Security

September 18, 2015
The Market Ticker: PS: Screw You Too Obama

Had the school and its staff had any reason to believe there was an actual explosive device their first duty would be to evacuate the building and get everyone, including themselves, away from the "believed" bomb -- not sit with it and leave everyone in the building exposed to serious injury or death.

I really want to believe that. I really, really do. I'm only 99% convinced though, and here's why.

It was the 1990s (before 9/11). Several coworkers and I had just attended a Game Developers Conference. We were in a California airport checking through security on our way home. One of my coworkers had something in his carry-on bag that required further attention.

He'd been given a free ping pong ball gun. It was in its original packaging. It was made of clear plastic. You could see all of its internal parts. He intended to surprise his son with it.

He was asked what it was. He said it was a toy ping pong ball gun. He was told to remove it from its packaging. He complied. He was told to fire it at the wall behind us. He complied.

I sighed in relief knowing that security's fears were not fully realized. The ball did not explode or release a deadly cloud of toxins instantly killing all of us in the area. It simply bounced harmlessly off the wall. Whew!

For the sake of argument, I'm therefore not entirely sure what people do when they suspect there may be a bomb. If that was airport security's plan, then I can only imagine what others might do. You know, people without the proper security training, lol. Sigh.

True story. I swear.