Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!olivea!oliveb!bunker!hcap!hnews!129!89!Carla.Campbell From: Carla.Campbell@f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org (Carla Campbell) Newsgroups: misc.handicap Subject: Re: Airport Message-ID: <18515@bunker.isc-br.com> Date: 4 Apr 91 20:00:02 GMT Sender: wtm@bunker.isc-br.com Reply-To: Carla.Campbell@f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org Organization: FidoNet node 1:129/89 - BlinkLink, Pittsburgh PA Lines: 67 Approved: wtm@bunker.hcap.fidonet.org Index Number: 14641 [This is from the Blink Talk Conference] JF> But what about when they JF> insist on confiscating your JF> cane cane so they can X-ray JF> it? I never let the situation arise: I voluntarily hand over anything which might cause the sensor to beep. I then walk through the arch (it is, after all, all of one foot-- not to terribly difficult or even awkward to do without a cane/dog/human guide) I then repossess my X-rayed or hand-searched items and continue on my way. Therefore, they never have to "insist" or "confescate" anything. JF> I tell them that it's JF> hollow and that it's not like JF> a piece of luggage, but I've JF> never persuaded them to let me JF> keep it. I think you're missing the point of a security check, here. It is not a matter of whether something is like luggage or like a part of your body. It is a matter of whether it is metal and hence could easily hide a weapon which could endanger the lives of all of the passengers on the flight! This is not "well, I ought to be able to take it on without being searched, because, to analagize, it's just like my eyes..." It's "there could be a knife or explosives in this and I don't want someone to pose as a blink just so he can be exempt from a search"! JF> Are sighted people JF> asked to remove their JF> ear-rings or their glasses or JF> even their contacts? Yes, if they are large enough to contain metal which would set off the sensor and might possibly contain a hidden weapon, a sighted person would be asked to remove earrings, contacts, (??) or anything else-- or he/she would be subjected to a hand scan/search. This is a safety issue, not a matter of personal independence, folks! JF> pace-makers or metal plates JF> implanted surgically as a JF> result of some skelital JF> injury? They probably have to undergo hand searches whenever they go through security. No, it would not be fun. So what? It insures that they have a much better chance of getting where they are going in one piece. I have seen terrorism first hand. Have you? Have you ever seen an entire street covered with blood and broken bodies? Ever heard a bomb go off? I have. Trust me, it is not worth it to subject ourselves to any greater risk than we already do. At several hundred miles up in the air, I'd just as soon people weren't able to sneak aboard with things that make big holes in metal. Call me weird... --Carla ... Read what I mean, not what I write! -- Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!129!89!Carla.Campbell Internet: Carla.Campbell@f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org