T-Shirt Causes Stir at Gatwick Airport
Monday, March 15th, 2010
Source: Yahoo News
London’s Gatwick Airport has issued a formal apology to a man who was asked turn his “Freedom or Die” T-shirt insight out for security purposes.
Lloyd Berks, 38, was stopped recently by security officers as he headed for a family skiing holiday in Austria, according to media reports.
“When I went through the metal detector, first they told me to take my trainers off, then they took my wallet off me. Then the guy who checked me told me to turn my T-shirt inside out,” he said, cited by The Daily Telegraph newspaper.
“He said: ‘Some airlines get a bit worried by T-shirts with what you have got on, it might be a bit threatening’. I thought he was joking at first. It is turquoise and white, it is just a design T-shirt, it is not gothic or in your face and the slogan is quite small. I asked if I could cover it up with my cardigan and he said that would be OK,” added the Briton, who was travelling with his partner, Donna, 38, and children Callum, six, and Kaydee, four on February 27.
When in Rome: There are complaints about overzealous security workers all over the world, and certainly London is no exception. Even the a California security guard patrol services company would have likely had to explain their actions on this one had they acted in a similar fashion. Any good Fairfax CA unarmed security guard knows airports are loaded with crazy T-Shirt-wearing travelers.
Gatwick apologized for the incident, a spokesman said, stressing that the airport “does not apply a policy relating to appropriate/inappropriate T-shirt slogans worn by passengers passing through airport security.
“While safety and security are our highest priorities, we also expect staff to apply common sense and judgment.
“The reported incident sounds unnecessary. We would apologize to the passenger for any inconvenience or embarrassment caused.”
The security officer involved was spoken to about the incident as part of regular line-management assessment, said the spokesman. “It was done with the best intention,” he said.
But he added: “We thought it was a little bit over-zealous.”
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My Take: As they say in G.B. “That was simply over the top.” No one in this day and age should have to defend the words on their own clothing, unless they are of course in an army, navy, or marine issued-uniform and under the control of the federal government. How ridiculous it is to me to think that someone would even be paid to take on a security job with that kind of narrow-minded, paranoid opinion of something as innocuous as a T-shirt slogan. What’s next at the world’s airports? If they get any more personal with their efforts to provide security, they might as well start setting up kiosks in the terminals offering services that will actually benefit travelers, such as a mortgage restructure center; a travel desk for booking yacht charters; or even an accounting firm to handle payroll services and other business issues for you while you’re on the road.
It’s silly I know. Airports are for traveling. But the heightened security alerts, coupled with everything from body scanners to microscopic-sized shampoo bottle requirements are really taking traveling to new heights. I’ve been in and out of an online defensive driving course NJ in quicker time than it takes to check in for a domestic flight from New Jersey to Boston. I’ve completed a six-week NJ defensive driving program online with fewer security restrictions and hassles than it takes to get through a TSA check point. Frankly, flying is getting harder and harder for many people to afford and with the new time constraints being put on the effort via the time you have to spend in ‘security’ checks, you could have driven to port of call, taken a cruise to Athens, hopped on an number of the Greece yacht charters they’ve got to offer, and returned back home again. Makes you want to just simply skip the world traveling and see the great outdoors in your own backyard.
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