Pilot Refuses Full-Body Scan, Says TSA Doesn’t Make Travel Safer « CBS New York – News, Sports, Weather, Traffic and the Best of NY
This guy has my support. The practice of subjecting pilots to the mindless harassment which is definitely the M.O. of Memphis TSA is absurd. Any baggage handler can go all day without ever dealing with security of that type. They have special badges which scan and undergo other things. Pilots have similar ID badges and any number IDs with pictures etc. There is little common sense in the system and almost none in the Memphis TSA employee pool.
Of all the places where body scanning is most likely to serve the prurient interests of the security force, Memphis has to rank up toward the top. I know those people. They love to harass pilots, little kids, and old people while missing large knives and all sorts of other things.
I'm not sure if it is political correctness gone awry, or just the work of those who believe in a totalitarian state which uses any excuse to keep citizens under its boot. In either case, this is a poor, ineffective, and unimaginative approach to thwarting the bad guys and ensuring the freedom and welfare of the good people.
It often makes people think they are safer when they can see and be a part of the inconvenience. The old adage of "I've got nothing to hide so I don't mind" is a myopic view to take. Can we search your house to be sure you aren't doing something the state doesn't like? These things lead to abuse and a breach of rights which were initially specified and reserved to the people for good reason. Throwing the 4th amendment out the window in the name of wars on drugs, drunk driving abatement, and terrorism is coming back to bite us. This is the tip of the iceberg and the danger of it will become more clear as time goes on.
This pilot may lose his job. I've seen the routine and can sympathize with him for finally refusing to take it any more.
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This is part of his job. If it aggravates him then hopefully he can vote with his feet and fly elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteThe 4th amendment is all but revoked. Spooky times. I can only imagine it gets worse.
Bobby
Apparently he knows he's bucking the system. Why they don't work a better system for flight crews is a mystery--not that hard to do and still satisfy themselves they aren't dealing with the enemy.
ReplyDeleteI've known pilots who took a slightly early retirement due to the post 911 madness, and also because it made sense before the pension went belly up
Hugely interesting as well as well written bunch of comments, pro and con on this subject on the professional pilots rumour network.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a British slant on the affair, and no love lost on TSA treatment of Brits at US airports.
... and pilots have access to fire axes in the cockpit, making such searches so ridiculous!
ReplyDelete