Monday 22 November 2010

I'm pissed!


Watching yet another program on the news about the excessive intrusion of the TSA pat downs and the unknown amount of radiation being pumped out of the scanners (a worry for those like me who already glow in the dark from medical scans) – not to mention those images can be stored for someone’s private collection, and no one is monitoring the pat downs – that anyone who objects gets thrown off the plane and hit with an $11,000.00 fine is continuing to shock me that this is taking place in the U.S. Where is the ACLU?

If I want a pat down, I have to tell you I prefer the adorable husband to someone at TSA who has no training and unlimited power to determine my fate. I do think it important that the public - that's us, send letters to the head of TSA, and comment on articles like Saturday's CNN link. The pat downs and excessive radiation has kept not one dangerous person off an airplane.

PROFILING does! Why oh why have the authorities not simply gone to Israel and ask for assistance? When was the last time a terrorist blew up a plane from Israel aye?

I lived in Morocco for two years - trust me, they profile and NO Muslim woman checks her own headscarf as CAIR is saying they should be allowed to do in the U.S.

The lines move quickly at Ben Gurion Airport, and there was no intrusive scan or pat down that in America has always been reserved for the police when they have a valid reason to believe a suspect is armed with a gun!!

The man who had his urostomy bag ripped off and urine dripped all down his clothes with no apology or assistance from the T.S.A. agent who caused the problem, is not going to make you safer. This occurred after the agent ignored the man, who was trying repeatedly to tell the T.S.A. officer about the bag. The T.S.A. guy had no idea what it was. All -ostomy patients face this difficulty. How can these people be considered trained to deal with the public when such a glaring error is exposed? What about a woman who has had breast surgery for cancer or any other reason, or someone who has to wear a catheter?

His is not the only case by far, as well as the inappropriate touching, and lurid comments reported. Until a public outcry they were patting down children under 12 years of age! Again, the last time a tike blew up a plane?

A little boy who had his shirt removed. The woman who had to remove her artificial breast (after going through breast cancer!).

PROFILING!! And Intel from the agencies trained to get it is the only effective measure. Again, why are we not seeking assistance and training from the one country with the best record? Israel!

And I don’t know about you, but I’m mildly pissed that the pilots are getting a pass. So, we have forgotten that there was a plane brought down by a pilot in the name of Allah? So we just are supposed to give that a pass but pat down Grandmother. And yes I take it personally.

I became tired of nit picking with the agents who wanted to throw out my $220.00 jar of La Mer and give me back the 99 cent bottle of hand wash! I now triple bag everything, put it in my checked bags and hope for the best. I also pay extra for non-stop flights.

There is no logic here people, and little to no protection for the public! When tall, redheaded, sixty-year-old white women began blowing up airplanes I will cease to complain. Until that time let me encourage you to write comments on the articles posted in the newspapers online, and join the Internet outrage until the policies are changed. Send a letter to the T.S.A. and your senators and representatives – no matter their party affliation!




Just an aside: I do love that Mama Bush, when ask about Palin said that she was “very beautiful” and “should stay in Alaska”. Yeah! I love Mama Bush.

8 comments:

Gary said...

I have a good friend named Mo (Mohammed) who is from Sudan and who travels by air many times a year. Dubai, San Diego, New York City...are just a few of the stops he has made in 2010. Mo and his wife are now U.S. citizens and while they don't love being frequently selected for personal screenings, they both believe it makes perfect sense. "I'm a dark skinned man with an accent and an Islamic name...my wife wears a head scarf. OF COURSE we look more like Mohamed Atta, and the Somali Christmas bomber than the Dahlbergs from Minneapolis! We get it, and by the way, we want to be safe when we fly too!"

Ian Lidster said...

You and me both, darling. My latest blog is on the same subject. And it is amazing how many people have made reference to how the Israelis handle the whole security issue. So, what is wrong with our guys that they cannot take a page from their book? As it is, it's so outrageous.

scarlettscion said...

The lines move at Ben Gurion if you're Israeli, traveling with one, with a tour group, etc.

http://dissidentvoice.org/2010/04/new-york-airport-blind-to-el-al-racial-profiling/

And.....they had the money to take the airline to court. Just sayin.'


If it is morally wrong to subject your white, redheaded, 12 year old child to a patdown of her breats and genitals, surely it is also morally wrong to do the same to a brown, Muslim, 12 year old girl?

I'm not necessarily saying it isn't expedient, or that it doesn't work. But does that make it the right thing to do?

FYI..you could screen everyone perfectly and someone could walk into the bloody lobby with two suitcases packed full of C4 and do more damage. Planes seem to inspire a special level of fear.

lady macleod said...

Gary
IF your friend is from Sudan, I have no doubt he does not mind. I'm glad he and his wife are in the U.S. And I appreciate their attitude.
Thank you for coming by.

lady macleod said...

Ian
I don't know. I don't know why there is resistance to go to the one set of chaps doing it right. You can be pre-scanned by a background check before you ever arrive at the airport and go to the fast line...
Thank you for coming by....

lady macleod said...

Scarlett Scion
This may be one of those issues where we take a different viewpoint my dearest. Not only if you are Israeli do the lines move, if you have been pre-scanned with a background check you also move through faster.

And America doesn't have the money? TSA is a federal bureauracy! I'm for turning it over to a private company myself.

I don't think the 12-year-old Muslim child should be patted down either - unless she sets off the metal detector or scanner and is covered in bulky clothing. And with her parents and more than more employee at the pat down. With children I see no need for such an extensive pat down, there is not that much room on their little bodies.

Planes have a special level of fear for one reason - 9/11 made the Americans feel vulnerable.

scarlettscion said...

RE: the money--I was referencing the Arab Israelis who were able to go to court. Nothing to do with America.

RE: The TSA defining the hijab as "bulky clothing." Quoi? You and I both know that a hijab covers a lot less than say, sweatpants or a mumu. And there is zero correlation between traditional dress and terrorist activity in the US.

RE: why profiling is different here. Many reasons, not least of which that Americans have a nice, long history assimilating "criminal" to anyone not a WASP.

I see no problem with "profiling"/questioning people closely about where they are going, what clothes they are wearing (winter in summer), etc etc. "Looking Muslim" means approximately squat, and is a less and less reliable critera for any sort of search.

The Israeli system has its problems, but they simply "racially profile" as much as know everything about every town and their second cousin. That's a lot harder to achieve with a US security team.

And I'm well aware WHY Americans have an unreasonable fear about airplanes. I just think its time to move on.
And if we ARE concerned about airplane safety, there are a lot of small things we could do, before, in your reasoning, it becomes OK to pat down my 6 year old Muslim neighbor, but not her counterpart down the street in a baggy hip hop shirt and sweatpants. I'd rather we not get there, thanks.

However, I'm not so concerned with the practical aspect of it as the larger moral framework--if it is wrong to do X to citizen, is it wrong to do it to everyone? Is torture/unreasonable search and seizure/etc all justified in the name of the protection of the State? When does it stop?

lady macleod said...

Scarlettscion,
I take enormous pride in the fact that I reared you to THINK FOR YOURSELF! Huzzah! I love you.