It’s amazing what can enter popular culture. And how quickly.

Now, because of a widely-perceived image as voyeurs (at the very least) and molesters, staff of the US Transport Safety Authority TSA are copping quite a bit of flack. Their heavy-handedness (pun) with ‘pat down’ searches of all sorts of citizens — kids, paraplegics, nuns, young white anglo saxon students — actions which sparked first revulsion, anger, and now mockery.

This pretty damn sharp satirical attack from Buck Howdy is a good example of personalising the message…. (‘I’ve got no life except my job’):

Part of Buck Howdy's music video: 'Help You Make It To Your Flight' (click to watch)

Video below the fold


The TSA staff are, of course, merely the messengers, tools of  The System. But this level of opprobrium will unsettle them.

My view: instead of blanket searching, and the ghastly choice (porno scanner or grope search) security should be focussed on profiling with spot checks. As someone said of the Israeli airport security: ‘The US looks for bombs. Israel looks for terrorists.’

But this, from the video, is a bit tough:

Ooohh! Watch it!