I don’t like the TSA. Even before they started trying to get all pervy with everybody I didn’t like them. I didn’t like them when they asked me to take off my shoes. I didn’t like them when they made me pack my pocket knife. I didn’t like them when they freaked out about my shampoo bottle. I certainly didn’t like them when I was randomly selected over and over. And I also didn’t like them when they made my younger brother miss his flight because he didn’t have a licence to drive (which by the way, you do not need to fly).
But these new procedures have really got my goat. They just aren’t right. I’m not concerned with whether or not people are comfortable with them. I know that for many people and maybe perhaps you as well, these new scanners and pat-downs aren’t a big deal, and are nothing but a minor inconvenience. But that’s not why they bother me. Something about it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Kind of like my mother’s tuna casserole which was the bane of my existence all the way through childhood. I feel like it crosses the line (the TSA’s new procedures…not my mother’s casserole). It’s just not right. Because this is America dangit. It’s not the way we treat our citizens. When we treat our own countrymen this way, the terrorists have won.
Regardless as to what you might think of these new procedures, I just don’t believe that they’re actually doing anything to prevent terrorist attacks. I don’t think these check points are effective. Not only that, but I think terrorists probably lost interest in hijacking planes about the time the airlines started locking their cockpit doors. I mean honestly, I think bombers would be more likely to target large cities or malls or events full of tens of thousands of people rather than a plane of 100 or so passengers. But that’s just me. I’m probably too smart to be a terrorist.
So that’s my little rant about the TSA. I don’t think they’re effective. I don’t think they’re appropriate. And I don’t think they’re really there to protect us. And so I say to the TSA along with many others, “don’t touch my junk!”
That’s my opinion. You of course are welcome to have your own. Thankfully, we’re still entitled to that.
“Security theater is a term that describes security countermeasures intended to provide the feeling of improved security while doing little or nothing to actually improve security. The term was coined by computer security specialist and writer Bruce Schneier for his book Beyond Fear, but has gained currency in security circles, particularly for describing airport security measures.” — http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_theater