Now that I have your attention, here’s an interesting post by computer security maven Bruce Schneier.

The point of terrorism is to cause terror, sometimes to further a political goal and sometimes out of sheer hatred. The people terrorists kill are not the targets; they are collateral damage. And blowing up planes, trains, markets or buses is not the goal; those are just tactics. The real targets of terrorism are the rest of us: the billions of us who are not killed but are terrorized because of the killing. The real point of terrorism is not the act itself, but our reaction to the act.

And we’re doing exactly what the terrorists want.

He’s got a list of high-profile “terror events” that will raise both your eyebrows.

What the Terrorists Want

What’s sort of astounding to me is that in none of these cases it seems has anyone, or two, tried simply to engage these “oddly-acting” folks in conversatation. Try being a buttsky insky. You might find out they are just terrified of flying, don’t know the customs of frequent flyers or are eccentric in some way that will provide a good story for you. Worst case is that your friendly nosiness will distract them and you and others can get closer to what the hell the story is.