Airport Gong Show
With the heightened security that has been put in place for flights to the US, I decided that I would actually head out a bit early 'just in case'. As it turns out, this wasn't such a bad idea.
Flying down to Vegas for work, I headed to the airport on the new Canada Line. It was pretty sweet ~ only 20 minutes from the office and I was standing at the check-in counter. They have check-in kiosks along the way to allow you to print your boarding pass!
I arrived at the check-in and was 3rd in line. I arrived at the counter with my rollerboard, a laptop bag and purse. As I was asked about the checked baggage, I indicated I had one. The check in agent looked at my laptop bag and said 'that needs to be checked as well'. WHAT? Given the rollerboard was full, the laptop bag was checked sans laptop and power supply. As I walked to the luggage section, my boarding card was scanned and luggage tags scanned. With only 10 people ahead of me I thought, jeez this is going to be fast. I should learn that you never say things like that, you only jinx yourself. This is when the wait began. I have never seen security like this before. After scanning your goods through the x-ray machine, going through the metal detector, I was patted down more thoroughly than my hubby pats me when he is feeling frisky. She even got to my undies! They then proceeded to remove all of the contents of my purse, inspect them all and reassemble. The whole process took about 25 minutes which I have to say I'm glad I wasn't in a huge queue.
Overall it has tainted my desire to travel into the US. When I arrived in Vegas, you could see that flying out of the US that there was no issue with carry on ~ which to me begs the question why is it that Americans believe that the threat is going to come from outside of their country? Wasn't it an American who went on a shooting rampage killing a guard at the Federal building in Vegas the morning I flew? And this is suppose to be the most secure building in the US. There is something about the American mentality, and the belief that it is not possible that the problem could be coming from within, but rather the problem must be attributed to those who covet the American dream. I think for the nation to prosper, become safe and remove the big target they have managed to paint on their back, they need to take a hard look at what they have become and how they got there. They need to learn to play nicely in the sandbox and respect that sometimes others may dothings better than America does.
Flying down to Vegas for work, I headed to the airport on the new Canada Line. It was pretty sweet ~ only 20 minutes from the office and I was standing at the check-in counter. They have check-in kiosks along the way to allow you to print your boarding pass!
I arrived at the check-in and was 3rd in line. I arrived at the counter with my rollerboard, a laptop bag and purse. As I was asked about the checked baggage, I indicated I had one. The check in agent looked at my laptop bag and said 'that needs to be checked as well'. WHAT? Given the rollerboard was full, the laptop bag was checked sans laptop and power supply. As I walked to the luggage section, my boarding card was scanned and luggage tags scanned. With only 10 people ahead of me I thought, jeez this is going to be fast. I should learn that you never say things like that, you only jinx yourself. This is when the wait began. I have never seen security like this before. After scanning your goods through the x-ray machine, going through the metal detector, I was patted down more thoroughly than my hubby pats me when he is feeling frisky. She even got to my undies! They then proceeded to remove all of the contents of my purse, inspect them all and reassemble. The whole process took about 25 minutes which I have to say I'm glad I wasn't in a huge queue.
Overall it has tainted my desire to travel into the US. When I arrived in Vegas, you could see that flying out of the US that there was no issue with carry on ~ which to me begs the question why is it that Americans believe that the threat is going to come from outside of their country? Wasn't it an American who went on a shooting rampage killing a guard at the Federal building in Vegas the morning I flew? And this is suppose to be the most secure building in the US. There is something about the American mentality, and the belief that it is not possible that the problem could be coming from within, but rather the problem must be attributed to those who covet the American dream. I think for the nation to prosper, become safe and remove the big target they have managed to paint on their back, they need to take a hard look at what they have become and how they got there. They need to learn to play nicely in the sandbox and respect that sometimes others may dothings better than America does.
posted by Carrie @ 11:16 AM
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