I went through airport security in Memphis a few hours ago. This is the first time I’ve flown in a few months. I opted out of the backscatter imaging machine and into the full-body “pat”down. I put “pat” in quotes because this wasn’t a patdown. It was an extremely thorough rubdown. An observation and a question:
1. I can see how this experience would bring back horrifying memories for someone who has been sexually abused. This involved a lot more than just incidental contact.
2. Who is the real public servant: the TSA screener with his hands in my pants, or the young lady behind the counter at Einstein Brothers? The former touched me in ways that would have been grounds for arrest in any other context.* The latter sold me coffee and a bagel. Who served me, a member of the public?
*-For my take on the “but the TSA agent keeps you safe while you travel,” please see some of the articles I’ve written for Forbes.com.
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Well, is the glass half empty or half full? A free erotic massage? C’mon, what can possibly be wrong with this picture??? Now if only we could get them to provide the same “high-quality sex-service” before riding on other public transport such as trains, buses etc. I’d take a bus everytime instead of driving my car!
not that funny…
I think this is what you’re after then: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEeRD26hDDw
I’d rather get frisked by the girl behind the counter at Einstein Brothers.
I would say you got served.
The TSA has a delicate job to do! Don’t make fun of them. They have to make you feel safe enough to fly, otherwise they wouldn’t have a job. On the other hand, they have to keep you scared enough to put up with being groped. They’re doing their best.
naomi wolf was good on institutionalized fondling:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2010/12/14/179-the-espionage-act-and-the-death-of-american-freedoms/
This situation unfortunately has a double edged sword. On one side, you want to feel safe and comfortable enough to fly, you want to be assured that TSA workers are taking every measure to ensure your safety. However, there are many boundaries which are being broken. In any other context, this type of “pat down” would have been scene as criminal. Where do we find the border line? How far should TSA members really go? Are they taking protecting us to far? Where should the line be drawn. For me, we have exceeded the line of decency.
And there is no way to know this without a genuine market process determining what kind of security is provided.
If you think these people are keeping you safe, then you’re a fool. They’re interested in keeping their jobs through intimidation. And people aren’t submitting to this ignorance because they are afraid of terrorists. They’re submitting because they’re afraid the TSA thugs will screw up their trip (their very expensive trip, thanks to the constant market interference by other parts of the all powerful state).
Considering the TSA has stopped exactly 0 attacks since their formation, it’s safe to say that total elimination is the best action.
Well, my original post was not supposed to be funny but to point out how schizophrenic all this is.
First of all, if the purpose is to feel people safer as TSA and some commenters here claim, then why choose only airplanes?????? Why not provide the same level of “security service” at train stations, before entering cabs, before boarding cruise ships etc.? I’d love to feel safer before going to work in the morning, so why don’t TSA go to everyone’s home each morning to check them out?
Now if “making people feel safer” is only a nice label to trying to gain control over people moving around, it’s an entirely different story, and talking about “safety” is just a waste of effort. However, if total control is not TSA’s aim then I completely fail to see the reason for their existence to check only on air travelers if they do not apply the same level of “service” to other forms of transportation, all public places, etc.
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