TSA doesn’t owe boy an apology

Scenario: U.S. intelligence discovers terrorists, using sophisticated methods, are turning laptops into bombs.

• Teenager in airport security line doesn’t comply with TSA’s requirement to remove laptop.

• TSA agent says, “Because you look American, you are entitled to tell me how I should do my job. You’re offended at my request to search your laptop? OK. I won’t. And despite you setting off a red flag due to your noncompliance, I won’t screen you either, since that very brief procedure would undoubtedly generate life-long trauma and exacerbate the 27 afflictions that everyone in your generation seems to have. Have a nice flight.”

• Bomb in laptop (or on teenager) explodes mid-flight, raining fire on American soil. So “what happens next?” A) Market crashes by 5,000 points.

B) Fear and panic cripple America.

C) Companies reduce air travel, leading to revenue loss and massive job cuts, and many businesses go under, especially airlines.

D) America becomes an even bigger police state, as more civil liberties are either usurped by the government, or worse, voluntarily surrendered in the misguided belief that doing so will “make us safer.”

E) The entitled crowd mulls around in a daze, shocked that something like this could happen here. Then they demand heads on a platter, blame everyone but themselves, and insist on answers as to why they weren’t protected.

Naturally, the answer is “all of the above.” But to those who think that scenario is farfetched, think again. Based on the “viral” uproar generated by a mother who was offended by TSA agents patting down her teenage son, that’s exactly the direction we are headed.

Let’s look at the recent situation:

1) Jennifer Williamson and her teenage son Aaron were traveling from Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. Despite the omnipresent signs and shouted instructions that all laptops must be placed in a separate container for screening (a longstanding policy), Aaron left his laptop in his bag, setting off a red flag.

This is a no-brainer, since the last time we checked, there are still rules in America – the ones pertaining to flying being especially important.

Accordingly, when one fails to comply, that triggers extra scrutiny. Ms. Williamson may not like those rules, or may think they should only apply to others, but they are, in fact, the rules.

2) The entire pat-down took less than two minutes, but the Williamsons missed their flight because Ms. Williamson argued with the TSA and refused to comply for a whopping 45 minutes.

Eventually, a TSA supervisor and two airport police officers arrived, and the screening commenced – a screening that was out in the open, in front of everyone, and which Ms. Williamson videoed and posted on social media.

If the Williamsons had simply followed rules (rules that have been recently streamlined to ensure uniformity in how they are applied, and are admittedly thorough) the odds of being pulled out of line for a personal screening would have been close to nil; yet even with that, they would have been on their way quickly, without missing their flight. So what is the issue? Ms. Williamson said that her son has Sensory Processing Disorder, a condition making one extra sensitive to touch. While Aaron undoubtedly has that condition, America has become a nation of wimps where every other person has some type of condition or affliction that, in their minds, elevates them to pedestal-status and entitles them to special treatment of their liking.

When everyone claims to have an issue, it is harder to help the ones with genuine needs.

This author is far from a TSA apologist, having lambasted the plan to reintroduce knives onto planes, the banning of lighters as part of “security theatre,” and the insane policy of allowing TSA-preferred travelers to bypass critical security protocols, such as allowing jackets, shoes and belts to remain on travelers.

The plain truth is that flying isn’t all pie-in-the-sky. Deal with it, like everybody else. Otherwise, you can fly right back to the parking garage.