I was not keen on flying on September 11th on my business trip to Phoenix, and apparently no one else was either. The Sunday flight I took was packed but more so, after being anal-probed and prodded in security, I’m wondering when enough is enough?
I’m all for security. I dislike traveling, not because of security, but because of what could happen. So anything that makes me safer — and those around me — sounds like a good thing.
That is, of course, until you’re stuck next to a mother and her screaming child for an hour-and-a-half.
Apparently the TSA agent didn’t get the memo, but he made the mother dump all of her milk for her baby. That’s because, after the scare in the U.K., all liquids, powders, and gels are banned on flights. Now it isn’t just getting past the terminal security, you can’t bring ANY of the above on the plane. You’re stopped at the gate as you board. Even the Coke that you bought from the vending machine, in front of the airline employee, isn’t allowed on the plane.
Our misfortune was amplified as (apparently) there was no milk on the plane. So for 90 minutes the child screamed. Turning my iPod to full provided some measure of relief but I still felt bad for that poor mother…or should I say, potential terrorist? This mother wasn’t unique, either.
Reactionary
The real rub is, of course, the reactionary nature of security. I’m not convinced we’re any safer. Let’s put it this way, on August 9th, 2006 all fluids, gels, aerosols or similar items on their person or in their carry-on luggage were allowed. On August 10th, 2006 they were all banned.
So from September 11th, 2001 to August 9th, 2006 we were how secure, exactly? That bottle of Coke went from a refreshment on the 9th to a potentially deadly weapon on the 10th…just like that?
Tomorrow it could be explosive clothing and we fly nude? What’s tomorrow’s next reactionary security measure that will provide us with the illusion of safety?
It seems to me that the FAA and Homeland Security should sit down and review every potential security risk and avenue that a terrorist would employ — like a liquid explosive — and then devise a consolidated security plan, rather than putting in ad hoc bans to meet the “risk of the day.”
Right now it seems like the terrorists are dictating our security and that doesn’t strike me as a winning plan.
At this point, I’m waiting for the day when some whack job smuggles explosives in little ceramic balls (won’t set off a metal detector) in his rectum (depending on the material, even an X-ray machine could mistake it for feces). Will our ever-vigilant TSA then resort to random anal probing of passengers? And will THAT then be enough to force people to raise the outcry that enough in the name of “security” is enough?
Being the father of a 2-year-old who’s needed drinks for him on flights before, I question the logic behind dumping breast milk with the facile logic of “well, you can bring formula” (as if everyone WANTS their baby to drink formula). It doesn’t help that, in my experience, flights are in very short supply of milk and juices, preferring to carry soft drinks instead. I hope flight crews and air marshals are ready for both constant crying/screaming from the thirsty kids as well as more cases of “air rage” from afflicted passengers.
Hey, but at least we won’t have to worry about the scourge of liquid explosives!!! Don’t you feel safer?