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Is making a disabled 4-year-old boy take off his leg braces to pass through security at an airport overkill or vigilance?

 

 

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It's hard to say in this situation what one would do. I know this is extreme, but we are dealing with extremists, but Vietnam comes to mind. Young children having explosives strapped to them and then going off near our troops. Unfortunately the TSA has to treat everyone the same to avoid any appearance or weakness. If everyone gets the same treatment then the Extremists will be hard pressed to find an opening. As with the many recorded, recent, incidents all it takes is for 1 TSA to be off his/her game and allow something to get through that COULD be just as bad or worse than 9/11. Just like a fox will come back to the same hen house over and over again if he isn't stopped or deterred, extremists WILL continue to push.

Submitted by kinghq1 : Feb 19, 2010 4:15pm

Entire reaction to 9/11 is lies, half-truth, propaganda, overkill brought on by bush43 and the Texas Taliban, chicken hawks and fascists minimizing the rights and liberties of the citizen.
Should we chose to maintain citizen rights etc... need to ferret those guys out and give them a day in court.

Submitted by Ringo (not verified) : Jan 31, 2015 12:06pm

Just scanning the 4 year old should be enough. A friend and I were traveling with our then 12 and 13 year old sons and daughters. We were running late and so the daughters were strip searched. No lie, strip searched, that was the last time I flew anywhere. Don't ever think anyone is safe from the stupidity of the TSA. As a parent how would you explain to your child what they had just endured? More to the point, would you be willing to be subjected to the removal of your prosthetic device? What about our wounded warriors who are coming home with artificial limbs, are they to be subjected to this mindless nonsense? I realize that a man flew his private plane into an IRS building today, but really are we to live in fear for the rest of our lives? Send the kid thru the body scanner and then let him look at it, at least he won't be traumatized any further.

Submitted by bbz3qmt : Feb 19, 2010 7:51pm

What kind of braces were they? Without seeing them can we really answer this poll question?

Braces come in all sorts of shapes and sizes made of various materials. Some are very simple while others are very bulky and intricate and in fact can hide almost anything you want, from drugs to a bomb!

The system becomes compromised when emotions enter the picture and that might be what some terrorists are hoping for.

So when Americans are tempted to say to themselves, "Oh my goodness, they are searching a child! A harmless little baby who is wearing braces!" Please! Give me a break!

If we really are worried about security then everyone is subject to scrutiny and I do mean everyone. Each and every time security rules are not applied uniformly to everyone we all run the risk of paying for it with our lives.

Submitted by ArthurBarryG : Feb 21, 2010 1:14am

Treat the situation as a strip search. If you're removing braces you are, effectively, "stripping" the individual, anyway. This applies to travelers with artificial limbs as well.

Incidents like this will occur in the future. The TSA should start planning now to avoid the "bad press" these occurrences can and will generate.

Submitted by pduc77 : Feb 21, 2010 11:45am

I believe a check by just taking the time to use your eyes, look at situation, and if the braces looked suspicious, then proceed.
3 years ago,
My 82 year old father in law, in a wheel chair had to be almost strip searched, take off his shoes, remove his belt.
Our tickes had been purchased together as a family, going to Las Vegas from Jacksonville, everywhere was ok ,except in the change over city. cant remember where it was. Maybe Atlanta.
Mother in law was also made to remove articles

total duh...

Submitted by wot90s : Mar 7, 2010 9:48am

The whole Airport security is a JOKE. They didn't catch Richard Reid nor the kid with the "hot" underwear and when did they find a nail clipper or nurses bandage sissors found taking charge of a pilot or a bottle of mouth wash that was goinf to blow its lid. I personnal have not flown since this insanity started on 9/12/01, not beacue of fear of terrorits but TSA lack of common scense. Oh, that's right common scense died in this country years ago when the government decided to take over the care of us from cradle to grave, and we allowed it to happen.

Submitted by Don Reed : Jun 10, 2010 7:44pm