Random thoughts
Saw HP7.1 yesterday. So good, but OMGsotired! Glad I took today off. :)
On a more serious note, I keep seeing all this angst about the new airport security measures. I see a lot of outrage about how random strangers are going to see people "practically naked." Yeah, it does suck, but you know what? If you're screening hundreds or thousands of people in a day, trust me, you aren't going to be getting your jollies off on this and if you are, it won't take long for someone to notice and fire your sorry ass). You're doing your job, and you just want the day to end so you can go home. Do you think the doctors, nurses, other hospital personal who see people naked on a daily basis are getting off on it? No, they're working. Why should the TSA be any different?
I do feel horribly for assault victims and others to whom pat-downs can be triggery. It's a horror I can't even begin to imagine - when it comes to living through that sort of nightmare, I have no frame of reference, and I pray to God I never do.
But you know what I'm not seeing? I'm not seeing a lot of alternatives being presented. I see a lot of rage and a lot of upset, but I don't see many suggestions of what the TSA should be doing. And I'm sorry, but if a terrorist can still get on a plane the way that happened last Christmas? Something needs to change, and if you have a better idea than these enhanced scanners, what is it? If people refuse to be screened electronically and refuse to be patted down, what's the answer? Remember, 9/11 happened because a bunch of murderers got on planes with little more than box cutters. I'm looking at my box cutter right now, and yeah, that would be easy to hide against my crotch in such a way that would only be found if I were to be touched intimately during a pat-down. So yes, I can see the TSA's argument here.
My brother works for an NHL team. Seldom does a week go by that he doesn't fly somewhere (he left just this morning for Halifax, as a matter of fact, after just getting back from Stockholm on Tuesday). And you can be damned sure that I want everyone on those planes with him to have been thoroughly screened.
The bottom line is, even with the security measures in place before, people were still managing to get banned and dangerous items on planes. Obviously, the system wasn't working. Unless someone can come up with a better solution, what better options than the enhanced scanners or pat-downs do we have, tell me? Please, I want to understand, because I sure as hell want it to stop feeling like a game of Russian Roulette every time my brother gets on a plane.
I guess what I'm trying to say is I don't see any other answers at the moment. I wish there were an answer that worked for everyone, but my right, my family's right, to get on a plane confident that everything has been done to make sure those flying with me won't try to kill me is important, too.
Whew, I don't think I've typed so much on this LJ in the past year!
On a more serious note, I keep seeing all this angst about the new airport security measures. I see a lot of outrage about how random strangers are going to see people "practically naked." Yeah, it does suck, but you know what? If you're screening hundreds or thousands of people in a day, trust me, you aren't going to be getting your jollies off on this and if you are, it won't take long for someone to notice and fire your sorry ass). You're doing your job, and you just want the day to end so you can go home. Do you think the doctors, nurses, other hospital personal who see people naked on a daily basis are getting off on it? No, they're working. Why should the TSA be any different?
I do feel horribly for assault victims and others to whom pat-downs can be triggery. It's a horror I can't even begin to imagine - when it comes to living through that sort of nightmare, I have no frame of reference, and I pray to God I never do.
But you know what I'm not seeing? I'm not seeing a lot of alternatives being presented. I see a lot of rage and a lot of upset, but I don't see many suggestions of what the TSA should be doing. And I'm sorry, but if a terrorist can still get on a plane the way that happened last Christmas? Something needs to change, and if you have a better idea than these enhanced scanners, what is it? If people refuse to be screened electronically and refuse to be patted down, what's the answer? Remember, 9/11 happened because a bunch of murderers got on planes with little more than box cutters. I'm looking at my box cutter right now, and yeah, that would be easy to hide against my crotch in such a way that would only be found if I were to be touched intimately during a pat-down. So yes, I can see the TSA's argument here.
My brother works for an NHL team. Seldom does a week go by that he doesn't fly somewhere (he left just this morning for Halifax, as a matter of fact, after just getting back from Stockholm on Tuesday). And you can be damned sure that I want everyone on those planes with him to have been thoroughly screened.
The bottom line is, even with the security measures in place before, people were still managing to get banned and dangerous items on planes. Obviously, the system wasn't working. Unless someone can come up with a better solution, what better options than the enhanced scanners or pat-downs do we have, tell me? Please, I want to understand, because I sure as hell want it to stop feeling like a game of Russian Roulette every time my brother gets on a plane.
I guess what I'm trying to say is I don't see any other answers at the moment. I wish there were an answer that worked for everyone, but my right, my family's right, to get on a plane confident that everything has been done to make sure those flying with me won't try to kill me is important, too.
Whew, I don't think I've typed so much on this LJ in the past year!