In the wake of the Christmas Day plot to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight, one passenger set off a media sensation that will once again lead America down the path of fear, not to mention an extensive loss of privacy. This comes in the form of senseless rules (not to mention leaked directives) that were put in place by the Department of Homeland Security. As a tech-savvy college student, I find this will no doubt lead to the negative feelings that we had towards homeland security in the wake of procedures that were put in place after 9/11
For my generation ( I am 21), technology has played an essential part in out lives as the PC-revolution happened as we came of age. This technology has obviously proliferated in the last few years with mobile technology and social networking, connecting people in unimaginable ways. For better or worse, being connected is now a fact of life.
It is very sad for me, and I am sure many others to see the absurd rules that TSA and Homeland Security has put in place. I fly very frequently as my school and home are extremely far from each other, and I have had to deal with all sorts of shit since I've started college. In an age where airlines charge for baggage, while making the requirements smaller, and making a killing off baggage fees (which by the way were introduced to combat "rising fuel prices"), the introduction of wi-fi on airplanes was a little respite from the hell that is flying in the USA.
Since 9/11,the TSA has been the biggest waste of government money in my honest opinion, and the only good thing that it has done is create federal jobs at the local level. All I used to see after 9/11 were Muslims (myself included) targeted because they looked a certain way or had a certain name. Fear gripped us as a nation because we did not know the proper way to react to an attack on our soil. Instead of asking the Muslim community for help in rooting out extremism, the government started to arrest and detain en masse and isolate the community. This has been well documented. Since that time I have seen a relaxing of racial profiling as the rightful face of the Muslim community has been accepted by many and we moved on from the "9/11 mentality." Business returned to airports, and all seemed well, until Christmas Day.
Thanks to the quick actions of Jasper Schurina and the crew, the terrorist's plot was foiled. But the US response to the attack is an extreme failure. First, we must consider that the terrorist went through security in AMSTERDAM. We do not know yet if he had any inside help or not. The fact that we now have rules that stem from this attack especially bathroom rules are so severely stupid I cannot even describe my frustration. Fear has won over human dignity and human respect. No in-flight entertainment or GPS for the last hour because the terrorist will confirm via facebook chat and use of the GPS when to detonate? no blanket because it will hid the device that was sewn onto your underwear? C'mon man. The only thing that couldve saved the situation DID WORK I am honestly loathing having to fly back to school when winter break ends and I especially feel sorry for my friends if they are currently coming back from study abroad to deal with this shit.
I think that this article and Bruce Schneider put it best:
Only two things have made flying safer [since 9/11]: the reinforcement of cockpit doors, and the fact that passengers know now to resist hijackers.
This week, the second one worked over Detroit. Security succeeded.
Only one carry on? No electronics for the first hour of flight? I wish that, just once, some terrorist would try something that you can only foil by upgrading the passengers to first class and giving them free drinks
Happy flying everybody!