Have you had to take off your shoes for the Transportation Security Administration, or demonstrate that water is, in fact, water – and that you only have three ounces of it?
If you answered yes to either of those questions, you can thank security theater.
Security is that feeling of safety; that everything is going to turn out to be just peachy keen and that nothing wrong can happen. The government (or management) is acting like you’re safe, in order to make you feel better.
They make you feel safe and secure by using absurd measures and means, and they make vastly exaggerated claims about their capabilities.
Air marshals are only one of the layers in this flammable electric blanket. They have guns, they fly on airplanes, and they’re authorized to shoot terrorists – with the bullets they don’t have. You see, at last check, air marshals were allowed to have fragmenting bullets that shatter on impact, in order to cut down on "collateral damage." Airlines won’t allow those on the planes because of "safety concerns," namely putting holes in the cabin walls and in customers.
X-ray machines and metal detectors are all well and good, but only when they are used properly. There are still knives, lighters, brass knuckles and even ASP batons that get through.
In addition to these very visible things the government does to "secure" you, TSA has the authority to detain anyone they want on mere suspicion, which can be as minute as not liking the way a person is breathing.
One woman, with her child and husband, was detained for carrying on a sippy cup with water in it for her child. When asked what was in it, she responded truthfully. The TSA officer asked her to demonstrate by drinking it. She dropped the cup accidentally, and was ordered to clean it off of the floor. After a brief comment about how she dropped the cup, she was told not to talk back. Four more guards came over to "supervise" the cleanup, and after another hour of detention, she was released to board the plane she missed. No compensation was made to her or her family, nor was any apology given.
The last time anyone tried these tactics, "Transportation Security Administration" was spelled "Gestapo" and the U.S. was involved in a war to stop it. Now we’ve started a war in order to facilitate the removal of civil liberties.
All is not lost, however; if you simply dismiss the hype and focus on the true magnitude of the threats at hand, you can live peacefully, without freaking out at every little thing.
When Americans live in fear of the next day, then the terrorists have won. If we can move on and just deal with things, we have beaten them at their own game.
Conant, a mathematics freshman, can be reached via [email protected]
