Daria Desires

         MonDesire made some strong and compelling statements that were very easy to be convinced by.  I 

agree with her argument about racism playing a part in the majority of most government operations.  

Anytime a person is forced to do something against their will it is wrong, but when statistics show that a 

noticeably higher percentage of those victims are of a minority, it is prejudice.  MonDesire argued 

that the problem could be minimized if Customs officials would just search everyone who travels out of 

the country rather than picking those whom they wish to search because they look suspicious.  Also, 

she strongly believed that she was singled out because of her race.  For Example, MonDesire stated that 

she was the only African American on her flight, and that no other person on that flight was strip 

searched.  In another statement, she mentioned a searched fifteen year old who traveled with her 

caucasian mother and aunt, who were not searched. This information gives indication that African 

Americans are prejudged before they are ever given a chance.  Being that she was raped, the search 

played a part to her emotion breakdown.  I felt like if they would have picked more people off that 

flight that she wouldn’t felt as bad about the search.  Searching people before you get on your flight is 

something that frequent flyers have to go through but don’t single people out because of their race. 

AIrport Screenings

I disagree with MonDesire’s views in “Stripped of More than my clothes”. The main reason is that determining circumstances of any argument involving airline security or customs has changed since 9/11. People view the world and security issues vastly different since this article was written in the late 90’s. Also the authors viewpoint seemed to come from a purely emotional viewpoint rather than logic and reasoning. It seemed the author was mainly against the searches because she was a rape victim. While I’m not trying to make light of any traumatic experience she went through, if we stopped doing a task because of something that offends someone or something that one person went through, the human race would not be doing much at all. The author also seemed to skew statistics to seem in her favor; which in my opinion further invalidates her argument. The changed perspective in the new millennium, her emotional approach to her argument, and less than credible statistics are why I disagree with Daria MonDesire argument.

The Importance of U.S. Customs Service in Society

     The U.S. Customs Service is very important in today's society considering they protect citizens from terrorists, illegal immigration, and illegal drugs. According to Daria Mondesire, the U.S. Customs forces people to disrobe and become subjected to a cavity search, stripping them of their dignity. I, myself, find Daria impulsive, and I believe Daria over reacted about being "stripped of her dignity". The U.S. Customs was simply just doing their job. I believe that if U.S. Customs was lenient on who they let walk by, then there would be a lot more illegal actions occurring in the United States. I do not believe that Daria's statistics were completely accurate either, considering I find her opinion and facts to be biased compared to the broad spectrum of races being searched. The U.S. Customs Service is a highly beneficial organization in our government, despite what other people seem to believe.