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TSA wants to see you naked. Or feel you up.
Within a year I may not be able to fly anymore.
A dramatic statement, I realize. And not one that I take lightly. I've always hated the ham-fisted, Keystone Cops tactics of the TSA, but their actions in recent weeks have upped the
ante for travelers to a simple choice: a strip search or a sexual
assault. Hyperbole? Read on and be the judge.
I assume by now we all know about TSA's new scanners that show your detailed, naked image to a pervert in a booth screener. I'll get into details of why I hate these things later, but
suffice it to say that I think a strip search without cause is
completely unconstitutional, to the point that it's basically the TSA
taking a piss on the fourth amendment. Travelers do have the right to
decline to be scanned if they are selected, but must undergo a secondary
search with a patdown instead. Until now this has been an unpleasant
but generally acceptable trade off. When these scanners first appeared I
made the decision that I would never subject myself to one. At least
not without some singles being tucked in my belt on the way through.
Thanks to some great investigative reporting by the Boston Herald, it came to light over the weekend that TSA is
field testing a new patdown method to use on those of us who exercise
our right to decline their strip search. The standard procedure now is
for the screener to use the back of his hand and avoid contact with
sensitive areas. This revised patdown, currently being tested
at the Boston and Las Vegas airports, has screeners performing a
complete body grope using the front of their hands, including detailed
touching of the genitals.
The obvious rationale is that TSA wants to make the alternative to the scanners so unpleasant that no one
will opt-out. Despite numerous public statements to the contrary, their
endgame is to make a strip search the primary method of screening for
all travelers. This new policy and the purchase of hundreds of new
scanners make that a fairly obvious conclusion.
Needless to say this is a bridge too far. Since 9/11 the American traveling public has
shown a frightening propensity to accept restrictions that do very
little to promote security. We have suffered the indignities of
loudmouthed, condescending TSA employees, trekked shoeless on filthy
floors and quietly accepted ludicrous limits on our liquids. You really
only have to ask one question: how many terrorists has the TSA
intercepted? The answer is none. Not a single terrorist after eight
years and nearly a hundred billion dollars. And yet this arrogant,
unaccountable organization continues to impose liberty-eroding dictates
on us. And we continue to accept them, put our heads down, and
acquiesce to their demands. No more. The line must be drawn somewhere,
and right here looks pretty damn good to me.
Aren't you tired of being treated like a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay every time you board an
airplane? It's time to start telling these power-hungry authoritarians
NO and time to fight to bring back sanity to our airports. Write your
congressman, complain every time TSA crosses the line, and most
importantly tell them NO on the naked scanners and sexual assaults.
I will continue to decline the scanner, and will decline this new patdown
procedure if it is rolled out nationwide. I encourage you to do the
same, even if it means being grounded until this repulsive policy is
repealed. And if you're okay with the scans, you might want to work on
those abs.
A dramatic statement, I realize. And not one that I take lightly. I've always hated the ham-fisted, Keystone Cops tactics of the TSA, but their actions in recent weeks have upped the
ante for travelers to a simple choice: a strip search or a sexual
assault. Hyperbole? Read on and be the judge.
I assume by now we all know about TSA's new scanners that show your detailed, naked image to a pervert in a booth screener. I'll get into details of why I hate these things later, but
suffice it to say that I think a strip search without cause is
completely unconstitutional, to the point that it's basically the TSA
taking a piss on the fourth amendment. Travelers do have the right to
decline to be scanned if they are selected, but must undergo a secondary
search with a patdown instead. Until now this has been an unpleasant
but generally acceptable trade off. When these scanners first appeared I
made the decision that I would never subject myself to one. At least
not without some singles being tucked in my belt on the way through.
Thanks to some great investigative reporting by the Boston Herald, it came to light over the weekend that TSA is
field testing a new patdown method to use on those of us who exercise
our right to decline their strip search. The standard procedure now is
for the screener to use the back of his hand and avoid contact with
sensitive areas. This revised patdown, currently being tested
at the Boston and Las Vegas airports, has screeners performing a
complete body grope using the front of their hands, including detailed
touching of the genitals.
The obvious rationale is that TSA wants to make the alternative to the scanners so unpleasant that no one
will opt-out. Despite numerous public statements to the contrary, their
endgame is to make a strip search the primary method of screening for
all travelers. This new policy and the purchase of hundreds of new
scanners make that a fairly obvious conclusion.
