides, every single airport I've ever been in has always had a sign (several, actually) that had words to the effect of, "We take all comments regarding bombs and guns seriously."  Meaning even if you're joking, we're going to react as though your comment was meant seriously.  So if you go to an airport, any airport much less the one which was pretty much the epicenter of the 9/11 tragedy, and basically say that you've got a bomb strapped to your body, you should expect to be treated as a terrorist threat.  The moron is lucky to still be alive.  Major Scott Pare of the Mass. State Police was quoted as saying, "She was immediately told to stop, to raise her hands and not to make any movement, so we could observe all her movements to see if she was trying to trip any type of device.  Had she not followed the protocol, we might have used deadly force." 

I understand the idea of making a statement, really I do.  Unfortunately the statement that came across was, "I'm a f**king moron.  Shoot me."  Mr. Darwin, we likely have a future candidate for your award.