Quote:
Originally Posted by Barcey
So what decision are you going to make about flying?
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I'm one of the "have to fly for business" group. But I have some control over how often I fly, & I have reduced it to the bare (so to speak) minimum.
I agree that we need some degree of airport security because one nut job, Islamic or otherwise, can take out a lot of people. But the nekkid scans & groping does not seem to me to be worth the cost, much less the indignity, in terms of actually catching the bad guys.
TSA is organized around the principle that its employees are too stupid to make judgements. Therefore it does not allow them to distinguish between a pocketknife and a butter knife. It will permit 3 oz. of any liquid, however toxic, so long as it is in a 3 oz. container, but a 6 oz. tube of toothpaste which is half full is verboten. These scanners are simply the extension of the Our Employees Are Dumb principle. They will not improve security, but they will make sure that the employees don't need to think.
It's the same with electronics on the airplane. Assuming that somehow, a cellphone can crash the plane (is there an App for that?) why in the world should I have to turn off my Sony on takeoff & landing? It's because airlines treat their employees and customers as dopes who can't tell the difference between a phone and an ebook.
I do not plan to fly when I retire & have the time to drive, take the train, or take a ship. I guess I might have to fly for some funerals.
Frankly, I think that the airlines should be responsible for airplane security, not the government. TSA amounts to a subsidy for airplane travel. Why should the taxpayers pay for that?