I used to think security theater (like taking off your shoes) was the dumbest thing ever. Then I realized that Terrorism is "Insecurity theater". Its designed to make you feel unsafe. It is statistically not at likely to hurt you, and the people who do it are rare, you but its designed to scare you in to thinking you are under some massive threat by an army of people who can and do strike at anytime. Its psychological warfare. So how do you fight against that? You make people go through security theater to make them think they are safe! We beat the terrorists, not when there are no terror incidents, but when no one is afraid of them. Fear is the enemy. If forcing people to taking off their shoes makes some people feel safe flying, then it is an effective anti terrorist measure.
Who is empowered when the masses are swallowed by fear? It is not some hooded maniac rubbing his hands together in his basement. It is the state, which maintains control. Control is maintained by fear; fear is engineered through psychological warfare. When did the state ever insruct us to stop fearing "terror"? Machiavelli wrote all about this.
