Assume The Position
If you think the security line-ups at the airports are long now, just wait until they start doing cavity searches. At the very least, airports should provide lounge chairs and recent magazines to pass the time while passengers wait for their turn at inspection. There will be a whole new meaning to ‘a crack in security’. Actually, there is a way to spin this so that travellers will see this as a public service. I propose that in addition to security screening, they can also provide pap smears and prostate exams, a two-fer experience. For an extra few bucks and available on the long overseas flights, enemas and cleanses can also be offerred.
When you read of poll results such as this one, you have to wonder what kind of people think this would be a good idea. I suspect that the question is so ridiculous that people either answered yes for amusement, or are the type of people that would pay for this sort of thing for recreational purposes. Or the poll was taken in San Francisco. Barring that, I’d tend to be a bit skeptical. It would be interesting to see how people would respond to a poll asking how they felt about receiving an electric shock or a purple nerple for violating limits on purchases made abroad on their customs declaration forms. How about a few slaps on the butt for trying to bring on over-sized luggage? From my experience with flying, I’m more concerned with the possibility of sitting next to someone with lethal B.O. than someone with a potential butt bomb.
Distressingly, there is an unbelievably large contingent of people who think that any kind of measure to ensure ‘personal safety’ is a good one. Of even more concern, they are allowed to vote. If people are willing to submit to essentially a medical procedure in order to sit on an airplane with a few hundred people in the name of security, what about venues that have thousands if not tens of thousands of people? Imagine the line ups at football games, Elton John concerts, Occupy demonstrations, or even post Christmas sales at Nordstroms?
While this survey’s conclusions were made by a polling of just over 2000 adults, it’s very disturbing that however skewed that sample may be, that there is ANY willingness to submit to cavity searches, just to ride essentially a bus. You know the old saying, once you submit to a cavity search, you can be made to do anything. It’s not really that far fetched when you consider that just over 10 years ago, if someone had told you that in order to get on a plane, one had to remove most of their clothing, shoes, belts, be felt up by a complete stranger and or photographed naked, you’d laugh. I think it’s a good idea to get into the latex glove business.