TSA… what’s next?

Today is one of the rare occasions where we drew something that could almost be considered a political cartoon. And we rarely write rants on political topics, but this one here is dear to our hearts.

I mean, seriously, when is enough enough? Does anybody out there really believe that a real terrorist attack could be prevented by the already overboarding excesses of airport security?

Even after 9/11 I accidentially flew at least five intercontinental flights with a paper knife in my carry on luggage. I used to keep one in my pencase and never thought about taking it out, until I noticed it one day and I was surprised that nobody ever discovered it so far. I also accidentially flew with my manicure set in my carry on luggage on at least one occasion.

So, a schmo like me accidentially manages to get “dangerous weapons” on board a plane, more often than not, just because I’m inattentive and forgetful, not even trying to hide or conceal them. a) What does that say about the efficiency of the checks, and b) imagine what you can do if you’re intentionally planning an attack.

Let’s say the checks were efficient. After going through security, all you need to do is go eat a steak at a restaurant, where they will give you a knife.

Those checkpoints do nothing at all to make me feel safe. And I don’t need to feel that safe. Chances are much higher that I’ll die from a car accident, a bee sting or a cold. All they do is to consider everybody guilty until proven innocent, invade peoples privacy, and treat us like we’re prisoners or cattle. What’s next? Chest x-rays? Proctology exams? Gynecological inspections? Shock collars? I mean, seriously, it has to stop at some point! And not only stop, but things have to at least be turned back to pre-9/11 conditions, which were annoying enough.

Mike’s job requires him to fly a lot, otherwise he would stay away. And I almost don’t even want to go visit my brother in the States anymore. Get this: When going there, I first have to fill out an online form three days before my departure, in which they seriously ask me if I “plan any terrorist activities” there! (I have yet to find a person that doesn’t see the Monty Pythonesque ridiculousness in this question).

We’ll put this strip up at our “We Love Aviaiton” section, for anybody to use, in case you want to raise awareness. I mean, the fun in flying is all we are about here. It’s been a long time since I enjoyed a trip through an airport. We need to take a stand against this encroaching, creeping police and surveillance state, not just to protect our civil liberties and human rights, but also to save aviation from being destroyed by governments and security contractors!

Man, I could go on about this subject for ten more pages… Feel free to discuss this further with us in our forum!

Tagged with: , ,
17 comments on “TSA… what’s next?
  1. david t-g says:

    I can’t believe that you guys may not have met Bruce Schneier, but if you haven’t you most definitely should!

    http://schneier.com/blog/archives/2010/11/tsa_backscatter.html

    I’m sending him this page link as he has some pointers to many political cartoons in that blog post.

    HAND

    😀

  2. Jason says:

    It’s all theatre, designed to make it look like something’s being done while not actually accomplishing squat aside from creating long lines that will someday make very attractive terrorist targets. I say arm the passengers and be done with it.

  3. Cpt Vidal says:

    Honestly, I think this was the terrorrists’ actual plan all along. I bet that, everytime a TSA agent touches a passenger’s private areas, Bin Laden and his minions chuckle.

  4. TomV says:

    Jason nailed it. TSA = Much Theater, Little Substance. Paraphrasing Patrick Henry, “I know not what others may choose but, as for me, I’ll take the train.”

  5. JP says:

    used to work at an airport. egad there are massive holes still.
    if there is some meaning even more ridiculous than “Kabuki Theater” the TSA is it.
    They recently took the nail clippers from a soldier on a return charter from the AOR. “They can be used as a weapon” was actually said to a man carrying his M16 variant on his shoulder

  6. GuyD says:

    @JP: The story with the soldier is a joke, isn’it? Because it’s simply to stupid to be true!

  7. mike says:

    I had my “terrorist tooth paste” taken away from me. There were only 2 squeezes left in it and it was aparent that the whole thing is empty. The TSA guy was insisting that the rules were the size of the container, not the contents. I argued that the size of the container kind of got smaller when the contents are removed but no dice. I ended up leaving in behind.
    Stupid, I know, and annoying…..

  8. reynard61 says:

    “What’s next? Chest x-rays? Proctology exams? Gynecological inspections? Shock collars?”

    Well, the first three might actually be a good thing as long as there’s no co-pay. The fourth is just kinky…

  9. Andreas says:

    Well put. I used to fly every 100 flights a year in the US for work a few years ago. Hassle hassle. Here in East Asia I feel just as safe but security is polite and way more efficient. Sure, it is somewhat invasive, but it doesn’t feel abusive.

    This brilliant article details how to actually run airport security efficiently and correctly. Note that it was written 5 days after 9/11. http://www.keepandbeararms.com/information/XcIBViewItem.asp?ID=2459

    As for “are you planning terrorist activities?” type questions, they probably have a lot to do with US law. You can more easily be nailed if you denied it or something like that.

  10. Osama bin Laden says:

    Har har, yoo silly amerricans! Yoo so funy wit all yor TSA thingys! I never lagh so much in mine entier life!

  11. AFP says:

    I just have this funny visual of a couple of Al Queda guys in a cave with a pallet of nail clippers, complaining about how they spent their entire terrorism budget on them just for TSA to ban them.

  12. Seb von Grunf says:

    The odds against there being a bomb on a plane are a million to one, and against two bombs a million times a million to one. Next time you fly, cut the odds and take a bomb. — Benny Hill
    P.S. That JP’s post, taking the nail clippers from a guy with an assault rifle? seriously, whiskey tango foxtrot??
    P.S.S. Wouldn’t be simpler, cheaper, more effective, etc. to put few air marshals on every flight? Or even better just let regular folks defend themselves. I mean terrorist are a lot of things but they aren’t dumb. And how dumb one must be to atepmt to hijack a plane full of armed passengers and crew??

  13. Crosshair says:

    I made the mistake of using my range bag as carry on luggage when I took a trip to Seattle last year. When I unpacked in Seattle I found I got on the on the plane with 50 rounds of 22 rimfire and a 10 pack of razor blades.

  14. iav8r says:

    A society that gives up it´s liberty for it´s safety has earned neither
    -Benjamin Franklin

  15. Austrian_Blob says:

    How about the Cabin Crew learns Kung Fu?

  16. Charles says:

    This is a “legacy” post, but recently TSA allowed small knives, baseball bats, hocky sticks, etc. Then they changed their minds and banned those items again. However, the rules on the items shown in the above cartoon never changed. Duhhh…

  17. JL says:

    Its highly likelly this cartoon will end up printed and taped to the wall of some TSA agent…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*