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Harry_Gorilla t1_jdvfzxv wrote

Reply to comment by Sciguystfm in TSA stirs debate after ruling peanut butter as a liquid by bwaredapenguin

I understand your point, but you’re grossly overstating it. Hijacking used to be commonplace in the 70s & 80s. Then 9/11 obviously happened and TSA was obviously created in reaction to that, so there are obviously reasons. Whether those reasons justify the existence of TSA is a different discussion tho

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tauntingbob t1_jdx3h36 wrote

The number of airplane hijackings was already in decline during the 90s and processes were already improving at airports around the world. Remembering that the TSA is a purely US production and doesn't represent the world, where most incidents happened. The world's airports have improved their processes and it's improved security a fair bit.

But ultimately the evidence is there, the TSA fails almost every test they're checked against by their own organisation. They're probably the least effective security force in the world, other than to frustrate people, they're good at that.

$8bn a year for an organisation who let through banned materials 70% of the time... https://www.forbes.com/sites/ellistalton/2019/01/28/is-the-tsa-really-necessary/

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Harry_Gorilla t1_jdxap5p wrote

They were designed to frustrate would-be terrorists, so it makes sense that they frustrate everyone else too

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Sciguystfm t1_jdvouq7 wrote

I mean the reason was entirely security theater.

Locking, reinforced cabin doors and air marshals prevent another 9/11, banning toothpaste does not.

There's zero evidence the TSA has stopped a single terror attack, and on top of that they fail their own internal red team tests 95% of the time

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Harry_Gorilla t1_jdvrxle wrote

They are the most expensive home security window sticker ever. While they haven’t actively prevented terrorist actions, their mere presence may have been sufficient to make terrorists seek softer targets. Unfortunately, that’s hardly something we can measure or quantify

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Poguemohon t1_jdwsrnf wrote

Idk why you're getting downvoted? You're literally talking about the shit Ralph Nader proposed before 9/11.

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