“TSA PreCheck Shouldn’t Exist”: The Op-Ed Everyone Is Reading
Jennifer Billock September 11, 2019
Ah, the glory of TSA PreCheck, a system that allows those of us with extra special privileges to get through security at the airport easier and quicker than everyone else. But, according to one comedian who’s currently going viral, it’s also a system rife with classism and unfair special treatment for those who can afford it.
If you’re a frequent traveler, you likely know the beauty of TSA PreCheck. No more do you have to stand in line with a surly Transportation Security Administration officer, basically unloading everything you just packed up into little bins meant to see if you’re carrying bombs, drugs, or some other contraband. Instead, you sail through security, right past the dreaded full-body scanner, shoes on, laptop in bag, and on to your gate in record time.
It’s a beautiful system. But it’s also very, very flawed. Logically, Josh Gondelman argues for Vox, TSA PreCheck should not exist. “It is an amazing trick of the TSA to make a trip through a standard metal detector feel as refreshing as a stroll through Central Park,” Gondelman writes. “And I fall for it every time, like a child whose grandfather keeps magically finding quarters behind his ear. All for the cost of a few dozen dollars and the willingness to wade neck-deep into a moral gray area.”
That moral gray area is one of privilege, where only the people who can afford are granted the opportunity to get PreCheck. Plus, we’ve basically been tricked by the government into letting us pay them to monitor us. “We should not have to sacrifice privacy for convenience, and we should not be allowed to pay to bypass ‘necessary’ security measures for a small fee,” Gondelman writes. “Either no one deserves these privileges or we all do.”
What do you think? Let us know in the FlyerTalk forums discussion.
[Image Source: iStock]
If you're going to spend $85 for TSAPrecheck and travel internationally spend an extra $15 and get Global Entry instead. That $100 gets you a speed pass through immigration and you get TSAPrecheck included. Both good for 5 years.
Actually, let's turn it around: what would be a better investment? 50$-85$/5y for a trusted-traveller program? Or a ticket for one of his shows, at least the same price, if not more, that lasts maybe 1.5h? Let's talk about theatre tickets that are only affordable for some priviledged wealthy people, while theatre should be accessible for all?
TSA PreCheck starts at 10$/year. (Included with Nexus, which is $50/5y. You could even pay it in CA$ to save more.) It's the price of 2 bottles of water at the airport. You don't have a piece of checked luggage for that price. If you can't afford this, you can't afford to fly at all.
pfftt... precheck isn't even CLOSE to CLEAR! We love both and it's not a privilege, get over all this privilege bs already. if you can afford a bottle of water, then you can afford both PC and CLEAR. make up your mind where your priorities are and what your time is worth. We walk past people like this unknown comic in lines hundreds long in most airports and breeze through security because PC and CLEAR work. splendidly even. pfftt. lol
Just another lefty complaining about Flight Priviledge. Get over it - some people, including the elderly, can benefit from expedited security clearance.