Letters for August 1, 2002

On my flight, they also protected passengers from a nun carrying a small Swiss Army knife with those tiny scissors, but they allowed a (burly male) passenger carrying a military-strength umbrella, another male carrying a large wooden easel, and any number of people with luggage carts, which surely have much more potential as weapons.

I don't believe for a minute that frisking me is about security. It's about the federal government telling citizens they'd better march quietly in step -- and definitely not carry a nail file.

Susan Ohanian

Charlotte, Vermont