You Decide!
By ParaTed2k
@ParaTed2k (22940)
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
November 22, 2010 3:14pm CST
... denied food and water; strapped into seats in tight spaces; denied adequate, sanitary bathroom facilities; ordered about by officials who are granted ultimate authority; groped, strip searched, denied hygeine products...
~~~~~
So was I just describing 3rd world prisons, or modern airline travel in the US? :~D
2 people like this
5 responses
@jb78000 (15139)
•
22 Nov 10
so don't fly. mind you i've had the misfortune of flying through the states and goodness your flights are rubbish. nothing to eat for hours and hours, and if you want something you have to buy a box of nasty, very expensive 'snacks'. and these run out. dreadful.
1 person likes this
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
22 Nov 10
Or... why not celebrate the fact that the people of the US are finally saying "enough!"? When TSA workers are authorized to go further than police, enough IS enough.
1 person likes this
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
23 Nov 10
JB, I have worked security, I do understant the the TSA screeners don't know me, and have no reason to trust me.
The fact is, it is useless, time consuming and doesn't do crap for security. On the other hand, what Israel does is much less obtrusive, gets people through it quickly and IS effective.
It is a waste of time to look at every person as a potential threat. There is no reason to even do it.
1 person likes this
@jb78000 (15139)
•
22 Nov 10
you always get more security getting on a plane than would ever be tolerated in everyday life. can you imagine the police stopping people at random to search their bags etc? and this has always happened. i think the real reason you lot are so bothered isn't because it is a pointless, irritating waste of time (all the new regulations are) but because you can't believe that you, a Real American, could EVER be suspected of anything. how dare they. also you don't travel outside your own country much so probably haven't encountered much security. didn't your internal flights not use to have any?
1 person likes this
@sid556 (30960)
• United States
23 Nov 10
You are describing our modern Airline travel, Ted. I get it that they want to protect us. We want that too. I don't know what the answer is. I don't travel because I can't afford to. I do think maybe some more common sense thrown into the mix would be helpful. Last year, I sent my 15 yr old across the country to spend a week with her older brother. I got special travel sizes of all her toiletries. I asked others about the sizes and packing these things. I gave her cash to pick up the obvious things like razors etc. I was surprised when she called and told me the airline confiscated all her toiletries!! I was also angry because seriously, I really juggled my budget to come up with the money to afford these things. In my opinion a tad bit of common sense could have seen that this little girl did not have any weapons and was no threat to anyone. A glance would have told anyone the importance of her hair products to her. I don't know...i get that they need to check everyone out. I honestly don't know what a fair compromise is. I'll be curious to read the other comments here. I have to say...I always learn a lot from your discussions.
1 person likes this
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
23 Nov 10
I have done security work and I don't get why they need to treat everyone as a potential threat. Nothing in modern security method teaches this. Nothing.
1 person likes this
@sid556 (30960)
• United States
23 Nov 10
I actually foresee a long procession of lessons learned and new laws and techniques made and nothing changing. I could be wrong here but I compare this to all the identity scams. Seems that each time a scam is revealed and people become aware then the scammers just get more creative. Ok so someone sneaks an explosive in his boot so we start checking shoes. They then find another way...shampoo. We get rid of the toiletries. it just goes on and on and nothing seems to be stopping the real problem. It is just making it more inconvenient and embarrassing for the honest and innocent ones. I'm not convinced we are any safer for all of this. Seriously if we make the airlines 100% safe then surely they'll target another area while we are scanning innocent people and popping their urine bags in the process. It's just not working. Truthfully, I'm more concerned about all the gas stations we have allowed foreign people to take over. There is a huge potential for serious damage there. think about it.
@Aussies2007 (5336)
• Australia
23 Nov 10
Let me guess... US Airlines? lol
Welcome to the land of the free. lol
@allyoftherain (7208)
• United States
22 Nov 10
Third world prisons. At least... sounds more like 3rd world prisons than air travel. I don't know what the big deal is about the security in the US airports. I fly pretty often and I've never been strip-searched. It's really not that bad. It's just kinda slow and you have to put up with it. I have nothing to hide, so it doesn't bother me at all.
@allyoftherain (7208)
• United States
23 Nov 10
ParaTed2k, it bothers me when people make a big deal out of it.
Djbtol, did you read my comment? I said I fly pretty often and I've NEVER been strip-searched or groped. Pat-downs aren't anything like being groped though. It doesn't bother me... because it's never happened!
