September 11th changed the flying experience forever. It has become interactive and invasive, each rule implemented only after there has been some new breach of security. Since its inception, I have not felt any safer when I fly, and I resent the loss of our freedoms. Flying has become a very trying experience, and many unnecessary hours (we’ve waited over three hours several times) are spent standing in security lines.
Several years ago, at a California airport, I was directed to step into a capsule-like structure, one I had never seen before. I asked the TSA person (a male) at that location what would happen to me when I went inside it. He replied that there would be a puff of air (evidently sensitive to bomb-making ingredients…although he didn’t say so) and afterwards I would be sterile! I felt this was totally inappropriate and wrote a letter but never received a reply. I felt he should have been fired. Bob hasn’t been spared by the TSA either.
For some reason Bob must fit the profile of a terrorist, as he is almost always targeted for further screening. I never would have guessed that we should be wary of short, white, gray-haired, 70-year-old men. Anyway, we recently flew from our local airport to Chicago O’Hare, and, wouldn’t you know it, but the new x-ray machine has found its way to the prairie. It is supposed to be the least invasive of the machines and only identify body surface “areas of concern.” First, one must take off all outerwear, sweaters, belts, jewelry, and shoes. And secondly, one must empty all pockets, even of paper. I entered the testing slot, turned to the side, put my feet on the “feet patterns,” and then held my arms above my head as shown in the diagram. I was given the okay to collect my possessions, re-dress, and enter the waiting area. I didn’t realize that Bob had not been so lucky. A large yellow square, mid-body, had shown up on his x-ray. Danger, danger. He received a very personal hand search inside his pants, practically to the groin area, all over a metal button on his jeans! Couldn’t the man have seen the button and moved Bob along?
We were discussing the TSA procedures with others on our trip, and a woman who had a double mastectomy mentioned that she cannot wear her prostheses without triggering a personal hand search! The prostheses show up as dark areas. Danger, once again. If this would happen to me, I would feel totally violated.
Life doesn’t come with any guarantee that bad things won’t happened to those of us who fly. When I first flew in my late teenage years, it was hijackers who were the big concern, and now it is terrorists using planes as weapons. Yes, flying has always had some risks, not to mention mechanical failure and pilot error, but the TSA has over-reacted. We have stood by while it has taken away some freedoms, stolen some of our hours, and invaded our bodies. I say, “Enough. Back off.” What about you?
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