Looking Shoespicious

Do we feel more violated or more safe during the screenings at airport security? On my way to Reno, I had to fly out of LAX airport (probably the most obnoxious airport to fly in and out of during high traffic times). I was wearing my Rag & Bone Classic Newbury boots in bronze and had to take them off, dump them in a bin, and send them on the conveyor belt to get x-rayed. The Newburys began complaining about being degraded to feel like criminals, getting checked and looked at inside and out like they were already guilty of plotting something or being armed and dangerous. I had to explain that although we aren’t psychopaths, there definitely are some out there; no one can tell who falls into which category just by looking at us or taking our word. There were some awful things that have happened at airports and on planes in the past and there are still some people out there who are evil enough to use our airport system as a means to hurt people and/or to smuggle in and out illegal substances or objects. Those people also think of ways to use things, sometimes things like their shoes, to assist in concealing weapons, drugs, or other non-permitted items. My boots just couldn’t believe that other shoes could have actually participated in being accessories to criminal activity and thought shoes being accessories to anything other than fashion in unfathomable. My boots held the opinion that “killer stilettos” was just a saying and could never be taken literally. After seeing every one’s bare or sock-covered feet and all the shoes on the conveyor belt going through the same process, my shoes stopped complaining. I guess they realized that every one and everything is under suspicion, and it’s not just because some one thought the Newburys were the only ones that were looking shoespicious.