bea arthur and the absurdities of current air passenger screening
americans can't bear public demonstrations of privilege or anything resembling it unless it's featured on a television reality series. yet we actually seem to only pay lip service to the venerated principle of equality. even the thought of uniformed students in public schools sends chills through our spines for no reason whatsoever (as if the uniform-wearing kids from private schools as a rule grow up to be less individualistic than public school graduates).america is indeed a rich land of opportunity. it rewards the motivated, the visionary, the self-starter, the risk-taker. but not all enjoy equal access to capital. nor to good education. nor healthcare. nor justice. women in this country don't even enjoy equal pay and i don't see anybody marching on the national mall protesting it. the work ethic and machismo of americans allow the private sector to exploit them by accepting to do the work of several employees without appripriate compensation. if you need to stay at the office longer than the official working day then there's not enough people for the job. period. we allow government to permit corporations to rape the tax-payer while the beneficiaries of said arrangement receive compensation which in no way reflects their value to the firm along with further relief in their tax «burden» while the rest of the nation and especially the lower middle-class and the poor are forced to live with the reduction in services which pays for the tax cuts to the wealthy. even in diplomacy we demonstrate devastating expertise at securing advantages at great expense...
yet most seem to find necessary and just for the sake of equality to force crown princes, vice-presidents, eighty-one-year-old female celebrities and even me to subject to tedious, unnecessary security screenings prior to travelling. precious time and limited resources ought not be wasted with such nonsense. this is not a matter of offering a courtesy to someone because of their position, celebrity, wealth, or beauty that would result in the unacceptable inconvenience of lesser mortals, but because they do not present a threat. nor do i. it's that simple.
in order to provide security, threats must be identified. then the severity and likelihood of an event must be assessed along with identifying who would be most likely to bring it to fruition. while in northern ireland it could be a rosey-cheeked granny with knitting needles, in oklahoma city a skinny white boy with a gripe against the government of the republic, at boston logan it may be determined that it'd be most likely a well-dressed, well-educated, wealthy, good-looking young saudi (or variations thereof) and certainly not dorothy from the golden girls even if she is indeed carrying a knife in her pocketbook. even if terrorists intent on hijacking the aeroplane did board you can bet you life that their plan would not rely on the possibility of enlisting the knife-wielding co-operation of a senior citizen they don't know and whose luggage they didn't inspect! this is not about political correctness. it is not akin to racial profiling by your local police constabulary.
have a look at the passions stirred by the issue.
i *heart* bea arthur:
bea arthur sparked a security scare at logan airport in boston this week when she tried to board a cape air flight with a pocketknife in her handbag.kuro5hin offers a novel proposition: bea for president!
the "golden girls" star, now 81, was flagged by a transportation security administration agent, who discovered the knife - a strict no-no following 9/11.
using her characteristic style in order to point out the absurdity of the current system, a fellow passenger said that ms arthur started yelling that the knife wasn't hers and that the terrorists must have put it there. "she kept yelling about the 'terrorists, the terrorists, the terrorists.' "
after the blade was confiscated, arthur took a keyring from her bag and told the agent it belonged to the "terrorists," before throwing it at them.
as she boarded the plane, she said to the tsa employees: "we're all doomed."
posted by vidiot at 12:12 pt (48 comments total)
so, old people (or white people or celebs) should't be searched? or they should be allowed to carry knives on planes? i guess i don't get the point of all this. why should bea arthur be president? because she is standing up for celebrity rights?
posted by found missing at 13:17 pst on 28 august
found missing, you humourless twit, i hope the next time you fly you are pulled over and strip searched by the foul smelling neanderthals that make up this nation's "airport security" as karmic payback for your utter lack of common sense.
this "all or nothing" mentality is just laughable, since it treats everyone like a suspect, which so far hasn't turned up a lot of "thwarted hijackings" or "terrorist events." let's see, how many of the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks were something other than males of middle eastern descent between the ages of 25 and 40? how about we start looking for them, and let passengers who are female americans with pretty much universal face recognition and who happen to be twice that age just get on their plane and be on their way?
posted by jollywanker at 15:34 pst on 28 august
i just want to hear bea say "step the fuck off or i'll cut you!".
posted by kevinskomsvold at 16:55 pst on 28 august
simple solution: everyone flies naked. now there's an opportunity! all-nude airlines - we love to fly, and it shows.
posted by bwg at 05:28 pst on 29 august
via metafilter.
