I hate flying

I hate flying. Not that I have any particular fear of flying itself - or at least I didn't. No, it's mainly because of the feeling that I have wandered into a grim futuristic film like 'Brazil' or '1984'.

Being photographed at security checks, watching security guards emptying a woman's handbag and purse much to her embaressment, being herded like cattle etc.

It's a horrible experience. And for what? Do any of the security checks really prevent terrorism? That's what it's all about isn't it?

The more I read the more I believe that really it's only us normal plebs suffer - the terrorists aren't really affected. We give up our rights to privacy and are we really any better off? Certainly the Japanese man who "learned a language lesson" can't have felt too happy.

All the security checks make you feel paranoid about saying the wrong thing. Or writing the wrong thing it would seem.

I must look into what happens to the photographs they take of me at Gatwick airport. Anyone know?
Are they just used internally? How long are they stored for? What are they used for?

I think they are used to check that we are the same people using the same boarding pass further down the production line but I'm not sure.

Plus I now can't help but wonder, even if only fleetingly, if for any reason the plane I'm on could be the target of a terrorist attack.

So traveling, which I used to find glamorous and exciting, now tends to be stressful and upsetting.