One of the hottest, topics of discussion right now is the groping and personal intrusiveness of body searches at airports by officials in the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). We wouldn’t know. We don’t fly; and haven’t since the late 1990s. We don’t know if we’re on the “no fly list”, or not. We really don’t care. We’re certainly not going to fly now.
The TSA has instituted a procedure whereby a traveler at some airports must claustrophobiate themselves in a tiny enclosed full-body scanner prior to boarding an airplane. A traveler may opt out of the scanning procedure, but that means a TSA agent must conduct a hands-on search. There is no way around not being searched prior to boarding a plane. There are other means of being selected for a hands-on search, such as being randomly selected, or setting off an alarm while inside the claustrophobiator.
Some of the statements made regarding this hands-on search are absurd. “Stop complaining and deal with it. I guarantee the people performing the pat downs hate them just as much as passengers receiving them.” Or, “stay out of the airport. How can we tell our children to follow the rules when all the grown-ups do is complain?”[1] The person making this latter remark must not see the irony in teaching his or her children to be aware of strangers who want to touch the children in their private parts. First, teach them that their private parts are private. Then, bring them to the airport and tell them that the dirty old TSA man has to put his hand in their crotch. A kid with mixed messages from his parents is going to have some problems later in life. There is a word for people whose conduct mirrors that of the former comment. Prostitutes are paid for touching a client in what are otherwise known as inappropriate places.
You have to wonder what advocates of these body searches are thinking, if indeed they are. If the government told them their car would be searched each time it was parked in a city parking garage they would undoubtedly be very upset. Or, would they?
It is true that if you want to avoid any sort of an intrusive search at the airport you should not fly. It can be done. As I stated earlier, Stephanie and I don’t fly. We’ve driven to Washington, DC, and Seattle, WA, in the past decade. We’ve been able to see a large part of America in the process. This is a beautiful country, and although flying may get you places quicker, is it worth the trouble?
If enough travelers would stop flying until this government-directed sexual abuse could be curtailed, it would come to an abrupt halt. Don’t count on Congress to put a stop to it. Top members of Congress, like the Speaker, Senate Majority Leader, etc., are not subject to the normal screening process.
If travelers consider this latest “safety technique” to be a simple cost of safety, it will get worse.
Do you think body cavity searches can be around the corner? Is the next technological “tool” to be developed by scientists some sort of device that will read minds? Will anyone care?
If certain individuals are not bothered by the TSA’s sexual groping, then we suggest that there be two flights of choice. Similar to the smoking/no smoking sections of restaurants (or for those who can remember – smoking and non-smoking sections of airplanes) there should be a choice when you buy your ticket: The so-called “safe flight”, where you consent to body cavity searches, strange hands running up and down your body, and a psychological exam, all to prove that you are not a terrorist. Since everyone else on your flight will be elevated to the same degrading procedures, you will feel safe and secure as you reach your destination. Of course, you may have to pay for the service of the faux safety.
On the other hand, your option is the “unsafe flight”. Under this scenario you just purchase a ticket and get on a plane. There are no x-ray machines, metal detectors, strangers feeling your underwear in your suitcase – or on your body for that matter. The rates will be much cheaper because you’re taking a chance that a terrorist will blow the plane to smithereens once you’re airborne. These two options are like first class and coach. They still separate classes, right?
The Who said, “See me, feel me, touch me, heal me.” Perhaps they were more visionary than George Orwell. Orwell predicted Big Brother spying on us; The Who predicted Big Brother groping us. We deserve better treatment from our government.
© Copyright 2010 Fawkes-Lee & Ryan. All rights reserved.
[1] These are actual quotes from the Des Moines Register’s Your 2 Cents’ Worth column (Friday, Nov. 26, 2010).
I like this idea. Since cockpit doors are locked there is no danger of hijacking anyway. It’s only the plane itself that is at risk. Maybe the airlines also like the searches?