Do the new million dollar airport scanning machines really work? Are your tax dollars protecting you when you fly? Apparently not.
Whenever I travel for a gig, I carry my autoharp, tuner, tuning wrench, and my ARK (Autoharp Repair Kit). That includes: backup strings, needlenose pliers, a phillips head screwdriver, an Exacto knife, screws, backup picks, and extra felts. I never bring my autoharp repair kit on the plane because I need those tools. So I always check them. The autoharp itself, I always wear in my autoharp backpack.
I just flew back from Austin, Texas. I did not put my ARK in one bag like I usually do. I accidentally left my exacto knife in my autoharp backpack. The autoharp and backpack went through the scanner. It came out safe on the other side.
Now I know the autoharp is a strange musical instrument. It probably looks odd under the scanner, but seriously TSA…
Why are you wasting millions of dollars on the illusion of security if you're not gonna catch something so simple the first time I ever accidentally left it in my autoharp?
“Why are you wasting millions of dollars on the illusion of security…”
Because the illusion of security was all the TSA was really intended to provide. It’s not meant to prevent terrorism, it’s meant to prevent mass panic. They proved that in the months following September 11th, when sheriff’s officers smuggled guns through security, revealed that they had done so (as though to tell the TSA agents to pay better attention), and those officers were arrested for it. They weren’t arrested for smuggling guns, not really. They were arrested for pulling back the curtain.
You are correct that security should have caught the Exacto knife. Maybe the scan person looked at the autoharp and thought the knife was part of the framework or something. Maybe he/she looked at your innocent face and gave you a break. Either way, I’m glad you didn’t get hauled away by security and miss your flight.