soundoff (382 Responses)

1. DL
   

   I say you have two lines.. The ones that don't mind being checked and the ones that can't possibly understand why they are being checked. Tell all of the ones not checked, that the other 300 hundred people on their flight have not been checked either.. I think they would change their minds really quick!!

   April 13, 2011 at 2:38 pm | Report abuse |
   • LEB
     

     I'd gladly hop in the line that is unchecked and fly on a plane where passengers have only been through a metal detector. I'd rather take my chances than be violated and treated like a terrorist.

     April 13, 2011 at 2:46 pm | Report abuse |
   • Brenda Bachmann
     

     What an excellent idea, DL. It's great to see some creative problem solving going on, instead of just complaints. I think your idea is outstanding... just don't know how it could be made feasible from a financial standpoint. Also, the pilots preferences should be taken into account. I don't think a pilot should be forced to fly an "unchecked" flight if he/she didn't want to. I guess they could offer them a lot more pay, which would get passed on to the tickets of the people buying seats on "unchecked" flights. ??

     April 13, 2011 at 3:04 pm | Report abuse |
   • Dead On
     

     I'm pretty sure he was being sarcastic, Brenda.

     April 13, 2011 at 3:59 pm | Report abuse |
2. Fish
   

   Absolutely LOVE the bikini lady! What a bold woman!

   April 13, 2011 at 2:45 pm | Report abuse |
3. psx2rulz
   

   havent any of you that are concerned about pat-downs been to concerts? they do it to everyone like every time where i live. the only video that is concerning is the 6 year old.

   April 13, 2011 at 2:45 pm | Report abuse |
4. Chickenhawk
   

   The minute they stop patting down 6yr olds, is the minute Bin Laden starts hiding explosives in their clothing.

   April 13, 2011 at 2:47 pm | Report abuse |
   • LEB
     

     Nonsense. Kids weren't used as bomb carriers before the new security procedures, and they won't be used now. Besides, if the "terrorists" realize they can no longer use children to hide bombs, then they'll start hiding bombs in their body cavities. Drug smugglers have been doing that for ages, so why not bombers? Do YOU want a colonoscopy every time you fly? Just how violated do you have to be before you'll start resisting the TSA?

     April 13, 2011 at 3:06 pm | Report abuse |
   • PDXSerric
     

     @LEB: "Nonsense. Kids weren't used as bomb carriers before the new security procedures, and they won't be used now" and you know this for a fact because....

     April 13, 2011 at 3:08 pm | Report abuse |
5. Albert
   

   Profiling can effectively identify high-risk passengers, who can then be irradiated and felt up. Let's focus our attention on the root cause of all this – members of that death cult, woman beating religion of hate and intolerance .. Islam.

   April 13, 2011 at 2:47 pm | Report abuse |
6. jt_flyer
   

   I think we need to declare the child a hero, buy her 12 trophies and award massive financial damages to her parents. God knows we wouldn’t want her to suffer from low self esteem. Rather let’s just set her up for later in life when she’ll be forced to complete with the rest of the world.

   April 13, 2011 at 2:52 pm | Report abuse |
7. INFECTka
   

   get a grip pple. its a pat down not a cavity search. ill take the pat down over being blown out of the sky a terrorist with a underwear bomb. big freaking deal. am sure everyone and their grandmoms would have their undies in a twistie tie if a terrorist, who didnt get a pat down, blew up an airplane.

   April 13, 2011 at 3:01 pm | Report abuse |
   • LEB
     

     I'd rather take my risks with the negligible risk of a terrorist being on board than be treated like a terrorist myself every time I fly. Maybe you're a fan of police states, but I'm not.

     April 13, 2011 at 3:07 pm | Report abuse |
   • Max
     

     @LEB – don't you think that the risks are negligible because of the security that are in place? I'm not a fan of a police state either but I also believe that we have to do something to make air travel safer. If we look at both extremes. One one hand you have no checks at all – people just climb on board a plane like you a bus on the street. At the other end of the scale, you don't get on until you've endured a thorough body exam and background check. I think it's somewhat safe to say that most people will agree that the correct level of security is somewhere between those extremes. All we're really disagreeing about is how far we take the measures. Everyone has a different tolerance level. I doubt I am any happier than anyone else going through these checkpoints but I accept it for what it is.

     I can think of more annoying things like:
     1. my wife being told she couldn't take two purses on board with her.....but it was OK for her to put them both in a clear plastic bag I got from a member of the airport cleaning staff, then pass through security.
     2. I saw a guy trying to get through Heathrow Airport with two carry on pieces – he originated from somewhere in the States. The security guy told him he was only allowed one piece. What he hell is a passenger thousands of miles from home, and probably hundreds of miles from their destination, with an "extra" bag?

     There are some annoying protocols in airports but I give them a little slack when it comes to my safety.

     April 13, 2011 at 3:37 pm | Report abuse |
   • Max
     

     (excuse my typos – just want to get that in there before someone lambastes me for not typing with 100% efficiency. LOL)

     April 13, 2011 at 3:38 pm | Report abuse |
8. Bill
   

   Terrorists win.

   ahahahaha!

