I am a frequent traveler and fly out of Boston so I have a lot of experience with security and these new body scanners. I remember when I used to walk up to the metal detector, my mom would blop her purse on it, then we'd sit and wait at my gate. You didn't need a plane ticket to get through, no one showed any ID, there were no lines. Yeah those were the days.
A lot of people have a big problem with these new scanners. Apparently they can draw an image of your naked body so people are opting out and getting a detailed pat down. I am not one of them. Boston was the first airport to get these scanners so I've already walked through them several times before Thanksgiving. So if anyone in Boston opted out they better have opted out from the beginning and not walked through it before but opted out on Wednesday. That just proves that they are doing it for the attention and are not thinking for themselves. I don't understand why they want a pat down instead. Personally, I think a pat down is MORE invasive and embarrassing. It's an etch-a-sketch drawing, how accurate can it really be? But a pat down, that leaves even less to the imagination. I don't want my husband touching me when we go to sleep and I'm an awkward hugger, hell no I do not want a pat down. Don't touch me!
Like I said, I'm a frequent flier and I remember what things used to be like. I am so fed up with EVERYTHING involving airlines and flying that this security thing is just icing on the cake. What's the point of fighting this security scanner when everything else is so messed up still? If I could pick one thing to fight for, it'd be the cost of checking a bag. There's no way you can travel for a week without checking your bag. That is just unfair and the airlines are taking advantage of us. Why? Because we continue to do it having no other options. Stop making us pay to check a bag, and stop taking away our food and drink on the flight. You know what else is disgusting? AirTran charges $6-$15 depending on the seat just for you to PICK your seat when you purchase your ticket. You should be ashamed of yourself AirTran.
What I'm getting at is even if you "win" this security battle, you've still lost because airlines will always win until we get high speed trains as an alternate means of transportation. Is this security device an invasion of privacy? Yes. If you don't like it, then don't fly. It's as simple as that. Don't try to purposely hold up the line and make everyone else late. That doesn't punish TSA, that punishes all the innocent people who just want to get home to see their families. You have to pick your battles in life and I just don't think this one is worth fighting. The airlines have already taken more of my time making me get there early, I don't want to give them any more. I'd rather give them a big middle finger and move on with my life.
One more thing to TSA. Do you really think this new device is going to help? We seem to constantly be one step behind the enemy. You increase security? They put stuff in their shoe. You make us take off our shoes? They put stuff in their underwear. They seem to keep figuring out a way. You can keep on upping the security but where there's a will there's a way. In my opinion, this isn't going to stop anything and if someone wants to cause some sort of trouble, they will figure out a way. I would really appreciate it if I could stop worrying about which socks and shoes I'm wearing when I travel.
High: Safer traveling?
Low: Taking off your shoes.
On Deck: I will write about both Thanksgivings later tonight.
The argument is not whether or not you should go through them for the privacy, but rather for the safety. The scanners emit low doses of x-rays that, according to a study released and found online (I forget where), can be very harmful if exposed to many times, as you are being a frequent traveler. Pregnancy, cancer survivors, etc. are all advised NOT to go through this machine. Also, privacy is a slight issue since the machines, even though promised NOT to save data, have been saving data since the beginning. They claim they aren't, but there are slips now occurring almost WEEKLY! Images are slipping out of people. A TSA agent who went through the machine while entering for work was ridiculed by co-workers due to the size of his manhood. I, for one, have never had the chance to opt out...but I guarantee you if I have the option...I will choose a pat down over a body scan. I can handle someone putting their hands on me and then forgetting exactly what they felt rather than not knowing if a machine is going to keep the images.
ReplyDeleteI didn't really understand the "opt-out" protest because (at least from the media) the incident that sparked this was the "touch my junk guy" and the last thing I would want is to have a physical pat-down. For me, I would do the x-ray first because I really do not want a poorly trained guy giving me an "enhanced patdown". Now I would only opt for the pat down if it was done by a law enforcement officer (that's a whole other argument I'll leave for below).
ReplyDeleteI understand Joel's argument and I have the same reservations for safety. When the underwear bomber did his thing, the TSA went to DHS/Congress and said we have these x-ray machines and we only have the money for x (a dozen airports) amount but if you give us economic stimulus money we can "protect" everyone (even though he came from a foreign country which the US has no jurisdiction). I wonder if this technology has been rushed into service without proper testing...
The biggest (security) problem is TSA, it seems that they are not really accomplishing anything but security theater. On their site they list weekly numbers:
TSA Week at a Glance: 11/15/10 through 11/21/10
* 2 artfully concealed prohibited items found at checkpoints
* 12 firearms found at checkpoints
* 14 passengers were arrested after investigations of suspicious behavior or fraudulent travel documents
But you cannot find out if any of these or other cases were convicted. And I want to be proven wrong, because they are spending a lot of tax money, and encroaching on civil liberties. TSA after all are not law enforcement, they are federally employed security guards with no arrest powers, something the US Government is not used to doing and seems a bit gray on when it comes to how the law governs them.
And on a different note, we need high-speed rail, airlines just suck...
Someone getting ridiculed for the size of his penis is not the machine's fault. The workers who did that should be fired for being jerks and not taking their job seriously, but he shouldn't get mad at the machines for that. Joel I'm not surprised you'd be okay with a pat down because you're a pretty open person. But some people aren't. Yeah the employee may (or may not) forget about what they just touched but I won't. I will feel highly uncomfortable and personally violated. I know those pictures are being saved, I'm not stupid and TSA isn't fooling anyone. But at least you can't tell it's me from the photo. The person feeling me up will know me. That's just creepy. I am however surprised that you are so against this security. Being a man of the air I would think you understand the need for security and be okay with it. If you're pregnant and your doctor says not to go through it, that's fine. I understand and won't get upset at them. But after a certain time pregnant people can't even fly. We can't base what's good for us on what doctors are telling pregnant ladies. I'm sorry, but I'd rather a machine keep picture of me that doesn't even look like me than me keep the memory of a stranger touching me inappropriately.
ReplyDeleteWhat happens if the person who sticks bomb ingredients up his ass gets a pat down instead of a screen?
"What happens if the person who sticks bomb ingredients up his ass gets a pat down instead of a screen?"
ReplyDeletePeople are already wondering what's going to happen if the mule-terrorist occurs.
I forgot to mention, the last time I went to the East Coast I flew Jet Blue and at SJC they fly out of the international terminal. When I went to security they didn't even have the metal detector, just the backscatter machines and I was the only one going through security at that time. I have no real point, just wanting to tell how it was there!