Ann Althouse looks at the recent Air Marshall dress-code flap and asks why doesn’t the public lend a hand? It’s a good question – I always wear a suit while travelling (loafers being easy to remove in airport security lines, and suitcoats providing for a temporary blanket if need be), and never really understood why people looked like they had just rolled out of bed while at the airport.
Besides, while wearing a suit I ALWAYS get better services, and it helps in getting upgrades to first class as well.
So, for the sake of better service and defeating terrorism, for heaven’s sake, don’t look like a slob…
Look, if I’m going to sit and sleep in a chair for an 8-hour transatlantic flight – or god forbid, the 18 hours it takes to get to Japan – I’m damned well going to wear as close to pajamas as I can get.
Don’t air mashals carry sidearms? It seems like it would be hard to conceal the weapon in anything but a suitcoat.
We should all dress like Mr Smith from the Matrix, and then terrorists wouldn’t know who is who…of course, it would be boring to change our lives for them, and that would mean that terrorists have won.
Here’s a clever tactic by Jay (stolen from the KGB and Saddam’s milicia): disguise the whole population into cops, and you’re set for “security”…
Hmmm… I wonder if there’s a term for “tinfoil hat” in French?
I agree with Jay here, for once… you always get better treatment in a suit, so why not wear one? Adam and I noticed this when we were in DC a few years ago- when we dressed in street clothes, we were hassled by people everywhere… wear a suit and walk around like you’re meant to be wearing it, and nobody bothers you.
Plus, I got a snazzy Library of Congress ID with a photo of myself in a distinctly Agent Smith-esque getup… sunglasses and all…
It seems like it would be hard to conceal the weapon in anything but a suitcoat< \i>
Not really, My favorite way is a specialty fanny pack or a bag that looks like a Bible.
Jay, wasn’t it the purpose of your post to say:”if everybody wear a suit, no one can spot FBI agents so easily”? If the answer is yes, then my first post is relevant, and you can use your tinfoil hat yourself.(“entonnoir” in french=>device used to fill bottles that fools use as hats).
If your point was to say that it’s nice to be rich, and wear a suit is the best way to show it around, and enjoy nicer services from employees, then everyone knows that, but not everyone can afford a suit.
Your post was funny, but once again, your ideas explode when confronted to a longer-term approach: Don’t you think there is a risk, if people follow your advices, to divide the population between those in suits and those in djellabas?
You can find a decent suit, on sale, for around $100-200. Given the many wonderful uses and benefits that come from wearing one, I’d say it’s a worthwhile investment, especially if you’re not rich…
I’m not sure the cheap suit thing is 100% reliable. Not all cheap suits are bad, but a bad suit can be worse than no suit at all.
As Mark Twain once said, “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society.”
Most people can’t really tell the difference between a cheap suit and an expensive one… hell, I’d take my $200 suit over many much higher priced ones I’ve seen, just because it fits my style better… although it’s a little small for me these days, I certainly need to buy a new one…
How about a compromise? Pinstriped navy blue Armani suit, silk tie, white starched shirt, cufflinks, braces, briefcase – and bare feet. That way, I am still well-dressed, and ready for security at the same time! No polished wingtips to take off. No Brooks Brothers socks. Perfect!