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>There’s no evidence two decades of pat-downs and shoe removal have made travelers any safer — so why does the theater of airport security persist? I, and ever
by devonnull 4y ago
>There’s no evidence two decades of pat-downs and shoe removal have made travelers any safer — so why does the theater of airport security persist?
I, and everyone I know who travels, asks this all the time. Other than the TSA being an employment scheme, I don't have an answer to that question.
- galdosdi 4y agoOriginally it was created to make the Bush administration look good for "doing something" This is a really common effect in government and even companies. If it's important to be seen as doing something, something will be done, even not very effectively. It is far better to be seen as genuinely trying but not quite succeeding than to not even have showed up. I doubt the employment program aspect of it is relevant at all, except in the sense that once a program is created, it is hard to get rid of it. You and I might very well be smart enough to see it's a waste, but there's over 300 million Americans, and a lot of them vote, and a lot of them don't have the habit of thinking that critically. So that's what the TSA is there for. PS: Out of curiosity, are you old enough to remember 9/11? I hypothesize not since I hypothesize it would be obvious to someone alive at the time why TSA exists despite being ineffective, but I may be wrong. Just curious. Making me feel old!
- devonnull 4y agoI was around when the TSA was founded, though I'm not American. And I recall all the rationales for this (what seemed at the time) hastily created organization. Still, it's been a lot of years and little to show for all the expense and time wasted. Security theatre indeed.