Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Why I Hate to Fly

"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." - Benjamin Franklin

Warning:  If you're looking for light-hearted and funny, skip this entry. Because today I'm on a self-righteous rant!

I was just watching The View and heard Whoopie repeating what we keep hearing about airport security, "If the metal detector goes off, it's your own fault!" And the other lie, "If you don't wish to go through the new x-ray machine you have to take the pat down." This is bullshit! I never get a choice, I have no control over this, and there's not a darn thing I can do about my artificial knee!

The last time I flew I had to do both -  the new "nakedness" screener and a full pat down! Now, I'm sympathetic toward the TSA employees who must do it, so I never give them trouble, but that doesn't change the fact that I am being subjected to unwanted and intrusive touching. And, I'm not convinced that there's any good reason for it.

Something I have noticed since the beginning of all this:  The people I see at the airport getting this treatment are middle-aged or elderly, sometimes in wheelchairs, sometimes with canes and, I'll bet you, almost always with artificial joints or medical implants of some sort!

How is that system "keeping us safe"? Why is their "random" checking mostly picking on the elderly and disabled? The conclusion I've reached on this is that it's a government boondoggle of the worst kind that exists solely to provide employment for a lot of people at taxpayer expense.

OK, FBI, come and arrest me!!!

If I'm not in jail tomorrow, I'd love to hear your gut opinion on this. What has been your personal experience at the airport, and how often do you get the pat down?

Do you believe it keeps us safe? Please explain how.

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