There should be no airport security.

I haven't flown for two and a half years, but even then I couldn't help but think that it was all completely useless.

Airport Security.

In the last few weeks or so, as a man was boarding a commercial passenger plane, he was riffling (pun intended) through his carry-on, when he found a gun. True story: it was his gun, but he hadn't realized that he'd left it in his bag - the same bag that was now his carry-on luggage. Despite going through the newly enhanced airport security [thanks, TSA], none of the security measures, including the magic death-rays that let them peep into our bags, allowed them to see his gun just sitting there in his bag. Actually, and more likely, it was human error or laziness; either way, it illustrates that airport security is always going to be fallible.

But that's not even the big picture. The real fallacy is the belief that there are even commonly terrorists trying to board our flights, or that we should even be worried about them blowing up planes. Life is full of risks. They can't be avoided. Sooner or later, assuming you leave your house (OMG bad things can even happen in your house too!!), shit's gunna happen, and the worst thing we can do is fret over it.

Every year, in the U.S., between 33,000 and 44,000 people die in vehicle-related accidents. Yes, that's over 11x the number of people who died at the hands of terrorists on 9/11 - Every Year. Can you imagine how RIDICULOUS road safety laws would be if we applied the same fear-mongering mindset to them as we have to airport security?

These laws, the ones that let 'officials' break our laws and constitutions by invading our privacy by 'touching our junk', or by taking nudie-pictures of us, are so absurd, that you can't help but wonder where they're going to be applied to next. If I was a terrorist, which I'm not, I'd forget planes (pft! planes! too much security!) and focus on other densely populated areas to set off my bombs. Remember how crowded it was at the mall on Boxing Day, or how many tweenies were at the cineplex for the opening of the latest Twilight flick? OH YEAH. We're never safe - but we're always safe. 'The terrorists' could strike any time, anywhere, so what are we going to do, safeguard all public places with INTENSE TSA-like 'enhanced' security?! In South Africa, at the big mall in Durban, men are often waved down by security guards upon entering. I was many-a-time. I really wouldn't want that in Canada.

I don't know how to end this blog better than with the following video, which pretty much sums it all up. Mr. George Carlin: