I bought a burqa today...

I bought a burqa today. (For the less enlightened among us -- a burqa is a full length garment worn by traditional muslim women of various sects over their clothes and head -- I've attached a photo at the bottom). $54.99 at Amazon. Two day shipping with a Prime Membership and I will have it by Wednesday. And no, I'm not converting to Islam. I was in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport today waiting in line to get through security. Dutifully disposing of my 1/2 drunk bottle of coke and then emptying my pockets of all change, paper, cell phone; removing my belt, my shoes, and my light weight hoodie (which was the only thing preventing me from shivering in an airport which must have its thermostat set to 60 degrees). I waited patiently for my turn to be scanned, although why this was an issue now that I'm standing there in bare feet, a pair of skinny jeans, and a lycra shirt. (Seriously? What could I possibly be smuggling in to the airport?!) Then, I happened to look up just as a young muslim woman entered the body scanner -- and yep, you guessed it, she was covered from head to toe in a burqa. A garment so voluminous that I imagine should could quite easily have had a picnic basket strapped to her body and, as long as it didn't contain metal, who would be the wiser? Oh, they gave her the same perfunctory pat-down I received when I exited the machine, but I couldn't help standing there with my mouth agape in utter shock contemplating the fact that, while I had to essentially strip naked to enter the "secure" terminal zone, others under the guise of "religious freedom" were free to flout the rules by which the vast majority of us must comply and saunter through in a head-to-toe parka. Are you kidding me?! Now, don't get me wrong. I don't have anything against Islam (when practiced according the the actual teachings of Mohammed and the Koran) and I DO believe in religious freedom. However, I have to draw the line where the safety and security of my family are concerned. The last time I checked, the vast majority of suicide bombers and airline terrorists were not fair-skinned, blond-haired, blue-eyed residents of Wisconsin. Okay, so I'm not blond-haired and I'm not from Wisconsin, but I think you see my point. If TSA feels that it is necessary for me to take off my shoes and REMOVE MY HOODIE in order to ensure the safety of the other travelers in the DFW airport then I certainly feel that burqas should also be removed. Or, do I hop up and down and demand to keep my hoodie on as part of my religious freedom to stay warm? This reminded me of a Time magazine cover I saw years ago. I believe the title was "When Does National Security Meet Common Sense" and had a picture of a little boy of around 6 years old being wanded and patted down at the airport. UGH! It also occurred to me while I'm standing there waiting with my frostbitten toes and blue lips, that this young muslim woman could (picnic basket aside) be quite comfortable with a hoodie under that cloak and maybe even a shearling jacket, but honestly, this isn't an issue of fairness with respect to permitted layers of clothing. This is a simple question for TSA. How is it necessary for everyone else to be subjected to the treatment we regularly receive at airport security centers around the US, but that these same rules do not apply to someone who was CLEARLY of Middle Eastern decent? I'm disgusted, but under no illusions that anything I have to say is going to make a damn bit of difference; so instead, I've come up with my own solution... So, today and thanks to the myriad offerings by the folks at Amazon, I bought a burqa. No more will I stand 1/2 naked in a line at airport security. No more will I be endlessly shivering in the confines of the security coral. And no more will I have to pay outrageous prices inside the terminal for my bottle of water: I found a bottle holster on Amazon too!