I had to go to California for business this week. I left Sunday afternoon from Dulles Airport here in the metro DC area, and returned yesterday afternoon. In between, I had something confirmed to me that I'd known all along, but didn't really 100% believe until I saw it in practice.
Dulles is always a madhouse, and on a Sunday afternoon, it's about a million times worse. Every five seconds, there was some kind of recorded announcement:
"Due to the heightened threat level, please report any suspicious person or activity to TSA officials."
Maybe it was because of the 9/11 anniversary, but the presence of TSA officials and police was about twice as heavy as usual. Every time they made the announcement, people would look around, move their bags closer, and generally act more afraid. That's a shame, I thought. The whole point of terrorism is to scare people. Looks like they're succeeding with some of these folks.
I got to California without incident, of course, went through my business, and got back to the airport in Long Beach yesterday morning to fly back home. We went through our security checkpoint, where they not only ran my bags through the machine, but hand-searched them. That annoyed me just a bit, but I had needlepoint supplies with me, so I assumed they wanted to double-check my scissors. (Incidentally, if anyone could ever cause any damage with tiny little sewing scissors with rounded tips, I'd be stunned.) They gave me my bags, and I went over to the gate to have a little breakfast.
There was a snack stand selling milk and cereal, so I got some. The guy took my money and started opening my milk carton. "Excuse me, sir, what are you doing?" I asked.
"Sorry, ma'am, but the TSA makes us pour all beverages into cups and take the lids off all yogurt and ice cream for you. It's the new rules."
O-kay... I got my cup of milk and went over to sit down. I was genuinely mad at this point, working very hard not to take it out on the minimum-wage employees enacting the stupidity. I ate my cereal and got ready to board. They called us to the gate, and as they did, the guy at the gate said, "And if you haven't stopped by the TSA table, please do so as you board." What? I already had my bag searched twice. But sure enough, they searched everyone's bags a third time before they let us on the plane.
That set me off completely. I didn't say a word to the TSA people, because I really wanted to go home and didn't feel like risking a detention. But with every announcement, search, or confiscated yogurt lid, I heard the same subtext: "Get scared. Vote Republican." This is fear-mongering at its finest. They're brazenly trying to take a national security issue and twist it into a political bludgeon to frighten the susceptible.
What makes matters worse still is how other areas of national security are totally ignored by these people because they don't make for good sound bites. When my husband and I drove to Canada for vacation, we went through customs on the way back in. They took our documents, asked seven cursory questions, and sent us on our way. I had a massive trash bag full of pillows and blankets on the back seat of the car, in full view of the customs agent, and he didn't even ask what it was! My husband said, "Wow, we could've had a dead hooker and a kilo of blow in that bag, and they'd never know."
If they put me through all that song and dance at the airport and were serious about other areas of transportation security, I might not be so angry. But for God's sake, security in this country is a total joke. They don't even screen airline cargo!
Frankly, this joke isn't funny anymore. It's high time we get these charlatans out of office and replace them with people who will keep us actually safe, instead of distracting us with showy "checkpoints" that accomplish nothing. Pay attention to the man behind the curtain, and vote him the hell out of office.