- Top Features:
- War Room
- Glenn Greenwald
- Broadsheet
- Joan Walsh
- Camille Paglia
- Since You Asked
- Follow Salon:
Read other letters about this article
"Let's face it," TSA regional manager Ann Davis tells Ask the Pilot. "You can strangle somebody with a necktie if you really want to. It's time to focus on screening out intent, not just items themselves."
The important question you have to ask about the item is: would you be unwilling to facedown someone because they were wielding it? For example, I would know a moment of stark terror if someone was swinging an exacto knife at me in close quarters. The same can't be said for a necktie. A 7-inch phillips-head? I wouldn't be as frightened of it as a knife, but it would give me pause, and I think that's something to consider.
