A letter from B.O.B.
This letter was sent to The Australian on 28th
July 2004, commenting on the debacle of the letters b. o. b. written on a paper
'sick' bag on an United Air Lines flight to the U.S. causing the plane to
return to Australia, because presumably terrorists will leave a message saying
B. O. B. meaning "Bomb on Board" if they wish to blow up a plane.
So now it has come to be so ridiculous that the
word 'bob' written on a paper bag can disrupt the whole of the eastern states
air schedule, the dumping of fuel, enormous costs and absolute chaos. This bold
and clever country has been brought to this paranoid condition, not because we
withdrew any troops, not because we succumbed to blackmail, but because we
invaded a country which had nothing to do with us, on the other side of the
world.
Howard and Downer say that the
invasion of Iraq has not made us any more susceptible to terror. If this is
true, why are we now jumping at shadows? Terrorists won't need bombs to throw
this country into chaos, as long as there is a paper-bag and a pen available -
or perhaps we will prevent these things being taken onto planes as well as nail
files and the like? The fact that the word 'bob' appears to be a common
description which stewards use to identify particularly attractive passengers
makes this situation even more laughable, if it wasn't so serious.
Incidentally, my name is Bob, which is
short for Robert. Please don't come bashing my door down, even if I am against
this obscene war, and the politics of paranoia peddled by Howard and Downer. And
for god's sake Latham, have the guts to call stupidity stupidity.
Posted: Thu - September 21, 2006 at 05:17 PM