Letter to the Editor
Lost freedom
Published Tuesday, December 2, 2008
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To the editor:
I recently flew from Anchorage to Fairbanks and finally fell over the edge of frustration with the “security” issues and the personal sense of loss of freedom.
As a gold member with Alaska Airlines, I log many miles of travel and have been through incredible security screening measures since Sept. 11, but this past Saturday I validated my worst fear—the terrorists have won.
Over a simple silk scarf, I realized that we have become a nation of terror and fear-mongering. We create it ourselves by allowing others to dominate us in the “name of safety.” I was traveling from Anchorage to Fairbanks and I had a silk scarf around my throat. After removing my shoes, coat and jacket, I was “made” to remove my scarf. The man in front of me was not “made” to remove his necktie, nor was the man in front him told to remove his large, loose-fitting shirt, but I was made to remove my clothing. There was a clear sense of power in the attendant and the problems for me would have clearly escalated if I had objected.
So there we have it, domination in the name of safety. I just find it hard to believe that we so quietly will give it all up. The next time I will not be so quiet. I am appalled at what we have let go without regret.
Community Discussion
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don't fight the system, teresa. they'll lock you up and throw away the key. label you as a terrorist. watch out.
Haven't had any planes flying into buildings lately have we? Three words:
Frontier or ERA
She still has to deal with the 'Thousands Standing Around' regardless of who she flies with.
I'm surprised the author waited so long to feel this way.
Yes this stinks, but thanks to the TSA which act like cops, but they are not, they have no sworn law enfocement rights other than the airport. But due to the Homeland Security Act we have no choice other than to enjoy their over acting and acting like wanna be cops or Fed. Agents. Call or write your Congressman, or Senator. Until we act they will continue to be what they are. And to end my comment they have at this point; ULTIMATE POWER TO KEEP YOU OFF THE PLANES. NO MATTER WHAT YOU SAY OR DO, YOU CAN BE LABELED A THREAT!
Just deal with it. You can always come here and complain after your trips. We'll listen to your complaints about as much as the TSA does. The only difference is we won't throw you in jail.
Just be happy they don't have you on their "no fly" list. They had my name on it for a few years and it was a nightmare. You piss them off and they will put you on it and you will be waiting for hours to get on a plane.
I say everyone should fly naked or armed... You choose.
Well, I guess you could have rented a car and drove and kept that scarf around your neck. If they ask me to go in the back and strip I will if that is what it takes to fly safe. On a side not the last time I flew to Cancun they gave me a fun time flying back into the country. That was prior to having to have a Passport and well I presented birth certificate, I was born in Iran (military). Airline Security asked me if I was Middle Eastern. Well, as much as I really wanted to be a smarta$$ and ask how many redheaded middle eastern's he'd seen with the name Shannon, I kindly replied with a grin, No, I am about as American as you can get! Of course upon passing through the wand and the security gate there was an obvious roll of eyes at which my Husband politely elbowed my arm.
Totally agree with the writer.
I recently took a international flight to Korea.
All the time while at the airports in the USA I felt anger welling up inside at how we now allow ourselves to be handled like cattle and guilty citizens that must hand zee papers over and remove articles of clothing so as to get a not guilty pass.
Once I arrived in Korea, There was only a cursory check of my passport.No baggage inspections, I even noticed that evil tobacco users were being accommodated with negatively pressurized rooms within the secure zones.
On my return there was no requirement to remove shoes or articles of clothing. Just drop your bag on the conveyor and walk through the metal detector and pick up your bag pretty simple. While waiting in the secure area I even got to enjoy a smoke in rooms cleaner than some airports are as a whole.
Arriving back in the states I felt as though the freedom I enjoyed while in another country was stripped from me.My baggage was searched no less than 2 times by two separate agencies and because after 13+ hours I desired a smoke. I had to go through the removing of clothing and shoes to get back inside the secure zone because tobacco users are too evil to be accommadated in any way. Again How ironic that in the land of the free I feel less free...then Countries that I know are supposed to be inferior to ours in respect to freedom..
You are absolutely correct, Theresa. The terrorists have won. We allowed it to happen by not standing up and saying 'NO' to the Patriot Act and 'NO' to the Department of Homeland Security.
Lest we forget it was boxcutters which are easier to hide in a tie held down with a tie pin than a ladies scarf. However, that would just be too inconvenient for TSA to enforce, not only with the traveling public but all airport workers who dress for success.
