On Amazon.com reviewers have a lot to say about the Playmobil Security Checkpoint toy.
Loosenut writes
I was a little disappointed when I first bought this item, because the functionality is limited. My 5 year old son pointed out that the passenger’s shoes cannot be removed. Then, we placed a deadly fingernail file underneath the passenger’s scarf, and neither the detector doorway nor the security wand picked it up. My son said “that’s the worst security ever!”.
D. Forest adds
I remember missing a plane at age 8 while foreign airport security inspected my wallet for pennies. I cried and cried.
Now kids can reenact that excitement at home with their very own security checkpoint!
Ya makes some very strong statements, beginning with this one
Finally a toy that gets our kids used to living in a police state. Benjamin Franklin said that those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. But then again, he lived in France for awhile, so what did he know about anything.
In the related discussion, Jason Black puts a serious spin on why this toy isn’t appropriate for child’s play
Why is it disturbing? Several reasons. It’s disturbing because the toy teaches children that fear and paranoia are normal. That it’s right and correct for society to distrust its citizens the minute they buy an airline ticket. In a truly free society, citizens both have and exercise a responsibility to watch out for each other’s freedom. Everyone has the most freedom when everyone is actually acting to promote other people’s freedom as much as their own. This creates trust between citizens, too, and contributes to a healthy society. This toy undermines that idea, by suggesting that we should, in fact, distrust everyone around us to the extent that we should all have to have our shoes x-rayed before we may be deemed harmless.