Airport Security Screening Protest - Why it Flopped

Or, "Quit your crying, you ninnies!"

The entire time news sites were reporting on the horrible, despicable, execrable, evil TSA and their new security screening procedures, I thought: Give me a xxxx-ing break. The cries of foul play were clearly being hyped by the media, who never saw a dispute they didn't want to create, the Republicans, who will miss no opportunity to make the current administration look bad, and a few idiots who have too much time on their hands.

So someone "calls" for a protest day. Right. Travelers who don't want to be blown up on their way to visit grandma and just want to get there as quickly and comfortably as possible are deliberately going to shoot themselves in the foot by jamming up the lines and making themselves and everyone else miss their flights. Not gonna happen.

Live Science - 11.24.10 by Benjamin Radford

Complaints about airport security recently triggered calls for a consumer-led "Opt-Out" day (boycotting full-body scans) that would hopelessly snarl travel plans and force the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to rethink its intrusive methods. Airline and government officials worried that there would be nationwide travel disruptions today.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, "Despite threats of protests from passengers angry at new security rules, it was relatively smooth sailing — and flying — at O'Hare Airport Wednesday. Lines at ticket counters and at security checkpoints were moving freely throughout the morning and early afternoon. 'There are no delays, no lines, no protests that I know of,' said Karen Pride, spokeswoman for the Chicago department of aviation."

In fact, reports so far have indicated no significant delays, protests, or slow-downs at any major airports, from Los Angeles to New York — beyond, of course, being the busiest travel day of the year. So what happened to the thousands (or tens of thousands) of angry airline customers who weren't going to take it anymore?

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