The most reasonable solution that came out of 9/11 was reinforced cockpit doors and plain-clothed Air Marshalls on board flights. Beyond that, it was all simply a political show to try and prove to Americans that politicians actually did something constructive and that we are a safer country.
Our borders are far from secured. Our dedicated military is pulling double-overtime fighting a war on the other side of the planet against people that we have no possible way of ever changing their minds to 'our' way of thinking. The US has gone deeply into debt attempting to 'free' Iraq. Terrorists have grown stronger in the 8-years since 9/11, as we've allowed them to build strength in Afghanistan rather than focusing our military efforts against them.
Careful out there though. Those auto parts drivers without high school diplomas turned TSA agents have the power to make your life miserable and take away even more of your freedoms.
You are absolutely right, Theresa. The Terrorists have won. I am glad you won't be so quiet next time, even though it is far too late.
Was the scarf bolted on.?
...and we won't even go into the fact that any cargo along for the ride was never screened or checked...
allhaileris - good point!
I've seen all sorts of stuff come through the mail flying it out to the villages, including fireworks and all sorts of chemicals for making ???
I agree with one of the writers above - drive!
For years before 9/11, we paid a security fee to each airline when we bought a ticket. All airlines did nothing with that fee to help with airline security, they just collected it as part of the package. Then when new security meassures were implemented, oops! what security. They had to lay off workers to hire security workers and then train them. Now the airlines have us at their mercy, we complain to loudly, we get arrested, we sit on the tarmac for hours with no responses from the airlines, just a sorry. They destroy your bags, go through them at will and sometimes don't bother to zip them back up properly.
I only fly if I have to, I will take the extra time and drive if in state.
And the Neo Con Parasites are laughing all the way to their offshore accounts to count their stolen loot.. The whitemans so called Founding Fathers probably roll over in their graves the way the American Citizens bleat like sheep everytime King Pinocchio(Pathlogical Liar and Pathological Failure) and Shotgun Cheney(Shotgunned his buddy while intoxicated) mention Bin Laden and al-Qaeda.. Remember them.. All you good Republican Mushrooms remember them as the ones who attacked America... Think about them and try to rationalize why we're bogged down in another Vietnam. Tell us that the Iraqi Debacle is going good, and I'll ask... How many billions of American Taxpayer dollars are being spent on Propaganda to lie straight faced to the American Citizens?
Treason is Treason.. And you Republican Mushrooms have as much a hand in it as our Liar in Chief!!
Wow,You're a Gold Member? You should've "broke the place up",guess you will never make platinum being so mellow.
So what if I have to take off my shoes? Scarf? Coat? I would rather have too much security then not enough. The more you fly the more you should appreciate security, what’s worth more your pride or someone’s life, come on now.
Does anyone remember what the standing operational guidance regarding aircraft hijackers was prior to 911?
When anyone took over control of an airplane by use of force, we were advised to "give them what they want". The then-prevailing intelligence held that once the hijackers reached their preferred destination, they were no longer a threat (and the plane and passengers should then be released).
El Al (the Israeli Airlines) knew better and began training air marshals; they learned their lesson after hijackers took one of their planes and flew it to Entebbe, Uganda. We, on the otherhand, were intellectually superior (until the Arab Hijackers took control of those four planes on September 11th; they had no intention of ever releasing anyone but fully intended to use the planes themselves as weapons).
I was deemed a THREAT by airport police for arguing with the ticket agent over losing my baggage. Four police officers surrounded me and told me I couldn't talk to the agent in that manner?? But my question is who wouldn't be mad if they lost your luggage, got you to your destination 3 hours late, and you were only traveling from ANC to FAI? ahhahahaha what a joke.
You should experience the nazis at bangor maine airport. I had the misfortune of flying there and the airport nazis (TSA) treat you like dirt and could care less about you. They would rather lock us all up and throw away the key. Most TSA employees are that way. I guess they forgot that they too are americans when they put on the nazi uniform of the TSA!
It is all a big show and we all know it. If they were serious about protecting US, then I would not have stood in line in Seattle with Arabs in flowing traditional garb that could have hidden tanks underneath and watched them breeze through while me, a middle aged Southern born white boy wearing jeans and a fit button down shirt and reeboks, and and older gentleman wearing an Alaskan Veteran ball cap, jeans, and a fit button down shirt were wanded with our accessories on the table. We just looked across at each other and rolled our eyes. I guess it would be profiling tho to actually search the people that they suspect COULD be terrorists. What a joke.
