Exiting the Security Theater

Scott Hardie | December 30, 2010
The latest news in the ongoing controversy over new TSA procedures is that a woman was arrested after refusing an enhanced pat-down, which the security agents insisted upon since her pacemaker made her ineligible for the scanner. In this particular story, there seems to be a big gap in the information - common sense suggests that she was probably arrested for becoming so defensive and threatening towards the agents that she had to be detained, or something along those lines - but she's not the first person arrested under these circumstances.

Whenever I read about it, the same question comes to my mind: Why is simply turning around and leaving the airport not an option? I'm sure any checked bags could be retrieved eventually, even if a fee had to be paid. Some people probably do leave the airport quietly rather than be subjected to pat-downs, and we don't hear about them; we only hear about the ones who get into trouble. But when we do hear about the troublemakers, we don't seem to hear why they wouldn't or couldn't leave, which strikes me as a useful detail in understanding how the situation escalated. Is it to be inferred? Or am I just missing it?

Jackie Mason | January 14, 2011
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