The last week has been a bit hectic. Naturally, a lot of that is because of the time of year. Trying to get everything to come together with the house, and make sure plans are straightened out with the visiting relatives, and make some attempt at keeping everyone healthy, it’s not easy.
But in the last week, a grandparent passed away, we’ve had a birthday dinner, one of the kids and a parent has been sick with the flu (or some similar ailment), and I have flown out of town and back for the aforementioned funeral. I’m sure there are things I’m missing, but it makes for a busy week.
In any case, to the point: Because I had to fly, it means I had to endure that most annoying of rituals, airport security. Until the last few months, I actually flew quite a bit, so this process isn’t unfamiliar to me. What I fail to grasp is that every time I travel, it just gets more ridiculous.
While the security line has always been slow, now you have to take off your outer jacket, remove your shoes, your belt, anything in your pockets that might set off the detector (change and such), take your computer out of your bag, stand in the line, then put all this stuff back together on the other side.
Now to be fair, I understand that I don’t have to do all of these things. Really I do. But by taking these actions, I generally make sure that I don’t have to go through the even lengthier process of manual inspection while my belongings sit on the end of the conveyor, easy pickings for whoever might want them.
What really gets me is that I just don’t feel any safer now than I did before. If anything, I feel less safe because the people now getting paid to do the job are doing it by a checklist. Does the bag contain a nail file? Is the person wearing heavy shoes that may conceal something dangerous? Is this the fifth person in line, who is enough different from the prior person we stopped so that we won’t be accused of profiling?
This doesn’t make me feel better. The fine folks at the TSA generally seem interested in doing their jobs. And they can be friendly in the process. But while they are busy removing every nail file and corkscrew from each passenger, hundreds and thousands of keys and pens and pencils pass through the checkpoint.
I’m not saying that those things should be removed – but I am saying that if someone wants to threaten someone on a plane, it doesn’t matter how many things you take out of the bag. There will always be something else that can be used as a weapon. Even a spork could be a weapon if the person is determined enough.