Air travel "security" as theater of the absurd

Cory Doctorow 9:30 am Thu Jan 22, 2004

US air-travel security is becoming more and more of a performance of the absurd, as this very good blog-post on Idle Words, inspired by the new "No queueing up for the in-flight pissoir rule" points out:

How is this measure in any way enforceable? Is the pilot expected to divert the flight? Perform a barrel roll at the first sign of a pee queue? And how, exactly, is the sight of multiple passengers simultaneously lunging from their seats towards a suddenly available lavatory an attractive alternative to having a little group milling about by one of the galleys?

I was filled with curiousity to see if the pilot would perform an emergency landing at Reykjavik after the meal service, but of course (inevitably) everyone just ignored the directive, and let the passengers empty their bladders in peace. On an eight-hour flight with free alcohol and predominantly Russian passengers, there was just no other solution.

Link

(via Dive into Mark)

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