Body Scanning

[imaidiot]

Okay whiner and other brd units. You confuse a right to whatever with the nonexistent right to fly. It is not a right. IT IS A PAID PRIVILEDGE.
In this noisy spin of nonsense and garbage being tossed about, get a life. If you do not want a full body scan or pat-down, then DO NOT FLY.
If you have nothing to hide or conceal, then invite the scan or pat down and make life a little easier for these TSA staff, who are just doing a job.
If someone is not sensitive to your specific issue, like a prothesis or other issue, advise them in advance. OMG WTF, whatever happened to common sense and courtesy for one another. I understand those indivduals who must fly for employment or other reasons, however that still doesn't change the fact that you fly by choice. Comply or Amtrak.

[Pacifica815]

imaidiot - unfortunately you do not truly know what's been going on within the last 4 weeks, if you were a corporate traveler having to deal with airports nation-wide multiple times during the week like I do, only then would you truly know what's been going on. Yes, we need to be safe, but the current procedures being used will not catch the terrorist. In fact, the current scanner cannot pick up plastics, liquid or even gels. The so called "underwear" bomber was wearing a thin plastic bag with a liquid explosive inside with all the air expelled out of the bag, the bag was contoured to the man's body curves which would not have even been detected by these scanners and by the way, this man was searched by TSA...did TSA catch this??? No, it was the flight crew and passengers that caught this man. Many people's objection to the full body scanner has not much to do with the revealing image that is seen, but more to the concerns about radiation exposure. Despite what the TSA is telling everyone, the amount of radiation exposure is much higher. It has to be in order to obtain the detailed image that it does. I have been in the medical field for 30 yrs working with imaging equipment and am very experienced with what these machines can do. We wear radiation badges and leaded apparel at all times. Here are my concerns...first of all cancer survivor people and pregnant women (yes, pregnant women are being forced to go into the scanner despite TSA's website stating that a passenger can opt out) should not be exposed to radiation due to their medical conditions, secondly the TSA personnel do not wear radiation badges so how do they even know the amount of buildup within their own bodies of radiation exposure is(by the way, it is an OSHA and Dept of Health regulation that ANYONE working with imaging equipment MUST wear radiation badges at ALL times) nor do they wear any leaded apparel while being in close contact with the imaging machine, thirdly the TSA personnel that operate the imaging equipment are not certified, licensed radiology/imaging technicians. As you can see, these concerns are very troubling. With regards to your comment "If someone is not sensitive to your specific issue, like a prothesis or other issue, advise them in advance.", unfortunately, informing the TSA personnel does not make a difference to them at all!! Case in point, the Michigan gentleman who desparately tried explaining his medical condition that requires him to wear a urostomy bag (do you know what that is??), but the TSA personnel totally disregarded and ignored his attempt and ended up detaching the apparatus causing the urine to spill all over the gentleman soaking his clothing and body. They did not apologize, nor offer any assistance...nothing!!! The gentleman was very embarrassed and had to board the plane reeking of urine. Or how about the woman who is a breast cancer survivor that has to wear a breast prosthesis and was FORCED to expose herself to the cold hearted TSA agents. She was mortified, embarrassed and devastated. I watched a very elderly woman that had a prostetic leg due to diabetes and she also had a pacemaker...what I witnessed of what TSA did to her was heart-wrenching...the poor woman had tears streaming down her face and not once did any of those TSA agents apologized, nor did anything else to soothe or comfort her. And, imaidiot, these are just a few of the outrageous things that I see on a daily basis, five days a week as I travel nationwide for my job...no, it is not by choice, I have to travel for my job, I have no alternatives...in case you haven't noticed, it is not very easy to change jobs in this current economy. And, you have the nerve to talk about courtesy...well, let me inform you the majority of the TSA personnel no longer have any courtesy to ANY of the travelers (despite what they state on their website of aways striving for)...if you dare to ask a question or to have some better explained to you, they respond with sarcasm, nastiness and rudeness...if you dare to continue the conversation (yes, respectfully) they threaten to pull you from your flight!! Obviously, you are not a frequent nor a corporate traveler, because if you were, you would not have written what you did.

[Kilroy]

I cannot sit by and listen to this pathetic, entitled whining that you people are doing.

Because self preservation seems to be something you all do not posses why don't you try thinking about the awful way it would be for one of your loved ones to die.

Your mother?

Your father?

Maybe your child?

If by going through an uncomfortable procedure will help, not ensure...nothing can ensure...but HELP...my loved ones stay safe on an airline...sign me up. Poke me, prod me, whatever.

The problem with people that put up this kind of argument is that you can never put yourself in that position. You can never imagine yourself dying that way, with that kind of terror and horror. Well, you should try and imagine it and you would realize that a few extra minutes and an uncomfortable few minutes is worth it.

Those TSA people do not care about your "body" and what it looks like or feels like. Are you kidding me??? They are trying to do a job and get home to their families.

You all need to listen to this very carefully. YOU are putting lives at risk. YOU are. Because of all this attention, and all the fear mongering that you are doing is going to cause somebody to miss something. You are actually planning to OPT out of the scanning and gum up the works by insisting on the pat downs. So some fiend is going to get onboard one of our planes and innocent lives are going to be lost because you are so pompous that you believe somebody cares what your body looks or feels like.

