It started last month in Missouri, but now right here in Sacramento, TSA agents are requiring you to remove any and all “reading material” from your carry on bag, place it in a separate bin, and allow it to be “fanned through” by the agents.
They’re specifically looking to see if anything is being hidden between the pages. This, of course, is being met with a ton of criticism. They insist they “aren’t looking for content,” but just checking to see if anything is hidden, but concerns start getting raised by groups who may have something of an Arabic language or a Quran, something like that. UC Davis professor Julie Sze recently went through the new screening, and says “Books, magazines, food, those are like my three treasured things. It feels personal on a whole different level.”
An attorney recounted an experience that he had about 10 years ago, saying that he was defending a client who unlawfully had a machine gun, when one of the books containing court documents opened up to a diagram of the gun right there in front of TSA agents. Of course he was detained, had to explain the situation.
Many are saying that holding any sort of literature pertaining to middle eastern culture may result in extreme searches, even if it’s just a book for a class you’re taking.
But this goes for any situation. Maybe you’re seeing a doctor and have a book of revealing photos of yourself for some medical situation – they’ll be flipping through it. A child’s diary? Flip on through. Sensitive, confidential documents related to a project you’re working on? Flip. How do you feel about the new security?
