Security theater at the airport

Published



PORT COLUMBUS AIRPORT–I‘m not terribly shy or insecure about my manhood, so when the TSA selected me five minutes ago to go through the nudie-scanner, I went along. If I had protested and thus missed my flight, it would have imposed an added burden on my wife, home alone the past few days with a gaggle of kids (don’t tell the Washington Post’s Lisa Miller). The bourgeoisie will always sacrifice liberty for convenience and comfort, I suppose.

What pissed me off most was not the invasion of privacy or the inhuman way in which they deal with you — the TSA lady didn’t say a word, she just held her hands over head, and I was supposed to imitate her, posing like a criminal the cops are afraid might be armed. (Another agent ordered me to stand on a mat, not telling me why or for how long. When I asked why, he was surprised, and answered that someone sitting in a room needed to review this picture — essentially a nude picture of me — presumably to ensure I wasn’t carrying any explosives.)

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