Scale down the Security checks!

Ever been to a 5-star hotel today for dinner of late? Ever been through the rigorous security checks at the entrance? I just had one bitter experience at the gates of a star hotel today- the guard questioned me at length about where I was headed, had me open the car hood both front and back,switch off the engine and open all doors while a "commando" dog sniffed along the compartment. Only then, would he open the gates!. I can imagine that some of you many be very satisfied with this protocol and argue that all this is necessary in this time and age. Something better than nothing my friend said, as I narrated this experience.

I am not so sure that we have done the right thing when the media went into a frenzy post 26/11, and pulled up star hotels for not keeping adequate security checks for visitors, with the objective to prevent more 26/11s. The point is "will all this security keep the terrorist out?" or "is it just a traumatizing experience for the common man as those it was intended for will sneak through anyway ?"

I am not too happy when I walk through the security check at the airport, and wait while a complete stranger scans my baggage. Neither am I pleased about being frisked in some tiny enclosure, and the lady in there, runs her hands suspiciously over everything from the chain around your neck to the house key in your pocket. Even multiplexes will not spare you from this experience!.. imagine a evening at the movies includes a metal check+frisk!

One also travels on the railways and in buses, where these measures are not employed, and its not like trains and buses are being bombed on a daily basis!

So, can we really scale down security checks!..thats my appeal. Shocking as it may seem.. I do feel that although we live in a time when, terrorism has become the fastest growing industry, individuals should be respected and privacy ensured. Anyone who walks into a hotel or gets onto a plane (in fact the vast majority!), will not posses any malicious intentions. There is no need to treat everyone like a criminal!.

I still remember as a child, going to the airport to see someone off, was as good as a trip to the circus. There was an enclosure at the airport, that allowed family and friends to watch the planes land and take off. There was real emotion when one saw a loved one wave that final good bye from the door of the aircraft, disappear inside, and minutes later the flight would take off for the skies. Nowadays, if you so much as go within a few yards of the entrance without a ticket in hand, you are hauled up by the security, for crossing the line!. And one is expected to put up with all this uncalled for abuse, because "it better this way, for everybody!".

Perhaps we can never get rid of it. but maybe we can do it more discreetly..