I’m not what you’d call a fan of Penn & Teller, only because I’ve just never paid much attention to them. But I ran across a story

written by Penn about airport security that I think is interesting.

I liked this line by Penn: “…freedom is kind of a hobby with me, and I have disposable income that I’ll spend to find out how to get people more of it.”

In the story, he recounts how a security guard was groping a little too close to Penn’s groin, at which Penn said (in my words) “Hey, you need to ask before groping”, at which the guard said something like “Once you cross that security line, I can do whatever I want.”

I agree with the getting permission part. If Penn said “no sir, no groin groping please”, the security guard could and should have said “Well then, no flight for you then, get lost.”

I’m not sure if I think Penn is just a big stinker, making noise for the sake of noise, or if he was actually being effective at increasing my freedom. I haven’t been groped at the airport, although I’ve been searched a lot. I take it for what it is. By tolerating a momentary loss of freedom, my chances of a safe flight are probably increased. Would I react as Penn did if someone was too aggressive? Probably.

What about you?