Massive Mother - TSA Strip Searches and Pat Downs
I would think that the aviation system remains a high value target because of the level of disruption you can get should you manage to shut it down, as we saw back on 9-11. A plane is also a a relatively fragile target compared to a skyscraper or a sporting event. Reinforcing and locking cockpit entry doors make taking control of a plane very difficult, unless of course you are already a pilot, in which case the kind of screening under discussion is not going to be useful at all. The fact that pilots can be authorized to carry guns means that if one of them decides to go terrorist, they can kill the other cabin members and aim the plane wherever they want to.
I believe that it is generally acknowledged that the current level of “enhanced screening” will not discover anything in a body cavity, and I expect that body cavity searches are off the table for those that advocate the current level of searching.
Now, apart from fear itself, what is it we fear? Guys with plastic explosives I guess. But really, how dedicated and what access to resources do these guys have? The underwear bomber and the shoe bomber were both rather incompetent, failing to even properly trigger the devices they did have.
If we were facing highly dedicated and well trained enemy forces, even cavity searches done on all passengers would be ineffective, because a really dedicated and well funded operative could have had surgery to have plastique and some sort of triggering device implanted. Fortunately, terrorists simply aren’t that well supported, trained, and organized. We aren’t going to give all passengers MRI’s or X-Ray’s and check their overseas (or local) medical records to ensure that such an operative never gets an opportunity. The “If it saves just one life, then it is worth it” line of reasoning just isn’t going to hold up.
With that said, going back to other targets, is it possible, or even likely that terrorists would seek to hit an event like the Superbowl? I’m thinking yes. We do already have metal detectors at such events, are we willing to take the step of adding backscatter scanners or invasive pat down for such events? It wouldn’t be hard to imagine the Department of Homeland Security declaring that such procedures were necessary for “Public Safety.” Are you okay with that? And of course, this logic can be extended to any place that currently uses a metal detector, so courthouses, and even some high schools. At what point are we a police state under the guise of a nanny state?
Clearly there is a line. Most are willing to accept taking their shoes off, even if they think it is stupid. The 3 oz. rule, as dumb as it is (and the big reason it is dumb is that it seems you can carry multiple 3 oz. packages, so it seems to me you could mix up your stuff in flight, or even before flight if you had a mind to) is something that people find an inconvenience, but accept, probably because it can be gotten around by pointing those items in checked luggage for the most part. When enough people feel that the line has been crossed, they will protest, as they are doing so now. Personally I think this is overdue, but the line isn’t defined by me, and to be honest, it isn’t defined by politicians, at least it isn’t in the long run even in our representative democracy. The line can change over time, depending on events, but if you don’t think that the line has been crossed already, just how invasive do things have to get before you do think that the line has been crossed.
We have seen a lot or rights guaranteed by the Constitution slowly whittled away incrementally for a variety of reasons, and we have added “Homeland Security” to the list of reasons why. We are being told that Flying is a Privilege now, which I guess it is. Pilots need to be licensed, but when did being a passenger on someone else’s plane become a privilege? One of the chief aims of terrorism is to cause disruption to normal life out of proportion to the direct effects of the terrorism itself. It looks like it is mission accomplished for the terrorists from where I am looking.
It looks like the visage of Big Brother has changed to that of Massive Mother who will control us and smother us in the name of protecting us. It’s up to us to turn back the tide.
I believe that it is generally acknowledged that the current level of “enhanced screening” will not discover anything in a body cavity, and I expect that body cavity searches are off the table for those that advocate the current level of searching.
Now, apart from fear itself, what is it we fear? Guys with plastic explosives I guess. But really, how dedicated and what access to resources do these guys have? The underwear bomber and the shoe bomber were both rather incompetent, failing to even properly trigger the devices they did have.
If we were facing highly dedicated and well trained enemy forces, even cavity searches done on all passengers would be ineffective, because a really dedicated and well funded operative could have had surgery to have plastique and some sort of triggering device implanted. Fortunately, terrorists simply aren’t that well supported, trained, and organized. We aren’t going to give all passengers MRI’s or X-Ray’s and check their overseas (or local) medical records to ensure that such an operative never gets an opportunity. The “If it saves just one life, then it is worth it” line of reasoning just isn’t going to hold up.
With that said, going back to other targets, is it possible, or even likely that terrorists would seek to hit an event like the Superbowl? I’m thinking yes. We do already have metal detectors at such events, are we willing to take the step of adding backscatter scanners or invasive pat down for such events? It wouldn’t be hard to imagine the Department of Homeland Security declaring that such procedures were necessary for “Public Safety.” Are you okay with that? And of course, this logic can be extended to any place that currently uses a metal detector, so courthouses, and even some high schools. At what point are we a police state under the guise of a nanny state?
Clearly there is a line. Most are willing to accept taking their shoes off, even if they think it is stupid. The 3 oz. rule, as dumb as it is (and the big reason it is dumb is that it seems you can carry multiple 3 oz. packages, so it seems to me you could mix up your stuff in flight, or even before flight if you had a mind to) is something that people find an inconvenience, but accept, probably because it can be gotten around by pointing those items in checked luggage for the most part. When enough people feel that the line has been crossed, they will protest, as they are doing so now. Personally I think this is overdue, but the line isn’t defined by me, and to be honest, it isn’t defined by politicians, at least it isn’t in the long run even in our representative democracy. The line can change over time, depending on events, but if you don’t think that the line has been crossed already, just how invasive do things have to get before you do think that the line has been crossed.
We have seen a lot or rights guaranteed by the Constitution slowly whittled away incrementally for a variety of reasons, and we have added “Homeland Security” to the list of reasons why. We are being told that Flying is a Privilege now, which I guess it is. Pilots need to be licensed, but when did being a passenger on someone else’s plane become a privilege? One of the chief aims of terrorism is to cause disruption to normal life out of proportion to the direct effects of the terrorism itself. It looks like it is mission accomplished for the terrorists from where I am looking.
It looks like the visage of Big Brother has changed to that of Massive Mother who will control us and smother us in the name of protecting us. It’s up to us to turn back the tide.
