Should Lenore Zimmerman, a frail 85 year old woman have been exposed to the degree of scrutiny that she was by the TSA?
It’s become by now common knowledge that the TSA will indiscriminately take aside the young, old, sick and the unlikely and subject them to a rigorous screening so as to appease us all that it is doing its job of warding potential terrorists who may have fowl intentions. That said a recent episode involving a 85 year old woman who was subjected to torment, humiliation and degrees of mistreatment is once again forcing the question is the TSA going beyond the call of duty in enforcing its duty to screen passengers prior to boarding a plane?
One has to wonder what good is being achieved by taking aside a mercenary target like the frail 85 year old Lenore Zimmerman who was wheelchair bound and packed with bandages to both legs and subjecting her to the oppressive experience of a body x ray? What were authorities looking to find? Even they must have suspected that she was on a scale of 1 to 10 of potential terrorist a minus billion but proceeded to humiliate her anyway cause it’s important to pick out the most non targets as possible and then later tell the public it spares no one when it comes to sometimes necessary heavy handed screening seems to be counter productive and only sends out the message that the TSA is in fact discriminatory and fool hardy. Surely the odds must remain that if a terrorist plot were to unfold it would be in the hands of an able bodied individual, not a sitting target like Ms Zimmerman.
That said the TSA have one assumes after insistent media coverage reached out to Lenore Zimmerman and apologized to her. Which might be all good and fine but that might just not be enough for Ms Zimmerman who is seriously considering her option of going on to sue the TSA. For her part Ms Zimmerman has endured the ridicule of the TSA, a bloody gash on her right leg after being taken to a private room in full view of other passengers (thus ensuring ample humiliation) and the memory that the institution that exists to protect has if anything defiled her. Personally this author hopes Ms Zimmerman maintains the courage to go out and sue the TSA for all they are worth, for it is only then that they can begin to accept responsibility for their indiscriminate heavy handed callous behavior.
Really one has to wonder if we shouldn’t be protecting ourselves from potential terrorists but the terrorism of the TSA…
The TSA now want to tell you about the loaded .38 caliber gun that made it on a flight.
TSA forces 95 year old cancer patient to take off her diaper.
6 year old girl is given full TSA pat down then a drug test.
