Bruce Schneier calls it The Normalization of Security. We have become so accustomed to TSA security, that, even if it’s a parody, people accept it as the normal thing to do.

The second room of the queue is now a security check area, similar to a TSA checkpoint. The two G-series droids are still there, G2-9T scanning luggage and G2-4T scanning passengers. For those attraction junkies, you’ll remember that the G-series droids are so named because in the original Disneyland Park version of the ride, they were created by removing the “skins” from two of the goose animatronics from the soon-to-close America Sings attraction (Goose = “G” series). While we won’t tell you why, you’ll enjoy paying a lot of attention to what the scans of the luggage show is inside. When it’s your turn to go through the passenger scan (a thermal body scan effect), you may be verbally accosted by a security droid. [Editor Note (5/23/11): This is a theming element of the queue, and a great parody at the expense of TSA. This is NOT a serious or actual security scan - the thermal imaging is similar to what has been used for years in Test Track at Epcot.] Also, keep an eye out in the queue for an earlier version of RX-24 (“Captain Rex”) from the original Star Tours; he’s labeled “defective” and has some familiar dialogue.

While I don’t normally mind parodies, this seems to me as a way of legitimizing something that should not exist in the first place. It makes invasive security acceptable. Yes, it’s a joke because the “security” on the ride is considered a joke and extremely lazy, however, it is very unsettling.