Why have Americans turned wimpish on aviation security?

So, let’s look at recent events in US aviation security. We’ve got the whiny little girls – sorry, I mean big bold manly pilots - who don’t like to be searched. But we’ll come to them in a moment. First, let’s think about bombs in printer cartridges. Remember them? Yemen, Dubai, England, UPS, computer printers with plastic explosives wired up to cellphones – got it ? Novel? Yup, sort of. Dangerous? Maybe. Anyhow, when we had bombs in big shoes, did anyone, anywhere, feel the need to ban big shoes? No, of course not, that would be silly. And when we’ve had bombs in luggage in the past, have we banned suitcases? No, of course not, that would be moronic. So WTF is going on when TSA (and other, equally stupid countries – the Brits for example) ban the container the device was hidden in? Sheesh - and then they wonder why we doubt their intelligence.

Okay, let’s get to the girlies. It seems that macho pilot types are really rather nervous and shy and the thought of someone of the same gender actually touching them, in order to carry out a perfectly reasonable search, is all too much for their fragile – but gigantic - egos. And, like so many other groups – Customs, Law Enforcement, Frequent Fliers, minor politicians, a variety of religious nutjobs – they feel that they are a special case, should be regarded as above suspicion, and in most every way are far superior to everyone else on the plane. (Did I mention the gigantic egos in play here?).

Seems like they’ve never heard of robberies – never mind terror attacks – where, hey, the perpetrators used innocent dupes, sometimes by guile and sometimes by sticking a large handgun in the face of the dupes’ loved ones. This latter case is known as Tiger Kidnapping and happens frequently enough that any half-decent law enforcement officer (and that would be most of them: half-decent...) will have come across a case. Typically they turn up at the bank manager’s house at night, take the family hostage, then send the banker to the office the next day, to either rob the place on their behalf or to facilitate one or more gang members robbing the place. And all the time, the ‘Mad Dog’ gang member has your wife (or husband) and the kids at the end of their gun barrel.

So, turns out those ‘idiots’ at TSA are actually protecting the families of US flight crew from such horrors, whilst the pilots themselves whinge and whine, trying desperately to paint big targets on themselves and their families.

One of the biggest – and most potent – criticisms of the ‘fast track’ schemes for airport security seen over the last few years has been exactly this point: if you give someone - anyone - special access, then terrorists (half-decent ones anyways) will seek to exploit them. So, incidentally, why don’t we search the staff – including security staff – at airports? Are they so above suspicion, so guaranteed to never get in trouble, never be targeted, that they can have free access to secure zones in our airports every day, ever year for as long as they work there?

Ignore the nonsense on this issue in the mainstream media – and there are now many thousands of words on these topics, mainly driven by pilot unions and anyone with a grudge against the TSA – and try something different: think for yourself. It’s not that hard, honest.