Some weeks back, I posted on a Disney ride that offers riders the opportunity to be “verbally accosted by a security droid.” Now, kids can play at being a TSA-worker themselves with a security wand:
There’s nothing cooler than being a TSA agent for Homeland Security and now the Spy Gear Security Scanner lets kids live out their dreams. It’s a handheld security wand whose LED lights flash and an alarm goes off when it detects metal, just like the real thing!
Now, frankly, I’m less disturbed by this than by the Disney ride. There’s nothing wrong with being a TSA worker; it’s the rules they have to follow that are the problem. And I’d rather kids learn to be a TSA worker than to believe submitting to abusive ones is fun.
That said, it’s just one more indication of the way our culture is normalizing security theater by making it “play” for children.