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SECURITY
Branding people is not a solution

The government is taking a new spin on the game “Red Light, Green Light.”

By the end of the year, the government hopes to have implemented a color-coded branding system that distinguishes a person’s “threat level.” These marks will be kept in a database and be used to check people before they are allowed to fly.

Based on such things as credit reports, bank account activity and names of people on government watch lists, people could be labeled green (normal checks), yellow (extra screening) or red (not allowed to fly).

Advocates say the system will be used to weed out dangerous people while making sure law-abiding citizens aren’t given unnecessary scrutiny.

Officials also say the program will not profile people based on race, religion or ethnicity. However, for those marked as “security risks,” this information will be kept 50 years. No time frame has been set for those of us deemed “safe.”

Despite the “precautions” the government is looking at to prevent someone being labeled incorrectly, mistakes do happen. And having this “mistake” in writing for 50 years is a long time.

Also, there is no guarantee that this system will not turn into a racial-profiling system. More and more, the systems the government is attempting to implement to keep us “safe” are turning into ways to keep tabs on us — where we go, what we spend money on, how we live.

We understand the need for safety while flying, but eventually the Red Light, Green Light game must end.