Wow!!! This has certainly turned into a hot topic pretty quickly. I think it had a lot to do with the guy who talked about his "junk" and the picture posted on Drudge which showed the nun getting a nice little pat down....
Where to start on this one? There are probably a few more "nun jokes" in the world as a result of the picture but I won't get into any of that. It does however bring a major issue to the forefront of our National Consciousness. See, most people don't worry about things that happen to other people, generally, until it happens to them. Take the nun and the "junk guy" for example. The whole enhanced pat down never got the exposure it merited until these two stories went national (thank you Matt Drudge). Now all of a sudden there are unions wanting exemptions, lawsuits being filed, and Senators introducing bills. What I want to know is where has the scrutiny been? I mean this garbage has been going on for a while...
I personally believe this falls under the 4th Amendment and my right to be protected against unreasonable searches. What probable cause do the agents of the TSA have against me to warrant the use of these methods of search against my person? What evidence do they have? The truth of the matter is this: they don't have a way to do what needs to be done. Patting down nuns, children, old women, etc., should not be tolerated.
But here is the issue. If we were to look at the people who commit acts of terrorism on aircraft then you have to look at a specific group, age, and the afiliations. We look at the shared characteristics of these people and call that profiling. Of course we have written laws against profiling and have therefore handcuffed ourselves without making us more secure. Maybe we should consider more secure means of identification. The use of biometrics is gaining steam among other things. The truth of the matter is this, until we have removed our handcuffs and look at this issue seriously then we'll never truly be safe. Yes, some will be inconvenienced and offended if they are scrutinized at a higher level than others because they fall into certain "profiles." My response to that is "sorry, it's not male caucasian Christians blowing up airplanes."
kev
Where to start on this one? There are probably a few more "nun jokes" in the world as a result of the picture but I won't get into any of that. It does however bring a major issue to the forefront of our National Consciousness. See, most people don't worry about things that happen to other people, generally, until it happens to them. Take the nun and the "junk guy" for example. The whole enhanced pat down never got the exposure it merited until these two stories went national (thank you Matt Drudge). Now all of a sudden there are unions wanting exemptions, lawsuits being filed, and Senators introducing bills. What I want to know is where has the scrutiny been? I mean this garbage has been going on for a while...
I personally believe this falls under the 4th Amendment and my right to be protected against unreasonable searches. What probable cause do the agents of the TSA have against me to warrant the use of these methods of search against my person? What evidence do they have? The truth of the matter is this: they don't have a way to do what needs to be done. Patting down nuns, children, old women, etc., should not be tolerated.
But here is the issue. If we were to look at the people who commit acts of terrorism on aircraft then you have to look at a specific group, age, and the afiliations. We look at the shared characteristics of these people and call that profiling. Of course we have written laws against profiling and have therefore handcuffed ourselves without making us more secure. Maybe we should consider more secure means of identification. The use of biometrics is gaining steam among other things. The truth of the matter is this, until we have removed our handcuffs and look at this issue seriously then we'll never truly be safe. Yes, some will be inconvenienced and offended if they are scrutinized at a higher level than others because they fall into certain "profiles." My response to that is "sorry, it's not male caucasian Christians blowing up airplanes."
kev
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