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From the article: "The TSA is failing to defend us against the threat of terrorism. The only reason they've been able to get away with the scam for so long is
by __z 11y ago
From the article:
"The TSA is failing to defend us against the threat of terrorism. The only reason they've been able to get away with the scam for so long is that there isn't much of a threat of terrorism to defend against... Terrorists are much rarer than we think, and launching a terrorist plot is much more difficult than we think. I understand this conclusion is counterintuitive, and contrary to the fearmongering we hear every day from our political leaders. But it's what the data shows."
You're much more likely to get killed on the car ride to the airport than at the airport.
- freehunter 11y agoYou're right. But there's something about standing in a high security area with these serious looking people wearing gloves and swabbing things and big x-ray scanners and leading people away in handcuffs and it puts all kinds of ideas in your head. It makes the threat of terrorism seem that much more real and prominent. And my mind says if it's going to happen, it's going to happen right here. Not up there. I was just debating with my wife last weekend about how people are so terrified of guns when cars are so much more dangerous and random and senseless. But it's human nature to worry about danger when someone is actually threatening you with that danger. I worry more about accidents when someone is driving dangerously in front of me. I worry more about terrorism when someone is screaming at me to take my shoes off so they can check for a bomb.
- __z 11y agoYou're right, security is a feeling as well as a reality and humans are not rational. I didn't mean to discount your feelings, only add some perspective. I, for example, am scared of stranger violence. I know logically that if I were to be murdered/assaulted it would be much more likely to be someone I know who did it - but I still fear stranger violence more than what is rational. Bruce Schneier (the author of this article) writes a lot about this: https://www.schneier.com/essays/archives/2008/01/the_psychology_of_se.html https://www.schneier.com/essays/archives/2008/01/the_psychol...
- simoncion 11y ago> ...there's something about standing in a high security area... High security areas take security screening seriously. When an intoxicated man in a blue shirt can successfully impersonate a member of your security staff and perform multiple private screenings of (attractive, female) travellers [0], it's clear that you don't take security seriously. [0] http://www.loweringthebar.net/2014/07/drunk-gropes-two-posing-tsa.html http://www.loweringthebar.net/2014/07/drunk-gropes-two-posin...
- DamnYuppie 11y agoYou are far more likely to be killed by your children then by terrorists. You are more likely to die tripping over your couch in your living room then to be injured by terrorists.
- tomjen3 11y agoActually terrorism is much easier than we think - if nothing else a knife or a car will work - but terrorists are really, really, really rare.