>>I also do not condone mass hysteria or vigilantes in the air. Obviously, the passengers on flight 93 knew of the three previous crashes. Plus the plane’s crew was killed or dying and clearly not in control of the aircraft. So they had little choice but to take action. But those are a very unique set of circumstances that may never occur again.<<<br><br>With all respect, and the sincere hope that discussion remains measured and civil, I couldn't disagree more.<br><br>Flight 93 may or may not have been unique in that the passengers knew what the cost of inaction was likely to be- but now we all know, today and forever more. The stakes can never again be assumed to be only the lives aboard the plane, and we can never again act as though they might be.<br><br>IMHO, every capable adult boarding a flight, whether Sky Marshall, crew, or passenger, must now know, deep in their heart, that if the plane is successfully hijacked, they MUST stop it at ANY cost to themselves or to all aboard. I will NOT go to my death accompanied by thousands of innocents who died because I would not act, or did not know "for sure" that such an act was planned. The passengers and crew on the other 3 flights had the excuse that nothing like this had been seen before, they could not know what was coming. We, the living, will never have that excuse again.<br><br>These inhuman animals were able, with certainty, to commandeer 4 airplanes at once, with box-cutter or "utility" knives probably having a blade under an inch long, simply because they could count on, with the exact same degree of certainty, being better armed than any decent person on the plane- and that is purely because our approach to "security" is to disarm the innocent. In that respect, the airplanes have become a microcosm of our society.<br><br>So now, we're confiscating and throwing away granny's knitting needles. It won't help a bit. Next time the "weapon" might be a dacron cord, or a vial of water pretending to be nitroglycerin, or a dowel sharpened in a pencil sharpener, or just bare-handed killing skills. All that the hijackers require is that the victims be unable to resist- and we're doing our very, very best to insure that. <br><br>Sky Marshalls are an excellent idea. Arming pilots is a good idea. Is it such a leap to think that arming everyone might be? Personally, I'd be a lot more relaxed in the air if they handed out knives to passengers upon boarding as the gas stations used to hand out steak knives as a premium. I like those odds a lot better than what we face now.<br><br>I would never advise anyone to break the law, on this forum or elsewhere- but our society is almost unique in that we can (still, if barely) change the law, and to do that we have to change our thinking.<br><br>If we continue to self-enforce a society of helpless, defenseless, ideal victims just waiting, begging to be victimized, then we have no right to complain when someone does just that. And they will, in as many venues and places as we continue to make ourselves helpless. <br><br>Acknowledging that is not "mass hysteria", confiscating knitting needles is.<br><br><br>