I wish someone from TSA (policy maker would be even better) that actually has the responsibility of upholding the TSA's main purpose would chime in.
I imagine they have given a lot of thought and consideration to what has been aired on this thread as well. I don't believe there has been much that has been presented that most would agree has already been brought up before.
I would be surprised in the extreme if anyone involved in creating this policy either read ScubaBoard or cared in the least about anything aired on this thread. The people who created this policy are exempt from it ... why should they care what you or I think?
In fact, I would imagine there are considerations that we as the general public would not be readily made aware of. If the TSAs job did not have the conflicting requirements of security and convenience then it would not be such a tough job. The mere fact that this thread has gotten this large should remind us how difficult it would be to make ''everybody'' happy and feel secure at the same time.
What the general public needs to be aware of is who is profiting from this policy ... certainly the former head of Homeland Security is ... he represents a company that's making hundreds of million$ from it, after all.
I live in a country now that does have to deal with terrorist threats and have been exposed to threats and actually terrorist activity. We actually have a lot of different terrorists of different persuasions and causes - political, religious etc. I must say that I prefer to see ''evidence" real or show that something is actually being done. In the case here, I think it is more show since of course there would be a budget that will never be enough.
Whenever we have an "incident" we get apologies from the government and everyone except the victims "move-on". Since we have a very low expectation of capability for many reasons such as budget and corruption within the agencies involved. We however never get ''apologies" for any inconveniences caused by the measures being taken in the name of security. Perhaps because the citizens here would actually prefer to see more "measures'' being taken.
You cannot contain terrorism by treating everyone as though they were terrorists.
After 9/11, when was the last time an actual terrorist attack succeeded in the US? There have been threats discovered but I do not re-call a threat aviation-wise. They did from other countries' airports though. Can't say for sure if that has anything to do with the success of the TSA and it's actions but it "may" be a factor.
Here in the Philippines, we have some kind of bomb or terrorist event every 3 or 4 months in some parts of the country. The fact that it is generally in the South may mean that measures taken in the bigger cities and North may be some result of the greater efforts applied in these areas.
OK ... some factual information. Both the shoe bomber and the underwear bomber got through security just fine. The TSA didn't stop those guys ... passengers on the airplane they were riding on did ... the same passengers that TSA is now treating like terrorists. I see some irony there ...
Some may be whining about inconvenience without realizing the fact that they may be 'enjoying' some "peace of mind" because of the inconveniences they are being asked to put up with.
This has nothing at all to do with inconvenience ... it has everything to do with the relationship between the government and the governed, and the changing expectations of how a government is going to treat its citizens. When a government starts treating everyone as though they were "the enemy", then eventually the citizens will come to see the government in the same manner. That is a very unhealthy path to embark upon ... and the very wrong approach for national security. Because ultimately any national security policy is only going to be as good as the willingness of its citizens to support it.
"I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it."
- From "A Few Good Men"
Many of us don't see the increasing encroachment of government into our private lives and bodies as a protection of our freedoms, but rather as an erosion of them. Nothing the TSA has done to date has made us any safer than we were before 9/11/2001.
But since we're using quotes to make our point, let's take one from one of America's greatest statesmen ... "He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither." ... Benjamin Franklin ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
