CAZine

by: Macedonian

In the weeks following the recent attempted bombing of Times Square, the issue of airport security racially and ethnically profiling people has risen to prominence once again. On one side of the argument you have libertarians and groups such as the ACLU who feel as thought their civil liberties are being violated. On the other side you have the Tea Party movement who feel as though all people with darker complexions should not be allowed within 100 miles of any airport. There comes to a reasonable balance however in the middle, a policy adopted by the Israeli airline El Al. Their policy is not based on race as much as it is based on the person’s background and their religion. El Al has had only one hijacking since its inception in 1948, which is greatly attributed to their policy on airport/airline security. El Al is extremely biased not racially, but religiously. Once the passenger enters the El Al terminal, they are greeted by guards with German shepherds and Uzi’s. The passengers are then whisked off to a “ticketing” counter where the passenger is not only checked in, but their history is checked out as well. If the passenger appears to be of Arab decent and has taken many trips to and from the Middle East, the passenger will not be allowed to board the aircraft unless he/she undergoes thorough examination prior to flight. By thorough, I am not talking about sending the passenger’s carryon bag through an x-ray scanner, each bag (including checked luggage) is unpacked and inspected prior to flight. This policy of high security is shockingly different from the policy adopted by many TSA agents, which is to ensure the quickest and most hassle free experience possible. While the inspection and discarding of liquids is particularly comforting, the agents rely on the passenger’s own honesty. I have personally forgotten to take many liquids out of my bag (no, I am not trying to test the boundaries of the TSA), including a six-pack of apple juice. While many passengers, including myself, take out all of their liquids, the majority of passengers flying on American based airlines are not terrorists. If a terrorist has a liquid bomb, does TSA honestly expect he/she to take out that liquid for inspection? These are just a few of the flaws that I have personally experienced with the Transportation Security Agency, that I have yet to experience while flying throughout Europe, as well as Canada and Mexico. Ladies and gentlemen, is it time to re-evaluate our security strategy at US airports?