After my latest trip to Toronto last week, I was telling my wife about how unpleasant air travel has become in the wake of 9/11. She made what I think was a quite brilliant and insightful remark when she said, “We used to be treated like customers….now we’re just potential terrorists”.
And of course, so much of it is just plain silly…a bizarre form of ritualistic behavior that is intended to give the illusion that something is being done to enhance safety. Please, please, someone tell me, what is the point of limiting liquids to 100 ml. containers if you don’t at the same time limit the number of containers you can bring aboard??? I mean, if a terrorist needs 1 liter for his nefarious purposes, he can just bring along 10 X 100 ml. in his plastic bag (which is limited to 1 liter). So why can’t I just bring normal sized containers of shampoo, shaving cream etc., but limit the total volume to 1 liter? How does any of this make sense?
And if you want security, for God’s sake hire trained security officers and pay them commensurately with their intelligence, skills, and the value of what they are protecting (me!)…not minimum-wage rejects from the unemployment line! Use real LEO’s (Law Enforcement Officers – learned that acronym from Criminal Minds, cool eh?) if you really care about my security.
On one of my recent trips, two burly female “security” officers were hand frisking a blonde Paris Hilton look-alike and her teddy-bear knapsack. I’m not a big fan of profiling, or reverse-profiling for that matter, but for the love of Mike!!!!!
