Deadly Burritos

Now for those of you who took a look at the title for today's blog and assumed that this will be dealing with some gastrointestinal adventures that I may have had after enjoying a burrito, please relax, this isn't that type of blog. No, the basis for today's blog stems from the fact that the story I'm about to relate is just another example of how we as a society are starting to react to the point of becoming paranoid. What do I mean? Well let me set the situation. At Marshall Junior High School, a student was seen walking into the school with something long and wrapped into the school. The object was estimated to be approximately 30 inches long (or just over two feet) and wrapped in a T-shirt. Reports got out and the school went into lockdown as police and security scrambled to find the object before something bad happened. Students soon got word about what it was the police were searching for and the student in question realized that he was the culprit. He immediately let his teachers know and the police were told where to find the object. It turned out to be a 30-inch long mega burrito that the student had created for a class project on marketing food for a class he was taking.

Now I grant you, in a post-Columbine world, we need to take precautions and we need to be vigilant against possible problems such as these. And while it is comforting to see the seriousness with which the police and authorities treated this incident, it is alarming at the same time to think that one can't even walk with lunch without arousing suspicion. I have seen this on occasion in my own daily routine. Being the complexion that I am, many people can't figure out what my heritage is. I have an American accent but it switches to Indian when I'm with my parents or other family. I'm usually one of the ones taken aside for a secondary search during business travel and I try never to be belligerent or snotty with security because it's as much for my safety as theirs. Still, I can understand if I'm seen to be carrying a bag close to my chest and if I'm sweating profusely.

I would be curious to know if the student had rushed in or acted suspiciously or done something to arouse curiousity in the person who called the police. I can only further surmise what the parents must have thought when they found out that their children were locked down in their school for some unknown security threat. It can be scary when you are not told exactly what's going on. The mind tends to have so many ideas that even the most un-creative person can come up with worst case scenarios as to what the problem may be.

It's good to know that the incident didn't turn out to be anything more deadly than a possible case of indigestion. It's somewhat sad to see that kids can no longer make projects without having some suspicion or the other get aroused as to whether they are mentally stable or on the verge of lashing out at their peers. We can't go anywhere it seems without this sort of thing happening. Nearly five years on from the tragic events of September 11th, we need to be on our guard, more than ever, but let's make sure it's for the right reason and not because some one decided to have Taco Bell for lunch.