TSA is useless, except for keeping people scared.

[DirkGently]

12. TSA is often a prisoner of bad policy, but

Last edited Fri Nov 1, 2013, 07:05 PM - Edit history (1)

it's not useless, and I have no hostility for the rank and file trying to cope with what must be an incredibly challenging environment. My experiences with the actual people have been positive.

We need airport security. Whether we need nude-ifying X-ray boondoggles or rules forbidding pen knives is another question.

I think if anything, we should better train and pay the individual TSA workers. Human intelligence is the best guard against human deception. All the intrusive gizmos and arcane regulations are worth much less.

Edit: I was not mindful of the shooting today when I wrote this -- I think I had just heard about it, was not thinking about it being a TSA agent who was killed. My thoughts on the general topic are the same, but today in particular, the TSA deserves our compassion and our empathy, not our contempt.