Thank God for the 3.4 oz. Rule
Comments (4) Published April 22nd, 2007 under General
I just finished traveling (back from Mexico City). I am sure there are many people who are a little more patient than I am with the security measures employed by the TSA. [tag]Traveling[/tag] anywhere requires removing my shoes, making sure that I don’t have certain sharp objects (not sure if my shaver counts), and of course, anything liquid in the amount of more than [tag]3.4 ounces[/tag] cannot be brought on my carry-on luggage. If I can, I prefer to not check anything in, but with these limitations, I would rather check them in (I wish I could check myself in), rather than be harassed by the often times rude [tag]TSA[/tag] officials.
I imagine that there will be a day where our kids will be laughing at the way we look—taking off our shoes and surrendering our water bottles. But that day is not going to come in the near future. But for all of you apologists for the TSA and our security measures, let me tell you of my experience coming back from Mexico City. My shoes were not checked nor my liquids when I went through the security screening. The Mexican officials were happy and smiling, and at one point I wanted the security personnel to pay a little more attention to the screen than to the joke that his buddy just told him.
Before boarding the plane, about 7 security personnel waited to check us. When my turn came, she opened my luggage, felt through, and shut it. It took her less than 10 seconds. She waived me on to board the plane. No shoes or liquids were checked. Now, they did make an announcement that I was not allowed to have any liquids above 3.4 ounces, but she did not check to make sure that I was abiding by that rule (I was).
As I walked down to my seat, I began to wonder a few things. If security precautions are not as painstaking outside the US, are we really that much safer from those who wish us harm? If the 3.4 ounce rule is meant to curb use of certain types of make-shift weapons, couldn’t someone just bring a whole bunch of little bottles, get them checked through, and then combine all those liquids together?
I am sure that there are plenty of smarter people who have good reason to implement the various rules. But I still think our kids will laugh at us when they look upon this era of American life.
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