For me, it’s not even about the TSA raping my butthole. No, I don’t want them to do it, and I’ll put up a fuss. But what about my KIDS? Barely trained minimum-wage workers are going to soon feel free to rape my kids’ butts? Come on, America! Who’s the asshole?
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Agreed. As a retired member of the Armed Forces I have the “wealthy luxury” of being able to be pre-screened and not have to wait in line. I didn’t realize my service means I am now some elitist wealthy jackhole.
I don’t know if I missed the point, but I sure did get a bit defensive about the pejorative connotation of “wealthiest” in this context. Especially when I book last minute, pay out the wazoo, and have to take a middle seat cross-country. It’s pretty nice to have one moment in the ordeal where I’m not treated like livestock.
Is there something you can think of that we bottom-tier wealthy/connected, line bypassers could do to help the situation for others? I suppose we do have a bit more of a voice with the airlines and government. How best to use that?
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Valid point.
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There are multiple layers of wealth and privilege.
A person who can afford to fly regularly (for either business or pleasure) is at least one step above the vast majority of Americans. A person who can afford to charter private planes is a step above that, and a person who owns their own private jet a step above that. And somewhere at the top of the heap is Sir Richard Branson waving down at the lot of us from the viewport of SpaceShipTwo.
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Oh, didn’t you know that anyone under 13 is basically a Magic Safe Terrorist Free Zone?
It’s true. No weird scanners or nothing, just some metal detectors.
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I’ve noticed that “Privilege” usually starts at least one level above the person talking about it.
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So, the US median household income is $56K or so, which may or may not seem low to you. It certainly make me feel relatively wealthy.
As to what we can do? It’s hard. Here’s one thing I know: if people who were registered on the voter rolls and could afford to fly regularly were getting routinely groped and hollering it to the hills, there would be action from Congress.
Obviously, Congress is hearing from a lot of people at the moment, but here’s a thought experiment: imagine that you were flying four times a month (or whatever your schedule is), but were getting the “secondary pat-down screening” that includes palming your genitals, etc, and ask yourself what you’d do in that situation: call you Congressman? Visit their DC office the next time you’re in the District? Write a letter?
All of those are just as valid when they’re written on behalf of the people who don’t have the wherewithal to buy their way past that treatment.
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Oh, hell no!
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I think you are missing something: you say “A person who can afford to fly regularly (for either business or pleasure)…”
If you are flying for business, there may well not be any “afford” to it. Plenty of low level employees travel for work - software and hardware technicians, oil workers, and very junior consultants are just three I can think of right now. Many of these have zero choice in flights, hotel accommodations, etc and not all are well paid.
So, my point is that a PWC or Deloitte “consultant” right out of college, an oil roughneck traveling to the North Slope, or a specialized HVAC technician may well be in that line of frequent flyers, but most of them are far from what you have characterized as well connected or “one step above the vast majority of Americans”.
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“All told, fees add $17.30 to a single $30 ticket.”
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2010/08/ticketmaster-a-new-era-of-transperancy-or-smoke-mirrors-.html
Seriously though, an extra $2.50 to be able to print my ticket from home? That makes no fucking sense.
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To complain “I don’t like this happening to me” has a lot more force than “I don’t like this happening to other people”. Someone will tell me to fuck off, or ignore me, or worse, suddenly random secondary checks won’t seem so random.
I’m trying to think of other examples where frequent users of a government service can pay to bypass the heavy-handed/inconvenient version of a government procedure (legally ; ) but still stay subject to that procedure. Toll roads, maybe. Express mail. Prestige public universities. That said, I also use Clear, which is private. So that’s more like FedEx, Harvard. Are there private toll roads?
I’m just trying to think this through a little. It’s not my job to though. I appreciate you doing it.
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and complain about taxes, which pays for things like the FAA.
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I buckled and got the TSA Pre once I knew that I’d be travelling regularly again. I know not everyone has $85 to blow or flies often enough to utilize the “service”. And I hope I just didn’t pay to get not groped.
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And if your business pays for you to enroll in the pre-check program then you’re still comparatively well connected next to the vast majority of American travelers.
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Good news! There’s still a good chance you’ll get groped! The mag detectors have a randomizer that pulls a certain percentage aside for additional screening.
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Staying home and never leaving keeps sounding better and better…
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On the plus side, if the planes go down, that can thin out the 1%.
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Maybe not.
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