8-Year Old "Terrorist" Prevented from Flying Home

It was just reported the other day that one Bryan Moore, an 8-year old on his flight back home after visiting his sister, was prevented from doing so because his name was on the terror watch list.

Moore explained the story as follows, "They almost got me scheduled in and then the lady just bowed her head and said, 'We can't get you on this plane, you're a terrorist.'"

That's right, Mr. Moore (not yet in 3rd grade) was red flagged as a threat to national security because his name was on the terror watch list.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) claims that no children are on the terror watch list and that it's up to the airline to let the child board the airplane if their name does indeed match up with that of a terrorist on the watch list.

Great Lake Airlines figured the situation out eventually, but not until the plane had left, so young Bryan Moore had to wait until the following day to go home.

Not long ago, I wrote about how it felt as if almost all company-written e-mails were automated and that there were more machines doing human-like work than humans themselves. Here we go again. Could the lady not have looked right in front of her and I'm guessing down a ways to realize that this kid was most likely not a terrorist? It's not like his name was unique. It's Bryan Moore. How many Bryan Moore's are there in this country? It's not like it was Olga Lois Kozlowski or something of the sort. Doesn't common sense ever play a factor? Can't one make a decision on their own? What, if a guy's name was Joe Smith and that was caution for a red flag, would all the Joe Smith's in the world be under potential scrutiny come time when they arrive in an airport? Decision-making tests should be enforced at every occupation out there before one can be hired. In this case, the potential employees could be asked, "Now, if an 8-year old boy going into the 3rd grade had a common name, like say, Bryan Moore, and his name was red flagged as a threat to our national security, because that name's on the terror watch list, what can you conclude and what do you do?" Oh oh...thinking...decision-making...oh no! What does the machine say? What have I been programmed to say? Which button do I press? Ahhhhhhh!!!!! How about the button to send them off to telemarketing positions? That works...