[negativity]

I'm not buying into the sensationalized panic over laser pointers and planes.

If modern air traffic isn't robust enough to tolerate random citizens flickering laser pointers at flying objects then they don't deserve to be flying.

[morbius]

You haven't even read the article, have you?

[negativity]

I did read the article, and it seems like a situation totally blown out of proportion.

  Since the FBI began keeping track in 2005, there have been 
  more than 17,000 laser strikes in total—more than a fifth 
  (3,960) in 2013 alone. During the first three months of 
  2014, the FBI reported an average of 9.5 documented 
  incidents every single day.

Those are absurd numbers. To me, that alone immediately reads as: We have airplanes in the sky that can be tampered with far too easily.

Technological arms races are a recurring phenomenon as technology contues to evolve. This is a particularly interesting one. Think about what a massive technological upset this could be, if laser pointers are honestly so indomitable.

Planes and pilots are going to have to change, and it's going to be expensive and frustrating. And believe me, the last thing I want to see happen is for all manned aircraft to be grounded and replaced with drones.

But reading the whole article, it's obvious to me that law enforcement is fighting a losing battle, and that's a bad thing, because then what you get are fishing expeditions, witch hunts, emotionally charged propaganda and harsh penalties to make examples of people.