Either I'm too paranoid or I'm just too darn willing to give snopes.com the benefit of the doubt. I can't decide which and, right now, I can go either way on this one.
Check this out.
Maybe Annie Jacobson "overreacted"; or maybe the 9-11 Commission erred in stating that terrorists are conducting dry-runs of what they've got up their sleeves. I dunno....
The corroberated behavior? The expired visas?
Maybe Annie did suspect that something was afoot when there wasn't. But if somebody even more clued-in than Snopes.com thinks that She may not have been daffy, I'd probably defer to that body.
I'm none too thrilled that no other passengers have come forward about this alledged event. But I'm none too happy that an air marshall has confirmed it, either.
I don't know what the $#@!&*^% is going on here, but I do know that a young writer isn't likely to throw her career away on a silly ruse like this.
If Snopes.com is right then Annie Jacobson has joined the ranks of Jayson Blair and that gal who won the Pulitzer for making up stories in the Washington Post some 20-odd years ago.
Annie, Ye have been challenged by the best.
Come out swinging or come clean. Michelle has invested her time and reputation on you. If you're not sure, after all this, then let us all know now. And that means NOW.
Don't be scared. You've committed no crime.... yet. Be sure about yourself and your story and be sure that you haven't let fear color your perceptions in ways you may not even at this frickin' moment be aware of.
Michelle deserves better. You deserve better. We all deserve better than all this rediculous doubt.
We await each other's clarity.
I've been following this story via a radio program that I've been listing to for some time. This particular program has a knack for finding answers and probing for the truth. They followed up on this story and found (via a few sources) that the Syrian men on the plane were, in fact, musicians flying to San Diego to play at a local casino. All of the musicians were carrying EXPIRED visas, but were allowed to leave the plane and continue to their gig.
I don't think Annie was overreacting. She's doing what we've all been told--keep your eyes peeled for suspicious behavior. I think this qualifies. Numerous airline pilots and crew members have followed with their own stories of groups of Middle Eastern men acting strangly on planes, including carrying strange items into restrooms and taking an airplane toilet apart.
I don't fault Annie for her "suspicions", though I may, at this point, be ready to fault her for her "uncalmness".
It seems that these really were musicians -- albiet, with expired visas -- and that they were probably reacting to her motions and gestures at least as much as she was reacting to theirs.
The air marshall's, apparently, were even wondering if she was actually a plant trying delibertly to instigate a response from them.
My guess is that Annie Jacobson is a nervous gal who thought - sincerely - that she saw something suspicious and, through her body language, effected everyone else onboard. A classic case of effecting a cause...
She, of course, will never question her own perceptions, but we're free to question them.
Annie may be guilty of nothing more than wild-eyed stubborness. But, still, I'd still like to see her write a second column... just to see if hindsight has leant her a different perspective on all o' this...
Excellent points. I, too, would like to see an updated column from Annie. However, I continue to be frustrated with the idea that she is some "hysterical woman" (not saying that you see her that way, but that she has been presented this way in much of the media) who acted without cause. I'm glad that she trusted her instincts and reported her suspicions to the authorities. And--you are absolutely right in pointing out that she could have kept a bit calmer about the situation (although she was NOT hysterical!) :)
Posted by: ensie at July 27, 2004 11:58 PMThis has taken quite a tone, nationally. Like you, I'd like to see a definitive answer one way or another. Inquiring minds want to know!
Posted by: RP at July 30, 2004 05:15 AMI meant "turn" not "tone".
Posted by: RP at July 30, 2004 05:16 AM