Sick of Airport Security…

[Fish]

I fly at least once a week and I’m really getting sick of the airport ‘security’. It’s turned into anything commonly associated with the government. Inefficient. The people working there are one step up from the McDonalds across the way at the food court. Seriously, I see the whole process as an inconvenience because I don’t think the security workers really provide a significant value add.

For example, during my last trip back to Montana I went shooting with my dad over the weekend. Completely by mistake, I left a loaded clip of eight .40 rounds in my laptop bag. Do you think the security screeners noticed it? Lucky for me, no… but imagine my surprise when I got home and realized what I had done.

Stories like this go on and on and on. The security is a joke. It’s just there to make people feel like they are being protected. Most of the design is based on old principals. Apparently, the 9/11 bombers purchased one-way tickets… now, without fail, every time I purchase a one-way ticket I’m nominated for the ‘strip-search’ off to the side. Seriously, I’m sure this has been noticed by those who would care. Come on.

Recently, I was reading abut a four-shot .22 plastic gun that can be concealed within a standard mobile phone container. There are similar things designed in flashlights and other common devices. THAT is what makes me nervous. If the security dolts can’t even notice my loaded clip, do you really think they will catch something as sophisticated as that? Hardly.

Anyway, I'm just curious. Do you feel more secure because of the airport security?

Okay… enough griping, I’m off to go book my flights for next week…

[Zulu451]

Originally Posted by Fish

I fly at least once a week and I’m really getting sick of the airport ‘security’. It’s turned into anything commonly associated with the government. Inefficient. The people working there are one step up from the McDonalds across the way at the food court. Seriously, I see the whole process as an inconvenience because I don’t think the security workers really provide a significant value add.

For example, during my last trip back to Montana I went shooting with my dad over the weekend. Completely by mistake, I left a loaded clip of eight .40 rounds in my laptop bag. Do you think the security screeners noticed it? Lucky for me, no… but imagine my surprise when I got home and realized what I had done.

Stories like this go on and on and on. The security is a joke. It’s just there to make people feel like they are being protected. Most of the design is based on old principals. Apparently, the 9/11 bombers purchased one-way tickets… now, without fail, every time I purchase a one-way ticket I’m nominated for the ‘strip-search’ off to the side. Seriously, I’m sure this has been noticed by those who would care. Come on.

Recently, I was reading abut a four-shot .22 plastic gun that can be concealed within a standard mobile phone container. There are similar things designed in flashlights and other common devices. THAT is what makes me nervous. If the security dolts can’t even notice my loaded clip, do you really think they will catch something as sophisticated as that? Hardly.

Anyway, I'm just curious. Do you feel more secure because of the airport security?

Okay… enough griping, I’m off to go book my flights for next week…

I have been flying a lot lately as well and you are right it is a huge joke. I show my military ID and I still get the buisness, regardless of my security clearances. The only place where the security was even more worthless was in Canada. I stood in line for nearly an hour to get through security, all the time they had 5 stations that were going unused.

Now, you want to see security.... Germany catching a connecting flight to Kuwait!! You walk down this long corridor with no windows, blank walls, luggage is glowing from all the x-rays when you get it. I was "randomly" searched comming home at every airport. That was sweet...

To get on post now you have to submit to "random" searches. So here I am in uniform, military ID, gov't decals and they want to search my car, when right behind me there is some arab looking guy asking for a visitors pass and he gets waved through.

For random searches to actually work, you have to have an incidence rate high enough to justify and make "randomness" work. For example, if there is a "incidence" (some guy trying to smuggle Burger King into the hospital or a car bomb) of 1:1,000,000. And you randomly search one of every 50 cars. What is the likely hood that you will catch that one car? You may as well be playing the lottery, your odds are so bad. Instead, they need to profile...Yes I said it.

[Parrot Head]

If you guys don't think that 80-year old lady confined to the wheelchair on her way to Fort Lauderdale didn't deserve the 20-minute body cavity search, you must be kidding yourselves. Take Amtrak if you want easy boarding!