On my way back to the U.S. from my recent vacation, I was happy to get a chance to ask for a pat-down instead of going through the X-ray machines.
I'm beginning to wonder if my enthusiasm was a cause for alarm, because the TSA is now looking at people's behavior to determine if someone needs extra screening, according to CNN. The news agency reports that it has attained 70 behavioral indicators that TSA officials use to identify high risk passengers.
"Many of the indicators, as characterized in open government reports, are behaviors and appearances that may be indicative of stress, fear or deception," CNN reported. "None of them, as the TSA has long said, refer to or suggest race, religion or ethnicity. But one addresses passengers' attitudes towards security, and how they express those attitudes. It reads: 'Very arrogant and expresses contempt against airport passenger procedures.'"
Uh-oh! I guess I should temper my excitement—a mixture of sarcasm, cynicism and disdain—the next time I visit security theater at the airport.