Wednesday, December 29, 2010
There are some things we can't control. It's best not to stress out about those things. It won't do any good. I generally don't stress about them (except when I'm driving...). One of the most recent "things to stress about that we can't control" has to do with airport travel. I'm sure most of you know about the new body scanners and pat downs that seem to have increased travel time and inconvenience through airports. If not, I'll give you the brief summary...
Prior to recently:
Go to airport.
Get boarding pass.
Check luggage (maybe).
Go to security.
Wait in line.
Take your shoes off.
Take liquids out of bag,
Take laptop out.
Take coat off.
Put all on scanner.
Walk through detector.
Put shoes on.
Put belt on.
Put coat on.
Put laptop in bag.
Buy coffee.
Get on plane.
After recently (aka, beginning of body scanner era):
Go to airport.
Get boarding pass.
Check luggage (maybe).
Go to security.
Wait in line.
Take your shoes off.
Take liquids out of bag,
Take laptop out.
Take coat off.
Put all on scanner.
Walk through detector OR Walk into body scanner. Walk out of body scanner
Put shoes on.
Put belt on.
Put coat on.
Put laptop in bag.
Buy coffee.
Get on plane.
If you choose, you may refuse the body scanner. In which case, you will get a thorough pat down, which I predict will take about 30 seconds. Maybe.
There are a few points of angst people have expressed concerning this new system.
1) It takes more time. To that, I say arrive earlier. Or drive. Flying is a business. You choose it, or choose not to use it. If you don't want to fly, get there another way. If you do, play to the system.
2) Pat downs are basically like groping. To this I say, no person who enjoys groping strangers is going to seek employment with the TSA. There are way too many security checks and the opportunity for checking ID's and boarding passes, not groping. Working for the TSA would be a bad choice for the groper. They should be a tailor or something. Most people working for the TSA are normal American people just trying to earn a living. Let them do their job.
3) Body scanners cause cancer and show pictures of naked people. To this, I have a couple things to say. First of all, if you are pregnant, have reason to avoid radiation, or are just particularly concerned about radiation, and get selected to go through a body scanner. You will get the pat down by a normal American trying to earn a living, and then everyone will go on with their day. Otherwise, the radiation is tiny tiny (except in the ones that don't use radiation, in which case, it's zero). Just step in. It'll be fine. Secondly, body scanners to not produce pictures of naked people. They produce silhouette like images similar to CT scans that highlight guns and bombs, and pocket protectors. See below.
Prior to recently:
Go to airport.
Get boarding pass.
Check luggage (maybe).
Go to security.
Wait in line.
Take your shoes off.
Take liquids out of bag,
Take laptop out.
Take coat off.
Put all on scanner.
Walk through detector.
Put shoes on.
Put belt on.
Put coat on.
Put laptop in bag.
Buy coffee.
Get on plane.
After recently (aka, beginning of body scanner era):
Go to airport.
Get boarding pass.
Check luggage (maybe).
Go to security.
Wait in line.
Take your shoes off.
Take liquids out of bag,
Take laptop out.
Take coat off.
Put all on scanner.
Walk through detector OR Walk into body scanner. Walk out of body scanner
Put shoes on.
Put belt on.
Put coat on.
Put laptop in bag.
Buy coffee.
Get on plane.
If you choose, you may refuse the body scanner. In which case, you will get a thorough pat down, which I predict will take about 30 seconds. Maybe.
There are a few points of angst people have expressed concerning this new system.
1) It takes more time. To that, I say arrive earlier. Or drive. Flying is a business. You choose it, or choose not to use it. If you don't want to fly, get there another way. If you do, play to the system.
2) Pat downs are basically like groping. To this I say, no person who enjoys groping strangers is going to seek employment with the TSA. There are way too many security checks and the opportunity for checking ID's and boarding passes, not groping. Working for the TSA would be a bad choice for the groper. They should be a tailor or something. Most people working for the TSA are normal American people just trying to earn a living. Let them do their job.
3) Body scanners cause cancer and show pictures of naked people. To this, I have a couple things to say. First of all, if you are pregnant, have reason to avoid radiation, or are just particularly concerned about radiation, and get selected to go through a body scanner. You will get the pat down by a normal American trying to earn a living, and then everyone will go on with their day. Otherwise, the radiation is tiny tiny (except in the ones that don't use radiation, in which case, it's zero). Just step in. It'll be fine. Secondly, body scanners to not produce pictures of naked people. They produce silhouette like images similar to CT scans that highlight guns and bombs, and pocket protectors. See below.
If you have small children reading this, cover their eyes so they can't read this... scandal is close behind. Yes, by looking at those pictures, you can tell who is a man, and who is a woman. You can see boobs. You can even tell that the man has a penis. Shocking! Have you ever been to a beach?????? Ken doll is more scandalous than this. Not to mention the fact that if this is what you look at all day, I guarantee you are not spending any time looking for anything expect knives and guns. Like radiologists, medical technicians, nurses and nurse assistants, text book editors, film editors, lifeguards, wedding dress fitters, and morticians, the TSA people behind the screen see the human body. Kind of. No one cares, and no one remembers you. Just get in the scanner and move on. Or drive.
There are lots of things that happen in airports that I disagree with. I think most American airlines have horrible business models that have made flying cumbersome and frustrating. I think checking a bag should be free, even if the ticket is more expensive. I think I should still get pretzels on every flight. I think that there should be more options for food and coffee BEFORE security so that when I have to wait to get checked in, I can drink coffee and eat cookies. I think the curb should be flat because almost all suitcases have wheels and we should just be able to roll them on in to the terminal. I think tall people should get to sit in bulkhead, because they have longer legs, and that would just be fair. And I'm not tall. I wish I could just walk right through, and didn't have to wait for long lines. And I wish I could sit in the co-captains chair mid flight, just once, because we all know that autopilot does a lot of the work. But we can't all get what we want.
And I still choose to fly. So I go through security. I get body scanned AND patted down (yes, BOTH), and I get my coffee and get on the plane.
You should too.
Or drive.
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