Needless to say this is a bridge too far. Since 9/11 the American traveling public has
shown a frightening propensity to accept restrictions that do very
little to promote security. We have suffered the indignities of
loudmouthed, condescending TSA employees, trekked shoeless on filthy
floors and quietly accepted ludicrous limits on our liquids. You really
only have to ask one question: how many terrorists has the TSA
intercepted? The answer is none. Not a single terrorist after eight
years and nearly a hundred billion dollars. And yet this arrogant,
unaccountable organization continues to impose liberty-eroding dictates
on us. And we continue to accept them, put our heads down, and
acquiesce to their demands. No more. The line must be drawn somewhere,
and right here looks pretty damn good to me.
Aren't you tired of being treated like a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay every time you board an
airplane? It's time to start telling these power-hungry authoritarians
NO and time to fight to bring back sanity to our airports. Write your
congressman, complain every time TSA crosses the line, and most
importantly tell them NO on the naked scanners and sexual assaults.
I will continue to decline the scanner, and will decline this new patdown
procedure if it is rolled out nationwide. I encourage you to do the
same, even if it means being grounded until this repulsive policy is
repealed. And if you're okay with the scans, you might want to work on
those abs.
Views: 2
Tags: TSA, backscatter, body, millimeter, naked, scanner, wave, x-ray
Comment
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Comment by Josh on September 4, 2010 at 9:06pm -
Frequent travelers should educate themselves on the issues and publicize them because we are affected -- especially from a health aspect.
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Comment by Josh on September 4, 2010 at 9:04pm
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For more on the controversy, see the Wikipedia page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_body_scanner
It's about privacy, and also about health. According to some researchers, the radiation dose is much higher than reported. Frequent flyers (like travel bloggers) may be at risk for significant radiation exposure.
Also, the strips search machines would not have stopped the "underwear bomber" -- that's just a pretense to get them in to the airports and society in general.
Strip searches without probable cause are unquestionably illegal under the 4th amendment.
If the "full body scanners" aren't stopped now, in the future you will be electronically strip-searched every time you walk into a bus station, train station, government building, and maybe even schools. You'll be bombarded with radiation from mobile backscatter x-ray vans and even military-style flying drones that look through your walls into your home. Click the links for info.
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Comment by Julie Galante on September 2, 2010 at 5:08pm
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Great post, Ryan. I agree, it is so disturbing to see how easily the masses are willing to give up their rights.
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Comment by Ryan Lile on September 1, 2010 at 10:22pm -
Wow, lots of comments and debate on this one. That's good to see. I'm pressed for time (as always) but want to address and rebut a few points made by others:
* This may be a minor inconvenience (in a time sense that's exactly right- not much longer than a metal detector). But in a privacy/fourth amendment sense it is a huge leap. We are effectively wiping our traveling butts with the Bill of Rights by allowing TSA to perform this kind of search without any probably cause or even reasonable suspicion.
* I don't perceive TSA as trying to keep us safe. TSA was created by Congress after 9/11 to be its CYA (cover your @$$). It has been security theater/dog-and-pony show from day one. The fact that they have never caught an actual terrorist convinces me of that. And don't forget what a reactionary force it is, always responding to the last attempt. If they want to swab me for explosives every time I fly I would have zero problem with that.
* I am not misguided or a prude. I am protective of what little privacy I have left and refuse to allow this arrogant agency to sh*t all over the rights that have been hard-won by my ancestors. And both the backscatter and the millimetever wave (yes I know the difference) portray images like the above. Have you also fallen for the TSA propaganda that no images are stored? That's been debunked by several respected journalists. And did you not read my post? This new, more invasive patdown uses the front of the screener's hand to touch and pat down every part of the body, genitals included. The back-of-hand patdowns will soon be a thing of the past if we allow TSA to get away with this new procedure. It is nothing more than retaliation for those of us who won't submit to their idiotic (and unconstitutional) decrees.
Thanks for the comments everyone. For those of you awake to the issues, keep fighting this liberty-hating bureaucracy any way you can.
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Comment by Kirsten Alana on September 1, 2010 at 5:14pm -
The below comments meant sincerely, I still will keep flying and I still will keep subjecting myself to the TSA's rules. I love traveling and flying too much to ground myself by not abiding their rules. Sorry, can't protest with you this time Ryan.
