Here is just one more thing for people to gripe about. Airports have put in scanners and people are having a huge issue with this. The main concern for most of them are when a person goes through a scanner it is apparently very revealing. These new scanners can pear through your clothing, and I do understand that because of this people would have an issue with others seeing there ummm, goods.
I would prefer that not everyone see what my pony keg looks like but, I would much rather go through a bit of humiliation than to be miles high and blow to shreds because someone has stuffed a bomb in their underwear. Much like what happened last Christmas when a Nigerian tried to smuggle explosives onto the plane in Chicago.
I’m not really sure how the scanner is placed or if there are any walls covering the screen but, it wouldn’t be a bad idea. At least this way you would have some sense of privacy.
Another issue is how the TSA agents are handling pat downs. One major incident that happened at the beginning of Nov.2010 was when a gentleman who was flying out for the holidays went through the scanner and the agents told him he would have to go through a pat down because they seen something under his shirt. The man did don’t have an issue with this and explained to the agents that what they saw was a urostomy bag. After explaining what it was and his medical background they took him in to a private room as requested by the passenger and one of the agents conducted the pat down with aggression and dislodged the cap from the urostomy bag. The passenger had to endure the flight sitting in his urine soaked cloths because he had no time to change. Not only did he have to face the long flight but, he had to appear in this manner in front of other passengers. It brought him to tears. Now I don’t know about you but, this pisses me OFF! I blame the TSA chief for this. I don’t think these agents have been properly trained. Some people who travel do have medical conditions and these agents need to know how to handle certain medical conditions. It’s become more than just an issue of security. Medical needs have to be met as well.
They need to understand, if they are going to buy all of these big fancy new toys and implement all of these new regulations then they need to educate their people in proper procedures. In other words, no more rent- a -cops.
After reading Nisha's editorial, I have to say that I sympathize with the frustration of airport travel and the increased security measures that have been implemented by the TSA. While some feel that the increased security is a necessary evil, I feel like our planes are not really much safer than they were to begin with. Part of the reason why I feel this way is because of the rent-a-cop security that dominates much of the enforcement, like Nisha mentioned. Additionally, I would have included some backup in the article to show the repercussions of poor implementation. For example, despite all of these high-tech gadgets that have been put into use, I feel that if someone really wanted to blow up an airplane, they would find a way to do it regardless of the security step up. It only takes one small hole or flaw in a scan reading or a carefully placed inconspicuous explosive to do the job, and while airport security has been increased dramatically in most airports, it would be much less difficult to hop on a plane in a small airport and get on a connecting flight without going through security a second time. Not to say that I would WANT to do this (I feel obligated to say that to keep some man in a black suit from knocking on my door), I am merely making the point that we are pouring money into tightening security in a system that will always have holes.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Nisha's editoral, Airport security : Issues on pat downs and the OL dreaded scanner, I would like to add that airport securities have been more strict since the 9/11. At least this is not only my opinion but my experience as I have been the "random" selected individual 75 percent of the time I travel domestic and/or international. To me, it's not the inconvenience that concerns me. It's the security that protects me.
ReplyDeleteFew may feel that we are receiving prejudice from TSA due to race, color, gender, or ethnicity. However, it is not the case most of the time. It's not the security systems that bothers the Americans. It's the inconvenience that we are feeling getting pat down more often.
An incident where an elderly patient getting soaked in his own urine because of pat down security check may have been a huge mistake or an immoral offensive behavior on TSA's behalf. It's quiet fascinating that it catches media's attention more than TSA's effort to prevent terrorism acts last Christmas.
I agree with Nisha that TSA should better train their staff to leverage the security system more precisely and assist random selected patted down travelers with their specific needs.