Safety, Yes, But...

The legitimate concern over air-travel safety seems to have gotten out of hand with the scanning equipment and the pat downs that passengers are being subjected to.  News of a scanner operator masturbating and a woman whose vagina was touched in a pat down are alarming.  Human nature being what it is, this was to be expected, once you give people that kind of authority and opportunity.  Hysteria and paranoia drive people to abuse power.  There are no sure-fire methods to prevent terrorist attacks.  Taken to its logical conclusion, we should all strip and have all of our body cavities searched, to ensure that we carry nothing that might be used as a weapon.

We need to get a grip on ourselves and go back to reasonable security measures.  Extreme practices are not only embarrassing, but also end up being a "terrorism" of sorts, by making us feel like citizens of a police state that knows no bounds of decency.

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