Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Hitchens: The truth about airplane security measures

http://www.slate.com/id/2239935/

Why do we fail to detect or defeat the guilty, and why do we do so well at collective punishment of the innocent? The answer to the first question is: Because we can't—or won't. The answer to the second question is: Because we can. The fault here is not just with our endlessly incompetent security services, who give the benefit of the doubt to people who should have been arrested long ago or at least had their visas and travel rights revoked. It is also with a public opinion that sheepishly bleats to be made to "feel safe." The demand to satisfy that sad illusion can be met with relative ease if you pay enough people to stand around and stare significantly at the citizens' toothpaste. My impression as a frequent traveler is that intelligent Americans fail to protest at this inanity in case it is they who attract attention and end up on a no-fly list instead. Perfect.

That's right: you're a suspect if you protest about TSA stupidity.  The only way around it is to refuse to fly commercial.  The rich guys, like Al Gore, will take their private planes, and the rest of us will drive whenever we can.  Smart businessmen will discover that teleconferencing isn't so bad.

Posted via email from The Blue Pelican

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