Every time I fly, which isn’t all that often, I feel compelled to write something about the sorry state of the TSA. In the last 6 months, I’ve flown 3 times and on 2 of the legs, I was supposed to go through the full body scanners (in 1 case everyone had to go through), but opted out as I believe the government needs to be a bit more honest with the public on the safety of the devices by letting the FDA monitor them and by performing regular maintenance on them (they’re used far more than any x-ray machine in a medical facility). While the officer explained the process, it was a complete waste of time.
This past trip, at the San Diego airport they were only putting select people through the full body scans, but for some reason that didn’t speed things up. I arrived at the airport at 5:30 am for a 6:40 am flight, but by the time I made it through security at 6:10 am, everyone that wasn’t stuck at security was already on the plane. The screening process is getting longer and longer and I don’t think we’re any better off than years ago. All the statistics say that air travel is safer than driving. Many experts say that we need to profile, but this would be considered discriminatory. It’s easy for me to say we should do this as my physical characteristics wouldn’t make me a candidate for profiling.
While in the Portland airport, I had dinner at a restaurant past security. I was given a knife for my meal. While the knife wasn’t all that sharp, it was a piece of steel and as anyone that has watched a movie or TV show knows, pretty much any flat object can become a weapon.
We have spent far too much money on this ridiculousness that isn’t making us safer and is wasting our time. To be comfortable, I’m going to have to arrive at the airport an extra half an hour early in case the TSA decides to frisk everyone; for this trip, it would have meant getting up at 4 am! Uggh!