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Edited on Thu Nov-25-10 05:15 AM by leveymg
The issue stacks up like a couple opposing pie plates. The pie plate that is against the scanners and pat downs is made up as follows:
* Right-libertarians, like the "Don't touch my Junk" guy, who resent the intrusion of government into their private flying experience; * Anarcho-leftists who see this as further evidence of a creeping fascist police state taking over their everyday lives; * Religious-Rightwingers, the "porno scanner" opponents, who view naked body images and touching outside marriage as sin; * Naturalists and Green health worriers who oppose the scanners as a source of deadly radiation; * A tiny, but politically significant, number of GOP partisans and Obama-haters who welcome a terrorist attack as a political opportunity.
On the other side, the pie is made up of the following segments who support the TSA's enhanced security measures:
* Federal air safety and counter-terrorism officers who decided these approaches are necessary to keep PETN bombs off airplanes; * Uneasy travelers who view air travel as a calculated risk willing to accept these steps to lessen the odds of death or serious injury; * Democrats and others who understand that if TSA backs down and a plane is blown up, the Obama Administration will be blamed and vilified, and much more extreme measures will be taken.
Where do you fit into this? The answer is, I reckon, more likely a reflection of one's psychological makeup than the conventional left-right political divide might predict.
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