Oh boy, the red herrings have been swimming freely while I got my beauty sleep!
I find any comparison between Hitler's activities and the airport security agencies grossly insulting to those who attempt to protect us and to the people who suffered in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s. There have been several spurious comparisons between airport security and other issues during the last few hours. Most are amusing but this one is quite disgusting.
Pearl Harbour and 9/11 are topics that are best left out of this thread because they raise feelings that will get it locked, I suggest. I could add 7 July 2005 in London to the list because I was there and have my own views about what went on but that too would take us into a discourse that would get the thread locked.
Someone drew a comparison between security at airports and what he regarded as the absence of it on the roads. Have you tried driving on the wrong side of the road, ignoring stop lights and shooting at other motorists? If air travellers should be free to do what they want then why not drivers on the road? Our actions anywhere we go, including in the home, are subject to laws that protect us and other people. Does your electrical system at home comply with regulations or are you risking people's lives to show that you have 'human rights'?
Some of those who are objecting to airport security measures seem to fly rarely or never. So, how does security affect you and how do you know what it's like to go through the checks? I do fly and I'm prepared to put up with the inconvenience of being checked because it make flying safer.
I want security to be in the hands of government controlled professionals rather than a few guys with six shooters sitting behind me during the flight. The security agencies have a much better idea of the current risks than a few guys packing heat. They can use measures to reduce the chances of weapons getting on board and that's much better than having a shoot out down the aisle.
The people who complain about 'human rights' in this thread seem to mean 'My rights, mine mine mine'. Well, folks, this subject is about the rights of all people who would be affected by a bombed or hijacked plane not just your own. If it really is 'every man for himself', then civilisation hasn't come very far out of the cave.