Pad-down or Crash Down

Cliffs: Fear is a great motivator.

Yesterday, K pointed out this image on the CNN homepage. The caption read, "Getting touchy-feely at the airport."

Uh . . . ?

And if the picture weren't disturbing enough, the title of the article, "Scans and pad-downs: What you should know" sounds more like a book warning kids about child molesters than a news article outlining recent developments in airport security.

I don't have a problem with the physical aspects of the new security measures (or, at least, I didn't before I saw this picture). But I am uncomfortable with the ideology behind them.

One commenter quoted in the article argues that, "Being scanned sure beats having the plane explode in mid-air."

Of course getting padded down or scanned is far better than dying. But those aren't the only two options. And the fact that people are accepting that false dichotomy and creating rules based on fear disturbs me more than the act of being frisked or ogled by a stranger. Even if that stranger is wearing a mustachioed grin.