The TSA regularly posts about all the zany (i.e., quite illegal) things that people try to bring on planes with them. Which, yes, perhaps demonstrates that some sort of inspection / security regime is needed, but which misses the point of most folks' complaints about airport security:
1. What was the discovery mechanism for these items? As far as I can tell, pretty much all were simply revealed by the x-ray machines.
2. How many of these were actual terrorist / criminal threats? As far as I can tell, pretty much none of them (implied directly by noting how these sorts of discoveries lead to fines and arrests of people who didn't intend any harm).
I don't think most people object to some sort of inspection before boarding a plane — x-raying bags, magnetometers / wanding, etc. Security is not a binary of let everything through or let nothing through, and people have realized that hijackers (and worse) have been around since the 60s and 70s.
But none of these cases seems to justify the March Hare's race at security lines of stripping off shoes and belts, emptying all pockets, dragging out laptops, etc., then putting them all back on at the other end. The perception, not directly addressed at all by these sorts of announcements, is that security is unecessarily burdensome, hectic, and disturbing, beyond what is actually going to catch people intending to do bad things on our airplanes … and that the TSA is, rather than giving convincing explanations, simply patting people on the head and saying, "Don't worry, we're taking good care of you, now bend over and cough …"
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TSA Week in Review: 6 lbs. of Black Powder, Detonation Cords, and Timing Fuse Discovered in Colorado
Inert Grenades Etc. – We continue to find inert hand grenades and other weaponry on weekly basis. Please keep in mind that if an item looks like a bomb, grenade, mine, etc., it is prohibited – real or…
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