John Tyner: What will I say?

by John Tyner
Johnny Edge
Nov. 18, 2010

All we need to do is segregate flights based off their levels of security. If you want to pay more for more security, then you should get on a flight with more security. If you don't want to, then don't.

Personally, I'd rather go to an airport where the passengers are packing heat as opposed to some government run airport where they'll just shoo some terrorist right by security because he's with a "sharp-dressed man." - Chris[In various places, I've heard responses like this to what I did, but very few people have taken the time to ask their questions respectfully and without name calling. I received this message early this morning and am going to take the author's measured tone as an indication that he really does want a response and does not simply want to excoriate me. I am publishing this response as a way to answer everyone who may have similar questions about what I did.]

May I ask: So if next time a terrorist successfully hides "devices" to kill Americans on a plane, because you seem to think TSA or airport security is over-excessive...What will you say?

First of all, I am not advocating that we drop all security at our airports. What I oppose are the intrusive (and arguably unconstitutional) use of body scanning (or AIT) machines that can literally take a picture of one's naked body and/or the use of the new pat down procedures in which TSA officers are not necessarily instructed to "touch your junk" but come so close that many have and/or do. I find this level of scrutiny to be invasive and offensive.

What do we do instead? As I said, I am not saying that we should simply allow anyone and everyone to get on a plane simply because they have a ticket. (I should add that I would not oppose an airline that wanted to board planes with zero security. I don't think they would get much business, but it is within their right to do so.) What I am saying is that there are alternative methods of screening passengers that are far less invasive than what we do now and could actually make us more secure. That is, we wouldn't have to rely on machines that would not detect a "device" hidden inside of a would-be attacker.

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