Boycott the body scan? If you are traveling this Holiday season...

1. 59

   dabeanerposted 13 years ago

   Boycott the body scan?  If you are traveling this Holiday season...
   
   The day before (2010-11-24)Thanksgiving (2010-11-25) in the U.S. a boycott of the TSA airport scanning is being organized.  The boycotters are going to insist on the "enhanced pat-down" instead.  The reason is, that while the pat-downs are intrusive, the scans are DANGEROUS to your health.  If you are traveling then, what will you do?

   replyreport
2. 77

   frogdroppingposted 13 years ago

   I won't be going through them. Partly the health issue, partly the way it works and the very obvious lack of respect that some of the scan operators have shown for those having to use them. I know it's a minority but - they're not been in use over long and already individual's rights to respect and privacy has been abused.
   
   I don't mind the pat down, so long as it's done in private and again - with respect. I would imagine most staff members, whether operating the scanner or carrying out personal body searches will be mindful of their position and the majority of people won't find offence with either method.
   
   This is a very individual decision - and I'm not entirely sure that the air safety regulatory bodies have got it right. I'm all for safety but I wonder if this is all a step too far. Plus (of course) they use the fear of an air disaster to motivate - and fear is a very powerful tool.

   replyreport
3. 76

   CarolineChicagoposted 13 years ago

   Thank the gods that I won't have to travel by air this holiday season. We are driving (airfare for a family of 5 is insane as it is without the added govt insanity).
   
   I think that air travelers are stuck between a rock & a hard place. While the medical industry is under fire for subjecting people to too much diagnostic radiation, here we are faced with the "naked scanners". If you don't want the naked scanner, you are treated worse than a criminal with an intrusive, degrading "enhanced pat-down." The pat-downs honestly scare me the most. But if anything shows up on the scanners, such as kleenex in your pocket or a metal knee, you have to do the pat-downs. I've been married for nearly 20 years and would not find someone groping me at all funny--but closer to molestation. I can't imagine how the elderly will take being subjected to disrespectful, almost violent, pat downs that we have heard about.
   
   And would someone please explain what happens when a woman is menstruating? And if someone "pats down" my 13 yo daughter  or 10 & 11yo boys in the way that it is reporting they are "patting down" (sounds more like "feeling up"), I swear I'd sue them. And I'm sure the airlines will have lost our kids' business for life.
   
   While we do not have a "right to fly" (as the one of the govt heads sneeringly reminded us), we do have 4th amendment constitutional rights, which I do not believe we should have to lose at the airport to be treated like criminal cattle. Honestly, I think just making us all go through such degrading treatment probably has the terrorists laughing. And doesn't that mean that they've won a small battle?

   replyreport
4. 0

   awesome77posted 13 years ago

   Everyday the govt gets more intrusive, in response to security problems they enabled. The airport scanner sees you naked, you might as well strip your clothes off.
   
   Luckily, I am staying local!

   replyreport
5. 50

   sexylady123posted 13 years ago

   i will just drive if i real want to go instead of the pat down

   replyreport
6. 60

   FrankSBposted 13 years ago

   I think that i'll be driving this year, its a few extra hours, but really it'll save me money (gas is cheaper than flying) and save me the hassle of the patdowns

   replyreport
7. 59

   dabeanerposted 13 years ago

   Hegelian dialect:  Your rulers create or exacerbate a problem (terrorism) with their policies.  The weenie public cries "save me, sob, sniffle".  Your rulers implement a "solution" that supposedly addresses the problem, increases their control, and lays the groundwork for the next bigger problem.  Rinse and repeat.
   
   If -- if -- I have to or want to fly again, I will opt for the pat down.  Intrusive at it is, it does not add to your cumulative cancer-causing radiation exposure.
   
   The only concern I have about that is -- do the TSA agents change plastic gloves for each examination?  (If Subway can do it for each customer, why can't TSA?)  Anyway, I sure don't want my junk fondled with the same gloves right after the agent has played "stinky pinkie" with some crack ho.

   replyreport