Reduce Airport Patdowns says U.S. House Members

Yesterday was the eleventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. It was interesting that it would be the day a group of House Republicans, all members of the Homeland Security subcommittee, issued a reports suggesting TSA reduce the number of patdowns on passengers, reduce its size, and turn over much of its work to private companies.

Sadly, we’ve heard all of this before and in my personal opinion, nothing will get done.

We are one of the few countries left where shoes must be taken off while going through security. Most countries don’t have a problem with us leaving them on. Here, the equipment that’s supposed to make this practice obsolete, failed testing. Yet, overseas, it works fine.

Other countries don’t find it necessary to do so invasive a patdown that I feel as if I need a cigarette afterwards and should ask “was it good for you.”

Security is important and we can’t get rid of it altogether. But we must stop this show, this outright disrespect towards passengers, and the complete invasion of our privacy and rights just to make the skies safer. If I’m being questioned by an airport security officer, it  is none of their business where I’m staying or who I’m seeing.  Yet if I don’t answer their questions,or give names (McCarthyism?),  and politely explain why, they probably won’t let me fly and may even have me arrested.

There has to be a better way.

Reduce Patdowns says House GOP

Comments

[K-eM]

"...it is none of their business where I’m staying or who I’m seeing. Yet if I don’t answer their questions,or give names (McCarthyism?), and politely explain why, they probably won’t let me fly and may even have me arrested."

I have people tell me how much safer we are here and less corrupt and don't have to deal with the police/military like other, less fortunate, countries do. Your statement is true here in the US...and it sounds just like what I have encountered in developing countries with dictatorships. The only difference is that the TSA haven't started demanding a bribe to let you through...yet.

[Paula Bag Lass]

They're still doing the shoe thing at Gatwick and Heathrow, it is infrequent though, so you never know if you will be asked to put your footwear through x-ray. From what I saw it was mostly boots or shoes with really thick soles or platforms, people wearing thin flip flops or sandals were looked at then ignored.