Woman Tries to Bring Stun Gun onto flight at BWI Airport

[moonlilly1981]

A woman from Columbus, Ohio, was charged Monday after a stun gun was found in her carry-on luggage at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

A Transportation Security Administration officer detected the stun gun, which was the size and shape of a smartphone, and contacted a Maryland Transportation Authority Police officer, who confiscated the weapon.

The woman was issued a citation and allowed to board her flight, the TSA said.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bre...,1676390.story

Seriously? Oh wait let me take that, here is your citation, please enjoy your flight????

[Abroad]

Seriously? Oh wait let me take that, here is your citation, please enjoy your flight????

"Silly me! I'd quite forgotten I put that in there."

[kniption]

Actually, I get this completely. A woman from Ohio visiting Baltimore?!? They're lucky they didn't find a bazooka.

[moonlilly1981]

Baltimore isn't that bad. I walk around there all the time.

[kniption]

Baltimore isn't that bad. I walk around there all the time.

My comment was specifically in reference to the videotaped beating of the tourist in Baltimore and the recent apprehension of four of the perps...



It happened only weeks ago.

[moonlilly1981]

I know. It happens all over the world, all the time. Isn't that why we are here?

[kniption]

I don't think mob beatings happen all of the time all over the world.

I also think that people are generally reactionary. If someone were to ask me right now how safe of a place Baltimore was - I wouldn't put it at the level of Gary but - in light of current events - I wouldn't say it was Duluth either. Some months pass by and I visit there a couple of more times, the imagery of the mob beating fades and I will probably remember it better.

So... a woman from Ohio goes to Baltimore weeks after the news splashes video of some guy getting the hell beat out of him on the streets and is found to be carrying a stun gun... that isn't surprising to me.

[moonlilly1981]

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread833861/pg1 ~ Seneca, New York State

http://www.examiner.com/article/medi...s-grand-rapids ~ Grand Rapids, Michigan

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Teen-...128158038.html ~ Waterloo, Iowa

Honestly, shall I continue? Happens all over the world all the time. These are just three cases in which someone was mob beaten.

[kniption]

Honestly, shall I continue? Happens all over the world all the time. These are just three cases in which someone was mob beaten.

I suppose that you should continue, because three instances hardly constitutes "all over the world all of the time" to me. Far from it. It appears to be a literal drop in the ocean.

According to the US Census, there are roughly 20,000 cities, towns, and villages in the US. Extrapolating by population would indicate that there are roughly 500,000 cities, towns, and villages in the world.

So - the question is - how many of those 500,000 municipalities have had mob beatings occur in them? You listed three. So, how many more are there? ...and what is that total number divided by 500,000?

I know! I know! ...not very many and not very big.

[moonlilly1981]

I'm sorry but it just laughable to me to fear coming to a city that has had one mob beating recently when it does happen all over. Want proof? I'm sure you would. I know I would. So here you go. A listing, and I might add it is rather long of mob beatings and acts of violence across the United States and a couple from Canada, complete with sources.
http://violentflashmobs.com/

With the hijackings and terror attacks that happened in 2001 being so close to home for me, I fear the lady with the stun gun on her carry on more than I do walking in Baltimore.

Violence happens all over the world. We see it every day. Should we hide in our homes and never leave for fear of being beaten? I sure as heck won't.

Here is a report from South Africa. Girl gang raped by ten men at gun point. Vigilante justice was served by a "mob" aka as the taxi men.
http://youtu.be/yfmAfujW28A

Forget this one? I didn't.
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=208571

Ireland hmmm violence here too?
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/VIOLEN...n.-a0129864565

Pakistan
http://www.irishexaminer.com/world/kfcwidgbojsn/rss2/

England
http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakin...ng-516263.html

Nepal
http://digitaljournal.com/article/319864

And back to the United States

Matthew Owens of Alabama
http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/26/vi...ot-basketball/

Shall I continue?

[kniption]

You seem to be so fixated on what you think I am saying that you are not understanding what I am actually saying.

First...

You say mob violence is rampant. I say bullshit. Let's look at your data.

The violentflashmobs website documents roughly 220 instances of mob violence in the last 10 years. You added to it about a dozen more. Fine. Here is what that means statistically...

That is about 25/year or 25/500000 per year per city. That means that each year there is a 0.005% chance of mob violence occurring. Better put... On any given night in any given city you have a 0.0000137% chance of mob violence going on somewhere in that same city. Not in your location - just somewhere in the same city.

That is not "all of the time all over the world." A 0.0000137% nightly occurrence is almost NEVER. It is a statistically insignificant liklihood. Multiply it by 100 and it is STILL insignificant. Multiply it by 1000... insignificant!

You are saying that the woman shouldn't stop going out because mob violence is everywhere. It ISN'T everywhere. It is almost NOWHERE.

Second...

I said that it is not surprising to me that a woman from Ohio - who likely saw media reports of Baltimore street violence - felt compelled to bring a stun gun to Baltimore. It is not. I think it is human nature.

From what I wrote above, it doesn't have to do with Baltimore being unsafe. It has to do with media-driven perceptions. ...and, in the case of someone from Ohio, maybe racial attitudes.

You are saying you walk in Baltimore at night all of the time and it doesn't bother you. Of course it doesn't bother you. You do it all the time. Is it really surprising to you that someone who doesn't do it all the time would be less comfortable? If so, there is no explaining that.

Last...

You seem to have confused my not being surprised at her fear with my having my own. I can assure you that cities at night don't bother me. I travel a lot. Like, an insane amount. Just off the top of my head, in the last two months I have walked alone at night in Chicago, Dusseldorf, Stuttgart, Peoria, Denver, St. Paul, Paris, Marseille, Brussels, and some smaller towns I have no hope of remembering. Like you, I am not bothered by it. But just because I am not bothered by it doesn't mean that it would surprise me if someone else was.

To summarize...

1) Mob violence is rare. Your data proves it. Thank you for that.
2) Everywhere is generally safe. Our fear comes mostly from the media and an inability to consider statistics.

...and, consequently...

3) It is not particularly surprising that a visitor from a smaller town - having seen some tourist get his ass kicked on the nightly news or youtube - might be frightened. ...no matter how unlikely such occurrences are.

My internet is down so I did this on my phone. Sorry for any bad formatting.