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Comment by Kirsten Alana on September 1, 2010 at 5:13pm
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I'd hand you a bill or two if I was watching that full body scanner and you walked through.......
oh wait, that's not the point of this post. *cough* In all seriousness, I agree that it's a complete violation of our rights. But even more so, it's yet another over the top rule by (as you rightly pointed out) an organization which has accomplished literally nothing positive since it's inception. The TSA is a bloated and ridiculous institution. Surely there MUST be better ways to catch terrorists looking to use our flight system. Surely.
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Comment by Christina Baita on September 1, 2010 at 3:55pm -
Sorry, too many interruptions! I have a knee replacement (not a brace). And, I meant to say thing, not think. Have a great day!
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Comment by Christina Baita on September 1, 2010 at 3:54pm
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First of all, Mr. Walker: Thank You! I love that story and wish I was there. Not to see your underwear of course but to make fun of the TSA guy that gave you problems. I love being as much of a smart ass to the idiots with a badge anytime I can. Only if they deserve it of course.
Now. With all due respect Mr. Lile, you are either terribly misguided, someone who likes to be ridiculous or a simply a prude. To think that TSA wants to actually see half of the people that go through that think is nothing but arrogant. I am a flight attendant with a knee brace and love the backscatter because WHO CARES if some person in some room sees me somewhat (it's NOT like what you show above) n-a-k-e-d! Most of the time I do have to get patted down because not all cities have the backscatter. I have been through Boston and it's nothing like you claim.
TSA runs their metal detector wand over your body. If an area beeps, they quickly run a hand over the area to see why. If it's a sensitive area, they use the back of their hand. IF they get a little too frisky, I embarrass the hell out of them by saying something like "Ooh yeah, right there. That's the spot." Trust me, they get the hint and back off! :) Loads of fun. You should try it.
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Comment by Forrest Walker on September 1, 2010 at 3:13pm
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This is true, my favorite TSA story.
I had just arrived from Panama in Atlanta. I had to catch a plane to Los Angeles. Therefore, I had to pass through the TSA security post to get into the domestic side of the airport.
I had been living on an island for over two years at the time, and through no effort on my part, I had lost over twenty pounds. This was not a problem, except that all my clothes, especially my Levis were too big for me now.
Also, I carry my cash, credit cards and passport in a travel bag around my neck. Because it is both uncomfortable and unsightly to wear it over my stomach, I wear it under one arm. This means that in order to take it off, I must remove my shirt. More on that in a moment.
When it was my turn at the metal detector, the middle-aged, minimum waged and minimum trained TSA guy told me to remove my belt.
"Sir, I have lost 20 pounds living in Panama. If I remove my belt, my pants will fall down."
Steely eyed and like a brainless automaton, he repeated "Remove your belt."
So, having no alternative other than walking to Los Angeles, I removed my belt. I was now standing in line in front of a lot of business travelers, holding my pants up with one hand. Mr. TSA noticed the travel bag and asked "What is that?"
I replied as nicely as I could "My passport holder, sir." (perhaps the sir came out snidely, knowing me it did)
"Take it off" he demanded.
"Sir (snidely) to take it off I must take off my shirt. To take off my shirt, I have to let go of my pants, and I promise you sir (very snidely) they will fall down."
"Take it off" the man said.
I let go of my pants. They fell to my knees. I unbuttoned my Hawaiian shirt and removed it so I could get the passport holder off. I threw the shirt into the plastic bucket with my belt and other items. I had been en-route for 9 hours, and I was very worried that my BVD's were in a condition that would shame my mother, even though she was not there at the time. I pulled up my pants, holding onto them like my pride depended on it, which it did.
The TSA man said, before I got to the metal detector "Hey, put your shirt back on".
"Sir, (again, snidely) if I let go of my pants they will fall down again. Don't you think these people behind me have seen enough of the behind of me?"
"Put your shirt back on".
"Yes SIR" (very snidely).
I let my pants drop and slowly slipped into my Aloha shirt and buttoned it. I turned to watch the business travelers behind me. Half were harried because I was their worst nightmare, that being someone who cost them time. The other half were smiling or laughing. I gave them all a big smile and said "Hey, at least we are safe in the air!"
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Comment by Chris Christensen on September 1, 2010 at 11:45am -
Trust me, I never assume that the TSA wants to see me naked. I am not even sure my wife wants that. I always assume that, even if having me take off my shoes is misguided, the TSA is trying to keep me safe. It might be because this is the attitude that I use as I approach security, but I have never had any issues personally with the TSA and how they act towards me.
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