Predictable horrors.

The LA Times published a piece this morning stating that terrorist organizations are now considering the surgical implantation of explosive devices into their agents in order to thwart the increasingly stringent security measures employed in American airports.

While I know, logically, that all terrorist bombers are, by definition, disposable people and that their intention is to destroy whatever they can and die in the process, it still creates a visceral disgust in me to hear that anyone would consider degrading human life to such a degree.

It's stomach turning.

Once the nausea passes though, you have to ask yourself what all of this means. In my lifetime I've watched the attitude of nations change from a sensible assumption that most people are relatively innocuous and those that aren't benefit by being treated with respect and kindness when they cross the border into a "civilized" nation to an attitude of absolute terror based on the assumption that most people are monsters just waiting to pounce and we should all be suspicious and terrified of each other at all times, in all ways and do whatever we can to be sure that we stamp hard on everyone we meet to be sure all the spine is squished right out of them just in case they might decide to act on what we assume is their natural, evil disposition.

Am I the only one who finds this discouraging?

Am I the only one who notices that it seems to be making things much, much worse?

The thing is, there are people, like me, who feel so wounded and offended by negative assumptions and false allegations that they will live up to those assumptions just to prove a point.

When I was a teenager, my father told everyone I was stupid. They believed it, I believed it and I acted on it. I was Queen Airhead, I was frivolous, mindless and devoid of ambition, then one day I woke up. I went away to school and came back to town loaded down with accolades and awards, nationally published, on the Dean's list, you name it.

It gave me nothing but pleasure to see how stupid people felt to have misjudged me as they did. Of course, I never bothered with them again, why would I? But it was nice to be right for that moment.

However, a terrorist is not a misjudged teenaged girl. When you put a terrorist in that position, they'll prove you right and die doing it - that article in today's LA Times proves that just as it proves one other critically important thing: the object of terrorism is to waste the time, resources and energy of your enemy on fear. They're succeeding.