As part of the continuing war on terrorism and other un-American activities, and in light of increased security during the course of the Olympic Games, the FAA decreed that, for the duration of the Olympics, all aircraft traveling to Salt Lake City would be locked down for the first and last half hour of the flight. As a result of this, on February 9, Richard Bizzaro, a 59-year-old entrepreneur from Park City, Utah, was taken in handcuffs from Delta Airline 1540 for interfering with a flight crew.

The sequence of events, as reported by Reuters, was this: With about a half hour left in the flight, Bizzaro left his first-class seat to visit the head located between the first class section and the cockpit. His business completed, he unlocked the door to find a flight attendant "telling him forcefully to take his seat." Bizzaro reportedly "tried to stare down the flight attendant" at the cabin attendant before returning to his seat. Air marshals noticed him allegedly giving a "thumbs-up" sign to another passenger, whereupon they drew their guns and ordered every passenger in the cabin to place their hands on their heads. Bizzaro, however, "at first kept lowering his hands and turning around."

Bizzaro later said that he did not believe the men in street clothes who had drawn guns on the passengers to be, in fact, law enforcement officers. As he said in a later press release: "When the young men claiming to be sky marshals directed everyone in the plane to place their hands on their heads, I did not initially believe them. They were dressed in street clothes and one of them wore a ball cap backwards. They did not give the appearance that they were law enforcement officers and I did not pay them the proper respect. I believed I was witnessing a hijacking of our airplane."

Salon.com praised Bizzaro for his vigilance, saying that, in today's confused environment, no one could be sure that the air marshals were not terrorists themselves: However, regardless of his statement, anyone who has ever flown an American airline recently could hypothesize the true sentiments behind Bizzaro's actions. As I learned myself last winter when I took a Delta flight from Milan to New York City, airline passengers are treated like so much bulk freight. Bizzaro was first accosted for the simple act of relieving himself. Having failed to control his very bodily functions, an overly officious flight attendant identified him as a security threat. Then, interpreting a simple hand gesture as a threat, armed law enforcement officers decided to treat everyone in the cabin like Chinese political prisoners.

The kicker is that Bizzaro committed no actual overt threat. He "stared" at a flight attendant before returning to his seat, and then was observed to give someone a "thumbs up." None of this is illegal. ven Bizzaro's "crime" of being a large and imposing man (6'2" and 220 pounds) does not justify the insensitivity to human dignity that led to a grown man being treated like a grade-schooler without a hall pass. The security experts that thought up these new regulations are truly to be commended. America can sleep sound at night knowing a 59-year-old man cannot even get up to use the bathroom.

Though he faces a possible 20-year sentence or $250,000 fine, we are confident that no reasonable jury will convict Bizzaro of any crime. However, the mere fact of his arrest is worrisome. That we can be handcuffed, humiliated, and detained for questioning authority, no matter how arbitrary, or, worse, for the mere suggestion of dangerousness, is a frightening thought indeed. Will the government forbid Americans of Middle Eastern descent to travel between states because they "might" be planning terrorism? Will scary-looking teenagers with magenta hair be arrested because they "might" be planning to shoot up their high schools? Harassment without grounds amounts to extrajudicial punishment, even when no crime has been committed. The war on terrorism does not justify a war on dissent, be by means of nonconforming bodies (such as Bizzaro's bladder) or nonconforming ideas.

Meanwhile, when you fly the friendly skies, better make sure you have your hall pass. Big Brother is watching.

 

Posted February 24, 2002 5:50 AM