This week it seems that "unintended consequences "were the outcome of what was supposed to be a harmless "Surprise " on the part of the receiver. When a envelope arrived at the office of a western Sydney member of parliament the office staff viewed it with suspicion. It contained something granular - which moved when kneaded with fingers - and in this age of terrorism public figures are alert to be suspicious about anything out of the ordinary. They called the cops - and emergency services !
That resulted in screaming sirens and the arrival of police cars and emergency services crews who carefully examined the envelope - and found it contained "glitter ". It seems that is was sent by GetUp, a same sex marriage proponent which uses the myriad colours of glitter to signify marriage diversity.
The Emergency Services minister was not amused - and has sent GetUp a bill for $4219.50 as a carefully itemised cost of diverting crews from being able to react to genuine emergencies. GetUp is refusing to pay this bill and it is of very doubtful legality, but it does illustrate the need for careful consideration of the possible outcomes before engaging in any form of publicity stunt.
On the other side of the world, a Texas schoolboy caused a stir when he set out to explore the fast developing world of electronics. Fourteen year old Ahmud Mohamed strung together resistors and capacitors to create an electronic clock that "beeped "when it announced the change of hours. He packed it in a small case and took it to school to show his teachers - and sparked off an emergency that saw the entire school evacuated and the services of the massive American military respond to what they thought may be a terrorist attack.
It didn't help that Ahmud was a Muslim and he was handcuffed and marched off to a police station where he was questioned and accused of a "bomb hoax "and threatened with prison. He became an "instant celebrity " and received an invitation from the President to bring his electronic clock to the Whitehouse.
Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg promptly tweeted "Having the skill to build something cool should lead to applause, not arrest. The future belongs to people like Ahmud. " He has also been invited to visit Facebook headquarters.
Perhaps he would have been wise to forgo the "surprise " factor and alert his teachers of what he had developed and what he intended to bring to school. We are living in an age when things that previously seemed "ordinary "cross a line that the people tasked with our safety simply can not ignore. When pressure cooker bombs exploded at the Boston marathon the bombers put their packages on the ground and simply walked away. As a result, any unattended bag or parcel now draws suspicion, and yet a similar bombing recently killed and maimed innocent people at a goodluck shrine in Thailand.
The age of innocence has long past. In today's world the wise think through any intended action to determine what other reactions may arise !
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