Can someone tell me what's so bad about this? I don't see what the big deal is about needing identification to function in / move into and out of a developed society. I really don't find it an inconvenience, more of a practicality.
When I buy a ticket to go somewhere it's no one's business to know where I'm going. I don't have the imagination to see how the information can be abused, but the potential is there. If you don't need to know you have no business asking. That's all.
How else do you verify you're who the ticket belongs to? Do you really think the person checking people's IDs memorizes them all to put into some database?
When I buy a bus ticket at the counter with cash to go from here to there it's no one's business to know that I'm even on that bus. But even then they ask for a drivers license.
I find it strange to see people on Hacker News post-Snowden defend the nothing-to-hide mindset.
There should really be no need to know who I am before letting me board an airplane or purchase a beer. What's the practicality, exactly? It certainly doesn't help me.
So you think people should be able to just waltz right onto an airplane without identification? Someone could easily just have their ticket purchased by someone else, use that ticket, and get on the airplane, which would be a security risk. It helps you by helping you not have someone who stole your ticket get on the plane in your place. And how do you expect age restrictions to be enforced without ID? Some people look a lot older or younger than they are.
Yes, I think people should be able to just waltz right onto an airplane without identification. It works great for trains, why not planes? I don't see how the scenario you outlined is a security risk. There are plenty of other, better ways to make stolen tickets unusable.
How do I expect age restrictions to be enforced without ID? I don't. The US's age restrictions on alcohol are stupid and should go away.
Edit: actually, I don't see how the current regime prevents using stolen tickets in the first place. IDs are only checked at security, not when boarding. So you print out a fake boarding pass with your real name and use it to get past security, then use your stolen ticket to board the plane, where they make no effort to ensure that you are the person listed on the boarding pass you present. Easy! Well, until the real passenger shows up with a reprinted boarding pass and wonders why you're in their seat, at which point you get hauled off to jail.
Yes, I think people should be able to get on an airplane without identification. It is a perfect example of a bogus security check which causes hassle for everyone without materially impeding anyone who wants to cause problems.
