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Comment by xp84

1 year ago

Get Precheck or global entry. I only do a scanner every 5 years or so when I get pulled at random for it. Otherwise it's metal detector only. Unless your zippers have such chunky metal that they set that off you'll be fine. My belt and watch don't.

Note: Precheck is incredibly quick and easy to get; and GE is time consuming and annoying, but has its benefits if you travel internationallly. Both give the same benefits at TSA.

Second note: let's pretend someone replied "I shouldn't have to do that just to be treated...blah blah" and that I replied, "maybe not, but a few bucks could still solve this problem, if it bothers you enough that's worth it to you."

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xp84

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hollow-moe  1 year ago

"Just pay to not be harrassed or have your rights/dignity stepped on" a typical take to find on the orange site.

rkagerer  1 year ago

...maybe not, but a few bucks could still solve this problem

Sure, can't argue with that. But doesn't it bug you just a little that (paying a fee to avoid harassment) doesn't look all that disimilar from a protection racket? As to whether it's a few bucks or many, now you're just a mark negotiating the price.

  • xp84  1 year ago

    > protection racket

    It actually doesn't! Plenty of people never fly at all and many fly incredibly rarely. The Precheck and GE programs cost money to administer as they have to do background checks and conduct interviews. This actually accomplishes actual security goals, since it allows them to flag risky behavior and examine it.

    Who benefits from these programs? Primarily heavy travelers (and optimizers like me who value their time saved more than the $24 a year). These programs also actually make everything better for everyone since I'm no longer taking up a space in the slower-moving, shoes-off line, and TSA/CBP get an actual background check done on me.

    The way it is now, heavy travelers who can easily afford it, pay the full costs of the program.

    Would you rather:

    1. Precheck is free and paid for by all taxpayers even though a lot of people will never bother to enroll (you have to assume -- the cost is so low today that it can't be a barrier for almost anyone who can afford to fly, so it seems a ton of people can't be bothered to follow simple instructions and go get fingerprinted at Staples)

    2. Precheck is eliminated and everyone has to go back to the dumb liquids-out, shoes-off thing

    3. Precheck is eliminated and we just treat everyone like the Precheck people today, without doing any background checks. Basically like pre-9/11.