I was telling someone much younger than myself that airports didn’t always completely suck to go through. I explained how the TSA wasn’t a thing and the experience was closer to getting on a bus or a train pre 9/11.
He had a hard time wrapping his head around it because he’s never experienced it.
As a post 9/11 adult, moving to a place with really good and smooth flowing train infrastructure made me so frustrated with the stressful and unnecessary security theatre of airports worldwide
people won’t fly if they don’t go through the security theater beforehand. they wildly overestimate the likelihood of terrorism because the impact is very high, so if you don’t make them take their shoes off, throw out their water and do a little security dance they’ll assume they’re going to be murdered.
I have yet to meet someone saying thank you while being asked to walk through the metal detector a second time. I think it’s more along the lines of “this decision was never up to us.”
Eh, maybe you’re right. It’s been a while. Still, hard to overstate the raw terror in the first couple years, maybe now it’s just entrenched bureaucracy
Well, they can’t do that. Otherwise the private company (Clear) that gets way too much information about you in exchange for allowing you to skip the unpleasantness of the TSA wouldn’t have justification!
Take your shoes off. Take your belt off. Step into the scanner. Is that bottle more than 3.4 ounces? It looks like it’s 3.42 ounces. Throw it out. Put your belt back on. Put your shoes back on. Did you pack your bags yourself? Have your bags been in your possession since you packed them? Take your shoes back off. In 2015 TSA missed 95% of weapons that a red team attempted to smuggle through security. Put your shoes back on.
I was traveling around for a documentary shoot and got a little snippy with an agent once - I followed exact protocol for Li-Ion batteries for my drone and they didn’t know the policy. No I’m not throwing $100+ batteries away.
I swear they put me on a list because the next 3 flights in a row I got “random searched.” So 4 random in a row total, and I only believe the first one was maybe actually random (I get grabbed a lot when I bring a pelican case).
Yes, it’s my fault for getting snippy blah blah whatever.
I traveled via airline before and after 9/11, and taking trains still amazes me: I can just walk up to it with my bag and get on??? I don’t even have to go into the station if it’s not between the parking and the platform! (The station I usually use is like that.) Plus the comfortable seat with legroom…
I was telling someone much younger than myself that airports didn’t always completely suck to go through. I explained how the TSA wasn’t a thing and the experience was closer to getting on a bus or a train pre 9/11.
He had a hard time wrapping his head around it because he’s never experienced it.
Made me feel very old.
As a post 9/11 adult, moving to a place with really good and smooth flowing train infrastructure made me so frustrated with the stressful and unnecessary security theatre of airports worldwide
Especially since it’s just theater. It’s just to make you feel fucking oppressed. Fuck!
I am legitimately surprised that the TSA has not been quietly disbanded by now
Too many opportunities for skimming off the top to let go.
people won’t fly if they don’t go through the security theater beforehand. they wildly overestimate the likelihood of terrorism because the impact is very high, so if you don’t make them take their shoes off, throw out their water and do a little security dance they’ll assume they’re going to be murdered.
I have yet to meet someone saying thank you while being asked to walk through the metal detector a second time. I think it’s more along the lines of “this decision was never up to us.”
Yeah, those changes came while Constitutional law was suspended. The Patriot Act was a coup in and of itself.
I can’t speak for others, but I would.
Come the fuck on…
Eh, maybe you’re right. It’s been a while. Still, hard to overstate the raw terror in the first couple years, maybe now it’s just entrenched bureaucracy
Well, they can’t do that. Otherwise the private company (Clear) that gets way too much information about you in exchange for allowing you to skip the unpleasantness of the TSA wouldn’t have justification!
God damn it of course there’s a private company involved
Oh yeah my friend. They are posted up at most major airports now. It’s TSA pre-check but in private form.
Take your shoes off. Take your belt off. Step into the scanner. Is that bottle more than 3.4 ounces? It looks like it’s 3.42 ounces. Throw it out. Put your belt back on. Put your shoes back on. Did you pack your bags yourself? Have your bags been in your possession since you packed them? Take your shoes back off. In 2015 TSA missed 95% of weapons that a red team attempted to smuggle through security. Put your shoes back on.
Or you can pay them $100 and skip the line.
I was traveling around for a documentary shoot and got a little snippy with an agent once - I followed exact protocol for Li-Ion batteries for my drone and they didn’t know the policy. No I’m not throwing $100+ batteries away.
I swear they put me on a list because the next 3 flights in a row I got “random searched.” So 4 random in a row total, and I only believe the first one was maybe actually random (I get grabbed a lot when I bring a pelican case).
Yes, it’s my fault for getting snippy blah blah whatever.
I traveled via airline before and after 9/11, and taking trains still amazes me: I can just walk up to it with my bag and get on??? I don’t even have to go into the station if it’s not between the parking and the platform! (The station I usually use is like that.) Plus the comfortable seat with legroom…
And then you tell them that baggage fees didn’t used to be a thing and you can see their train of thought go off the tracks.
When I was very young, my mother took me and my twin to the airport, us wearing little backpacks.
She then handed us to a flight attendant and left.
The attendant took us to the air plane, sat us down, got us some juice. We sat and colored in books.
The attendant removed us from the plane and walked us towards the exit.
We then ran at grandmother and great grandmother. I’m fairly certain the attendant basically said “these yours?”, they said yes, and we left.
This happened over several summers.
The thought of that happening today is impossible
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