Pencils and paper: WMD's?

This story makes sense, because everyone knows that writing words on paper makes airplanes explode.

Every time I read a story like this, I get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Our society has become so paranoid about terrorism that vaguely resembling a terrorist in somebody's morbid, depraved imagination - "Well, it looks like a turban if you tilt your head and squint" - is enough evidence to ground the flight. I wonder, what would happen if I wore a hoodie that said "I ♥ kittens" in Arabic and dangly earrings shaped like grenades and tried to board a flight for which I had purchased a ticket? The airport would be shut down and I would be interrogated for months without access to counsel. Meanwhile, in another airport, real terrorists (who are much more discrete than I am) would get on a flight without a hitch.

Helpful tip for airport security: terrorists don't wear t-shirts that say "I suicide-bombed a bus in Haifa and all I got was this lousy t-shirt!"