The last time I was on a plane, the man across the aisle from me was sitting in the middle seat even though there was someone in the window seat and no one in the aisle seat. As if this wasn’t concerning enough, he was reading a glossy-covered paperback book with a long title about how “the deep state” killed David Koresh, that Waco dude.
Now, to be clear, having read a bunch of Wikipedia articles three years ago about the whole Branch Davidian thing and therefore being something of an expert on the subject, yes, I understand the FBI, believe it or not, pulled some shady shit up there. Still, this is not the kind of book you want to see someone reading on an airplane. Feels ominous, you know? Were it a hardcover, or were it to just say “the FBI” instead of “the deep state,” it’d be a different story, but this is a charged book to be reading on an airplane, of all the places on land or sky or sea. In fact, I’d venture that it might be the most concerning thing to see someone reading on an airplane, and that an airplane might be the most concerning place to see someone reading it. It’s more specific, relative to the public eye right now, than some QAnon literature. And it’s way less likely to be something a history buff would read than, say, Mein Kampf. Aside from a guy pull out four ounces of toothpaste and three and a half ounces of baby shampoo, I’m not sure there’s anything more concerning you could reasonably see across the aisle.
This isn’t to say the guy shouldn’t be reading it. Maybe he’s just asking questions. Maybe his friend wrote it. Maybe he’s an FBI agent trying to reform the organization from the inside. But I’d have appreciated it had he put a little sticky note on the cover saying something like, “Don’t worry! Everyone is safe!”
Actually, maybe not that exact sticky note. That might make it worse.
