shrox
Phoenix
Joined: Aug 12, 2011
Posts: 3254
Location: OK let's go.
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RainShadow
Blue Jay
Joined: Apr 17, 2012
Posts: 88
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 Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 6:56 pm Post subject: |
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| That's disgusting... Doesn't anyone realize that TSA was supposed to be a temporary agency? It wasn't designed to be active ten years later. This is why I fear flying and we drive everywhere. How do I explain to my autistic daughter that people can only touch her body when she's married, if I'm helping her in the shower, or when she goes to the doctor, oh and when you go to the airport? I mean seriously, as an adult Aspie I don't understand why they have to touch me, my children certainly don't understand. |
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visagrunt
Polymath
Joined: Oct 17, 2009
Age: 46
Posts: 5761
Location: Vancouver, BC
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| Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 6:56 pm Post subject: |
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Is there any activity that can so unite Americans as the opportunity to dump on the TSA?
They've got a job to do. An artificial, pointless job, perhaps, but a statutorily mandated job, nonetheless. And the agency has to do the job with the employees that it can afford to hire with the resources provided to it by Congress. So either get Congress to pay salaries that will attract competent agents, or don't fly.
But if you fly, just recognize that like an economy class seat, it's one-size-fits-all, and if you're different, it's not going to be pleasant.
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--James |
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shrox
Phoenix
Joined: Aug 12, 2011
Posts: 3254
Location: OK let's go.
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| Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 6:59 pm Post subject: |
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| I drive everywhere too, and I love planes and flying. It's a major inconvenience, wears down my health, but is occasionally faster than flying when there are flight delays, or airport craziness like shutting it all down because someone was smoking outside a designated area. |
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Roxas_XIII
Fortune favors the bold
Joined: Jan 09, 2007
Age: 22
Posts: 3298
Location: Laramie, WY
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| Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 12:03 am Post subject: |
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You know, I was watching an interview on CNN the other day with the former TSA director, and he said something that surprised me since pretty much anyone in the TSA would consider this blasphemy.
He basically said that the restrictions for what is allowed on an aircraft and what is not has gone way overboard, and that people should be allowed to bring things such as penknives and etc onboard so long as the device wasn't designed to be a weapon.
His logic was like this: if a terrorist was going to board a plane, they were either going to A) hijack it, or B) blow it up while it was still in the air. A) is what the terrorists did on 9/11, and they did so using box cutters, which beforehand may not have been seen as a potential weapon, as they are designed and manufactured for cutting cardboard boxes, not people. He says that even with the lax security protocols in place, the fact that they were able to hijack 3 out of the 4 aircraft was a "lucky break". Just look at US Airlines 93, which was the one and only hijacked plane that never made it to its destination. Even with the terrorists locked in the cockpit, the guards outside were still overpowered by passengers on board. Had they actually had guns or an explosive, they would have been able to maintain better control of the situation, but as it was the decision to use box cutters as a weapon backfired, resulting in a coup d'etat that ended in the plane crashing in a farm field. Yes, the passengers on board died, but they were able to prevent the plane from hitting its intended target and causing a much higher death toll.
9/11 worked because we weren't expecting it. They caught us with our pants down. Now that it has happened, however, we've taken even greater precaution in ensuring that our planes are not being flown by pilots with malevolent intentions. It is now standard procedure to have a U.S. Flight Marshal trained in hand-to-hand combat and counter-terrorism negotiations, and crowd control on board every flight, in the seat closest to the cockpit. The cockpit is also sealed from the inside prior to leaving the gate, let alone takeoff.
Even if it weren't for these measures, if I were a terrorist wanting to cause havoc on a mass public transport, an aircraft would NOT be my first choice. Why? Because it's been done before, and now we are expecting it. Any smart terrorist group would forego utilizing anything related to our aviation transport infrastructure after 9/11, because we (the US) are expecting them to do that.
Even if I did decide to do something with a plane, hijacking it would be next to impossible, unless I had a firearm or an explosive with enough yield to take out the entire plane.
This is why I disagree with the TSA's logic. It's the same thing in schools, how a kid can get expelled because he was playing outside the other day and forgot to take his water pistol out of his pocket when he went to school. The TSA is pretty much saying that if it can be used to injure or kill someone it's not allowed on the plane. What they fail to realize is that pretty much ANY everyday object can be used as a weapon, if one has the creativity to figure out how. Pencils can be used to stab people. Shoelaces can become garrotes. A rubber band, a packing peanut, a few pins, and some nail polish remover? A ranged slingshot with a poisoned projectile.
Thankfully, very few people have the MacGuyver-esque creativity required to create and utilize jury-rigged weapons like this, and even if they could the likelihood of them being able to take control of or destroy an entire aircraft full of people is slim to none. The TSA should quit focusing on what CAN be used as weapons, and on what is being INTENDED as a weapon, as well as HOW it's being used, WHO is using it, WHAT they are using it for, and WHY.
Certain things should not be allowed in a plane period. Explosive materials are one. Firearms are another, although it should be perfectly legal to check your gun using a hard carrying case, provided it is unloaded and there is no ammo with it. (Ammo counts as explosives, because that is how bullets are fired, using gunpowder for a miniature, directed explosion. Besides, if you have the gun with you you can always buy ammo at your destination). But getting bent out of shape over nail clippers, screwdrivers, and other mundane materials is nonsense. The ineffectiveness of these improvised weapons notwithstanding, the actual likelihood of another 9/11-style attack happening, at least with aircraft, is almost zero. They tried it, and it worked once. Just once. Now they know not to push their luck because we're waiting for them to try it again. I'd personally turn the security spotlight away from air travel, to things like buses, trains, ships, etc. because despite our suspicion, the use of mass public transportation as a target for terror attacks is still viable... but they're not going to be stupid enough to use the same damn thing every time. Last time it was aircraft, this time it will be something different.
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"Yeah, so this one time, I tried playing poker with tarot cards... got a full house, and about four people died." ~ Unknown comedian
Happy New Year from WP's resident fortune-teller! May the cards be ever in your favor. |
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