Just be grateful that you aren't flying to the east coast. Then you would have to put up with the facade potentially three times each way and more if you smoke.
My son and I flew down to Georgia for my sisters wedding a couple of years ago and were sitting in our motel room when I found a 9mm bullet in the carryon backpack that had gone through 3 scans since Fairbanks. I had used the backpack a few weeks before to carry the pistols to the range. He and I had a great laugh about that one. Yeah, I feel soooooo much safer with TSA.
Gold or no gold, your problem is with TSA.
You want to fly? Take your shoes off and put them on the conveyor.
Next person in line please.
I came into this thread expecting to read about some huge important governement law or something, stealing our freedumz and libertiez but was instead disappointed to learn it was just about your scarf, your silk scarf.
That is indeed a lost freedom. Let me tell you.
Grow up and do what the nice TSA man tells you. If you don't like it, don't fly.
Sorry. I don't see the problem here. What's the big deal about removing a scarf? Did you have a zit you were covering up on your neck?
Due to this publicity of the possibility of hiding stuff below a tie, men are probably going to have to remove their ties now. (This is equivalent to having all girls remove their make up and putting it back on again. Very timely in my opinion.)
Please think before you publish. But then again, you might have uncovered & publicized a lacking in security... preventing the next major incident?
But reading some other posts here, does show excessive use of force as in Frank Costello's (above) situation. A more appropriate method of resolving, he should have been advised to report a to a managers office. Besides, most ticket agents can't handle refunds or anything else without a supervisors approval.
There is a fine line between security & excessive use of force. And nobody is perfect! Nobody's perfect for god's sake & lay-off the coffee! Relax and stop bickering over nothing. Thank God I don't have kids!
The problem is that there is nearly NO benefit to TSA performing the searches they do besides treating the average law abiding citizen as a criminal. Seriously... nail clippers, bottles of water, etc.?
Passengers will never allow what happened in 2001 to happen again. They know the risks. The "security" that these people provide is ridiculous, and is more show than substance.
The terrorists have won by making us limit our individual freedoms more and more. People can be arrested and locked up for insisting on privacy, speaking out against something they believe to be wrong, etc. They can have their laptop and personal goods seized for undetermined amounts of time with no warrant or even probable cause...
People have handed over their freedoms for a little temporary security, and in the long run, that is going to hurt us all.
The screening process is a pain, HOWEVER, it is for your safety the the safety of others. 9/11 was no joke, that day stands out in some of our minds as if it was yesturday. TSA people at times do sit up on a high horse, but I'd rather they be buttheads, then have to kiss my own butt goodbye. Do the best you can do, and go to the airport prepared to unpack your bags and strip down to your shirt and pants. Dress for the occasion.
Three words: Newark. Liberty. Airport. aka, my old airport. With 25,000 passengers per shift through my checkpoint, you'd be lucky to get a smile out of my screeners, much less special treatment and a cookie. The Alaska TSA staff has it easy, but they still have the same BS to deal with as those on the east coast. For example:
Celebrities who think they can bypass security (Brittany, Eve, Paul Simon, and Susan Sarandon to name a few)
People with American passports who don't speak English,
Germophobes (who will ask for slippers when there's a hundred people in line behind them),
People who yell, "I have a plane to catch!" It's an airport, everyone not wearing a uniform has a plane to catch.
Mr. Stinkfeet - enough said.
Mrs. Sextoy - enough said.
Laptop guy, Pockets-full-o-change man, The Watcher, SugarKid, The Cyborg, StrollerStuffer, and yes, Scarf Lady. We had cute names for you all.
And we put boogers in your luggage.
Lighten up.
It's all a big show put on to make people feel safe but I dont think it does anything. Go drive out to the airport and see how many holes are in the fence and how easy it would be to get in the aiport and on to a plane.
Work at the airport? Then you're free to bring anything you want through the gates and on to the planes for anyone to use anywhere in the countries airport system.
I used to work at the airport a few years back and I can tell you that NOTHING is stopping anyone with half a plan to do something bad to a plane.. So go ahead and take off your shoes and throw away your water bottles and anything else that cant fit into that quart sized baggie, Joe the airport employee making $10 an hour will do whatever he pleases...<