Reading about the current TSA pat-down/screening issues reminds me of IT users frustration with corporate IT. When executives tell the users that the new IT procedures are essential to protect the corporate data do the users roll-over and say OK.
President Obama says the TSA Pat-Downs are frustrating, but necessary.
LISBON, Portugal — President Barack Obama on Saturday acknowledged some travelers' "frustrations" with having to go through full-body pat-downs and scans at airports, but he said the enhanced security measures are necessary to keep America safe.
In response to a question at a press conference in Lisbon, where he was attending a NATO summit , the president said that the Transportation Security Administration has been "under enormous pressure" to find better ways to screen for explosives and other dangerous items ever since the attempted 2009 Christmas Day bombing of a U.S. airliner over Detroit. In that case, a passenger with links to an al-Qaida extremist group tried to set off plastic explosives concealed in his underwear.
Seth Godin makes an interesting point on a different way to look at the TSA situation.
Groping for a marketing solution: TSA and security theater
There's plenty of controversy about the new full body scanners that the TSA is installing at airports, and plenty more about the way some TSA agents arehandling those that choose to opt out.
The heart of the matter comes from the fact that the TSA often doesn't understand that it is in show business, not security business. A rational look at the threats facing travelers would indicate that intense scrutiny of a four ounce jar of mouthwash or aggressive frisking of a child is a misplaced use of resources. If the goal is to find dangerous items in cargo or track down Stinger missiles, this isn't going to help.
Instead, the mission appears to be twofold:
1. Reassure the public that the government is really trying and
2. Keep random bad actors off guard by frequently raising the bar on getting caught
One of the key successes to Steve Jobs and Apple is they put on a great show. Watching the TSA show is painful, and it will probably get worse as Obama endorses the pat-down procedure as necessary and the TSA will keep on raising the bar.
Will the following video be the future TSA procedures?