Originally Posted by davetravels
I remember just a little while after the shoe thing went into place . . . It seemed to me that at most airports taking off your shoes was an option unless you beeped at the metal detector . . . except airports in California, for some reason. In CA, I was REQUIRED to take off my shoes EVERY TIME! I asked the TSA guy why taking off your shoes at some airports was mandatory and some optional - - I told him that I thought initiating the TSA was supposed to make security procedures more uniform - compared to how it was before - with minimum wage outsourcing and rent a cop style security at some airports . . . His answer was . . . You wouldn't want security to be "uniform" or "predictable", would you?
Yikes!! I can't figure them out!! - or maybe that's the idea!!
I believe that technically the shoe regulation (can you believe we live in a world where the concept of "shoe regulation" can be legitimately discussed) was that
any shoes with a sole over 1" thick had to be taken off and run through the x-ray machine.
Of course, the problems began immediately. 98% of the time I wear 1 particular pair of shoes when flying. Honestly, the sole is probably just about 1" thick. There are certain airports where I have
never been asked to remove them. There are other airports where I am
always asked to remove them. Certainly "unpredictability" on the part of TSA could increase security. But what I'm describing isn't "unpredictability"...the same airports always do the same things. That's purely arbitrary. All it would take is a terrorist to go through a few airports and realize that in Memphis they never ask you to remove your shoes, but in Indianapolis they always do. Gee, I guess it'd take an IQ of about 58 to realize you shouldn't book a flight out of Indy if you're a terrorist wearing plastique shoes. And the 1" rule is hilarious in and of itself...like you couldn't do damage to a plane with a 1/2" sole (say a pair of flip-flops) made entirely of C-4. Nope...only a full 1" sole could harm a plane. Or you couldn't hide some implement in a shoe with 1/2' soles just as easily as you could in a pair with 1" soles. Whatever.
I have no objection whatsoever to security measures that make sense. I'm on the team. But let's devote some thought to what we're doing...being reactionary is just stupid.