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I often hear how the TSA was/is security theatre. Was this ever proven with any kind of stats? Did they ever stop any big incidents from occurring?
I remember going through various American airport security in the 2000's and thought it was intimidating (i was a kid). But i figured it would at the very least deter people who might attempt some kind of crime of opportunity? Idk.
They find a lot of guns (about 5,000/yr), but it is usually from people that forget they can't take guns on a plane.
What they don't catch is unknown, but the tests show probably a lot more
I went through the Denver airport once with a work colleage. We got to our terminal and she opened her bag to find a book and found a giant butcher type knife she had forgot was in there. Complete blissful ignorance it was in her bag while going though TSA, same with TSA
The TSA in and of itself has always been a make-work security-theatre project. Just as we did just fine without creating the Department of ~~Father~~Homeland Security, it's not like there'd been a whole bunch of hijackings under the previous airport-screening scheme.
Sure, you've got 9/11, but that was far more of a failure on the part of the national-security apparatus writ large than the folks at security at any given airport.
At this point, the biggest danger in air travel is boarding a Boeing. It's a shame Airbus hasn't hired Tom Bodett for a "we'll keep the doors on for you" ad campaign.
But back to the shoes. I have lived exclusively in Birkenstocks -- the generic two-strap Arizonas at that -- since 1993, with a minor excursion for my first job ("Men at the DN-R wear ties"). I have no idea what I could hide in those, especially in sufficient quantity to blow up a plane, without ripping the soles off, carving out some space in the cork and then attempting to reaffix the sole in a stable enough manner that I could even get to the airport, let alone to security.
This was a stupid rule from the get-go. That it took nearly 20 years to admit that tells you pretty much all you need to know about airport security.
Overall, the TSA is unnecessary because it has been shown over and over again that it is ineffective at stopping terrorism (bombing, hijacking, etc.).
It may provide some peace of mind for the general public but that is all.