   April 13, 2011 at 3:02 pm | Report abuse |
9. sully
   

   Wake up and deal with it. The next time something gets blown up all of these people who are complaining about being checked at the airport are going to complain about how someone didn't do their job and check someone. I've had friends killed because they helped a pregnant woman off a truck that was strapped with explosives, you don't think these people will use a kid to smuggle explosives?

   April 13, 2011 at 3:04 pm | Report abuse |
   • Chris
     

     I'm sorry that you lost your friends. With that said, it was probably in a war zone, right? One that we created? One that was just fine before we stepped in for no reason? One that makes a lot of people hate America? Maybe enough to want to bomb planes?

     We're not marching on the capitol with pitchforks and torches because of these pointless wars, even though they kill more Americans than the terrorists, are we? (Hint: It's not terrorists killing Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's people like you and I if we were being invaded by a foreign occupier)

     We're not all breaking down the doors to the White House demanding automated cars, or cars with anti-wreck systems in them, are we? Even though tens of thousands more die in automobile accidents each year than airplanes?

     We're not demanding all fast food chains be shut down, even though heart related illness kills HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of times more people a year than terrorists, are we?

     April 13, 2011 at 7:34 pm | Report abuse |
10. Auloria
    

    If I'm a child molestor, I can just tell kids that it's okay, I'm a TSA agent like your mom told you about at the airport.

    Our founding fathers believed in liberty or death. It's pathetic how quickly we trade ours in.

    April 13, 2011 at 3:04 pm | Report abuse |
    • Joe
      

      No excuse for this behavior.

      April 13, 2011 at 4:15 pm | Report abuse |
11. amac
    

    These days a pat down is the most excitement I get.

    April 13, 2011 at 3:04 pm | Report abuse |
    • crookedarm
      

      Lol. Thanks for the chuckle.

      April 13, 2011 at 3:57 pm | Report abuse |
12. PDXSerric
    

    As long as you can strap a device to a child, pat downs are going to be necessary. No offense, but I'd rather YOUR kid go through 20 seconds of unpleasantness than an entire flight of people being killed by the device that was strapped to them. Like it or not, that's the world we live in right now. If you don’t like it, change it – start by demanding America keeps its nose out of foreign affairs and stops funding/arming whomever they think will give us oil.

    April 13, 2011 at 3:07 pm | Report abuse |
    • LEB
      

      Drug mules have been swallowing cocaine to get the drugs past security for ages. What's to stop a bomber from doing the same, or shoving it up some body cavity or other?

      April 13, 2011 at 3:09 pm | Report abuse |
    • PDXSerric
      

      LEB: all the more reason for full body scans. I just wish they'd make them less radioactive.

      April 13, 2011 at 3:13 pm | Report abuse |
13. CDQ
    

    the bikini lady probably got the TSA males wanting to pat her down more after that.

    April 13, 2011 at 3:09 pm | Report abuse |
14. Dave
    

    Anyone here who says "remember 9/11" is not remembering it themselves. Prior to 9/11, airline policy was to let terrorists take over the plane so they could then negotiate with the terrorists rather than risk an accident – believing the terrorist themselves wanted to live. Passengers went along with a take-over to avoid getting hurt. The cabin door was pretty much open to anyone who siad it was their birthday.

    Now – Imagine what would happen if a terrorist tried to take over a plane with weapon – they wouldn't make it out of their row before half the plane would be on them.

    April 13, 2011 at 3:10 pm | Report abuse |
    • CDQ
      

      The problem is that terrorists don't usually hijack alone. There's usually a few of them in on it, which means a few guns on the plane. Unless all terrorists were jumped at the same time, its more likely that'll it'll be a blood bath with the innocents dying 🙁

      April 13, 2011 at 3:16 pm | Report abuse |
    • Max
      

      @CDQ – guns is one thing, knives are another. I would actually like to see us being let on planes with small knives (Swiss Army knife, etc.) again. In my opinion, the only reason the terrorists were able to take down a plane with box cutters is because nobody knew they were going to crash the thing. I truly believe that there is no way that a small group of men armed with box cutters could do the same thing now. They might injure or kill a few people but they won't be able to take down the whole plane. Other passengers simply won't take the risk and let it happen.

      Guns though, that's a different story.

      April 13, 2011 at 3:20 pm | Report abuse |
15. Max
    

    Damned if you do, damned if you don't. There will be people for security measures and those who are against them. I don't know if there is one answer but there are certainly plenty of opinions. I too would rather avoid the delays and the "theatrical" security measures but I would also like to avoid being blown to pieces at 37,000 feet so I'll take the inconvenience until there's a better plan.

    Do we need to pat down children? I would love to say no but as soon as you start excluding one demographic, you've left a door open. Just because decent people would never consider using a young child as a weapon doesn't mean that others wouldn't.

    April 13, 2011 at 3:13 pm | Report abuse |