Thomas Jefferson once said, "I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it." I would have to agree with him.
It is possible that every person who walks through an airport has a gun shoved up his or her ass. Now, would it not be safer if we all got cavity searched on every trip we took? In theory: Of course. However, no one would ever agree that this is acceptable.
Or, how about this: http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/06/backscatter_x-r.html?
Do you want strangers to see you naked? The point isn't that it's inconvenient. The point isn't about not wanting people to take your coke away or any number of other details. The point is that you are being violated and you should care. Just because it isn't bodily, doesn't mean it isn't violating your right to privacy. We have rights for a reason and if you don't protect them, no one else will. If you give them an inch, they will take a mile. Don’t. Trust. Your. Government. They're searching your bags without probable cause now and they're going to be shoving their hands up your ass without probable cause later. I promise you.
In addition, yes, we do have options. We can never leave our houses; we can drive to Poland, or take a train to Hawaii. I am quite tired of hearing you dance on nuances about "options". I should not have to choose to avoid airports, just as I should not have to choose to avoid hydrogenated oils. As far as I'm concerned, the Government is doing a service for the people, just like the food industry. I'm paying you to make me happy. I'm not happy. Do not poison me and call it safe. Do not attack me and call it protection. The only option is for them to change, not me. I am not budging.
In any case, the extra protection that we hear about is just a way to make us feel safe. In actuality, we're not any safer now than we were 10 years ago. We're just more divided and nervous. For example: I was going to Las Vegas with my friend, Lindsay. This was about two years ago, we were 16. They searched her stuff five times because they thought they saw a lighter in her suitcase. They soon figured out that it was inside of her stuffed bunny. They were considering tearing it open, when one of the agents asked her, "Could it ever make noise?" Well, it turned out that it could. Their lighter was actually a battery pack. We spent an hour being prodded because of a stuffed toy. Lindsay had traveled very extensively and had taken that bunny everywhere she went since the day she was born. It was never a problem before. Why was it one now? On the return home from the same trip, her mother had bought a set of butter knives. They took them away. This was expected and not really a problem. However, when we stopped in one of the shops near the terminal, the same knife set was for sale. Interesting? It gets better. Two weeks later, my brother and I were on the way home from my Father's house. He lives in Phoenix. For Christmas, he had received a large arrow (with the head very sharp and intact). He was holding it in his hands, unpackaged and completely visible, as he walked through the security checkpoint. He went through the metal detector, walked through the terminal, and boarded the plane. Nobody noticed. Nobody said one word. It is confusing to me that somebody can easily bring a weapon onto a plane without harassment, but you'll be assaulted if you try to bring a stuffed animal.
The point of terrorism is in its name. If you fall to your knees and bow down to the fear that they are trying to make you feel, then they have already won. We are all Americans and we should not be prosecuting each other and ourselves for being born that way. We are innocent until proven guilty and it should never be the other way around. The best thing this country can do now is to grow a backbone and band together to be One Nation under Who Cares. As it stands right now, we're all running around like chickens with our heads cut off and it's making us weaker rather than safer. Trust your neighbor and hold your head up high in airplanes. Don't let them get to you.
Thomas Jefferson once said, "I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it." I would have to agree with him.
It is possible that every person who walks through an airport has a gun shoved up his or her ass. Now, would it not be safer if we all got cavity searched on every trip we took? In theory: Of course. However, no one would ever agree that this is acceptable.
Or, how about this: http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/06/backscatter_x-r.html?
Do you want strangers to see you naked? The point isn't that it's inconvenient. The point isn't about not wanting people to take your coke away or any number of other details. The point is that you are being violated and you should care. Just because it isn't bodily, doesn't mean it isn't violating your right to privacy. We have rights for a reason and if you don't protect them, no one else will. If you give them an inch, they will take a mile. Don’t. Trust. Your. Government. They're searching your bags without probable cause now and they're going to be shoving their hands up your ass without probable cause later. I promise you.
In addition, yes, we do have options. We can never leave our houses; we can drive to Poland, or take a train to Hawaii. I am quite tired of hearing you dance on nuances about "options". I should not have to choose to avoid airports, just as I should not have to choose to avoid hydrogenated oils. As far as I'm concerned, the Government is doing a service for the people, just like the food industry. I'm paying you to make me happy. I'm not happy. Do not poison me and call it safe. Do not attack me and call it protection. The only option is for them to change, not me. I am not budging.
In any case, the extra protection that we hear about is just a way to make us feel safe. In actuality, we're not any safer now than we were 10 years ago. We're just more divided and nervous. For example: I was going to Las Vegas with my friend, Lindsay. This was about two years ago, we were 16. They searched her stuff five times because they thought they saw a lighter in her suitcase. They soon figured out that it was inside of her stuffed bunny. They were considering tearing it open, when one of the agents asked her, "Could it ever make noise?" Well, it turned out that it could. Their lighter was actually a battery pack. We spent an hour being prodded because of a stuffed toy. Lindsay had traveled very extensively and had taken that bunny everywhere she went since the day she was born. It was never a problem before. Why was it one now? On the return home from the same trip, her mother had bought a set of butter knives. They took them away. This was expected and not really a problem. However, when we stopped in one of the shops near the terminal, the same knife set was for sale. Interesting? It gets better. Two weeks later, my brother and I were on the way home from my Father's house. He lives in Phoenix. For Christmas, he had received a large arrow (with the head very sharp and intact). He was holding it in his hands, unpackaged and completely visible, as he walked through the security checkpoint. He went through the metal detector, walked through the terminal, and boarded the plane. Nobody noticed. Nobody said one word. It is confusing to me that somebody can easily bring a weapon onto a plane without harassment, but you'll be assaulted if you try to bring a stuffed animal.
The point of terrorism is in its name. If you fall to your knees and bow down to the fear that they are trying to make you feel, then they have already won. We are all Americans and we should not be prosecuting each other and ourselves for being born that way. We are innocent until proven guilty and it should never be the other way around. The best thing this country can do now is to grow a backbone and band together to be One Nation under Who Cares. As it stands right now, we're all running around like chickens with our heads cut off and it's making us weaker rather than safer. Trust your neighbor and hold your head up high in airplanes. Don't let them get to you.