Has the government gone too far with airport screening? Where do we draw the line? The war on terrorism is getting really personal with the Transportation Security Administration (T.S.A.) implementing full body scanners vs. metal detectors at all checkpoints in airports. The high tech scan enables the agents to have full body view not to mention you experience low doses of radiation. If you refuse, you can have an enhanced pat-down instead, which is not a gentle frisking, but more of an aggressive groping of breast, buttocks, and crotches. People are coming out of these pat-downs shaking, and crying, feeling extremely violated. The Allied Pilots Association calls this a demeaning experience, one pilot referred to it as sexual molestation, some consider it gate rape. Then there is the case of Tom Sawyer, a 61 year old bladder cancer survivor, who was padded so hard at a Detroit airport that his bag spilt urine all over his clothing. He was humiliated and devastated. He tried explaining his health issue to the agents but they refused to listen. Is there a limit to the sacrifices of personal freedom that Americans will endure in the name of fighting terrorism? Has Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and others crossed the line? It just so happens that the former Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, represents the company which is selling theses scanners to his former department. There are far too many federal contracts awarded as sweetheart inside deals. As lawmakers reconvene, looking to make budget cuts, this agency definitely should be cut, due to its ineffectiveness and wasteful money spending.
There is no evidence that the TSA has done anything to make air travel more secure since its creation after 9/11. It was the passengers that discovered the shoe bomber and the underwear bomber not the TSA, they got passed security! Nor were the cargo bombs and the lunatic pilots discovered by the TSA. It seems more practical to have licensed people with firearms training on flight to secure the safety of passengers. Airlines have enormous amounts of money riding on passenger safety. We cannot depend on the government for protection and security. When government does this, they do it by relieving us of our freedom and liberties…and now our right to privacy of our own bodies. I do not think the government has the right to see us naked or aggressively touch us just because we bought an airline ticket. It seems more like awarding expensive government contracts rather than security. Think of the frequent fliers, the elderly, the sick, the young. It is time to bring common sense back to America.
2 comments:
I believe that my classmate Allen has some good points in his article Government Invading Our Privacy, as uncomfortable as it might be for some people, this is a process that is required if we want to fly. The Transportation Security Administration is doing their best to keep passengers safe. Fortunately, we do have other options such as driving or buying a bus ticket. Its a tough choice, one way or the other, we will be inconvenienced and there are no guarantees that we will be any safer. If we choose to fly then we need to do our best to arrive early, wear comfortable clothing and know that we may be required to have a pat down search. Hopefully, the people that are tempted to bring bombs on airplanes will be deterred knowing that they too can be subjected to these types of searches.
I agree 100% with all Alan's opinions in his article "Governemt Invading Our Privacy". Airline security has totally, 100% crossed the line with it's security measures. "Patting" someone down to the point of tears is just ridiculous. Nobody should have to go through that. I understand about keeping us safe from terrorist but there are other things security can do to help prevent another attack.
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