That is galacticly stupid.

What is the quote that everybody loves to throw out there..the rhetoric? If you give up your freedom to be safe then the terrorists have won blah blah blah??

Let me tell you something. The terrorists win when we are dead. To them we are infidels that do not have the right to exists. Do you really think that a group of terrorists sitting somewhere is going to throw up their hands in victory when we have another security measure put in place?

NO.

They are going to spend all their time and resources to figure out a way to kill you, to kill your mother, to kill your daughter, to kill me.

And this fear based, attention getting, whining, self-entitled act you all are putting on is going to make it easier for them to kill me.

Oh the man has a urostomy bag....I guess it is impossible for somebody willing to bring down a plane to lie about THAT!. Oh, the terrorists would never cross that line would they??

Are you serious?? Have you people thought about this stuff?? Pacifica815 this entire rant is not directed at you but I can see your post last so it gets a few comments.

So, the TSA agents are rude to you? Oh, well heck...let's just throw security out of the window.

Let's picture your wife, your hubsband, your significant other, your child, screaming, engulfed in flames as the plane they are on falls from the sky.

let's picture your loved one sitting enjoying a cup of coffee in their kitchen when suddenly they hear the scream of jet engines and a passenger airliner plows in to your/their home.

Do you think having to deal with another rude person would be worth preventing that? I do.

Mortified? Embarassed? Oh, flipping well. She may have been all of that but you know what else she is???

ALIVE.

This is one tool in the tool belt, another "forward lean" measure that keeps the terrorists from doing what they do. Somebody in the thread said that domestic flights are not the big threat. Well mayhaps it is because of the security measures???? And now what do we do? Oh, domestic flights are not the big threat, let's ease back on those security measures. What do you think will happen??

My gosh people, use your heads, think before you run off at the mouth about something that should not even be debated.

The only way you can ensure your freedom is to STAY ALIVE.

Your not free dead. And if you can't see the value in saving yourself please, please, please try to understand that there are those of us out here who would do anything to keep our loved ones safe.

[RealityCheck4U]

For Pacifica815: LOL, I only wish you would step back and listen to yourself. Since you fly so much I'll bet the TSA knows you by face recognition and can't wait for your pleasant disposition as they try to do their jobs.

[Pacifica815]

RealityCheck4U - what exactly do you mean "step back and listen to yourself"???? That doesn't make any sense with regards to what I pointed out in my post!!! As far as how much I fly...well, I have been a corporate traveler for over 10 yrs now, doing anywhere from 4 to 6 flights per week, 50 weeks out of the year, including international flying...oh & by the way, security checks overseas is NOTHING like it is here in the U.S. And, yes, I do happen to have a number of TSA personnel that do know me by sight & they do happen to be very pleasant & we have great conversations, these are TSA people out of my home terminal which does not have the scanners, nor do they even do the aggressive body searches, we only go through the xray system in that particular terminal. It is at other terminals nationwide that I have watch the outrageous behaviours, treatment & aggressiveness that have other corporate (or frequent travelers, if that's what you perfer to call us) have complained about. The issues that I pointed out in my above posts are very real issues that I personally witnessed...if that is a problem for you to understand, then that is too bad, but I was there, I saw it!!! Obviously, trying to explain this to a non-frequent traveler is a waste of time!!

[SpatialD]

Good discussion here, folks. Right up till "opt out day" when it all stopped. The media had fun with that - telling us how no one was opting out and the lines were short and there were no delays. Of course, the AIT scanners were shut down and they weren't frisking people, so passengers didn't actually have the opportunity to opt out even if they intended to - it was just like it's always been. Also, it was the day before Thanksgiving - there are SUPPOSED to be long lines, delays, etc. All the people I've spoken with in and around the biz say the airports were unusually dead for the busiest travel day of the year. Maybe that explains why the lines were moving so smoothly for those who didn't mind abrogating their basic rights and freedom.

I've seen a few suggestions that biometrics are the answer. I encourage everyone to think this solution through - it still amounts to unreasonable search and seizure in my opinion. On the question whether flying is a right or a privilege, I've written a response on the FED UP FLYERS website, which you can find here, and I'm planning a follow up because I have more to say about some very clear legal precedents as well as a discussion I had with a news reporter on the subject a while back.

Contrary to what the media and the state would have you believe, nothing has changed, and the issue is far from dead. Please stay engaged, subscribe to updates at [url]FedUpFlyers.org[/url], and I'll do my best to keep you posted here on the latest goings on. Oh, And you also need to be aware that this madness has already spilled out into the streets. Introducing "Operation VIPER". That should make you feel real safe.

[OpinionHere]

You have obviously never been sexually abused, and have no clue how this impacts individuals who have been. If your mother, your father, or maybe your child had been, would you also tell them, "Oh, flipping well."? Think about it.

[Shelby]

I'm a very frequent business traveler. I have a couple things here, being that I travel multiple times a week. I will start by saying that I do annoyed by the TSA rules and the scanners, however I get more annoyed by the people that act like they have never been in an airport before. We cannot change the rules, we can only change our attitudes about the situation. I call it my "airport attitude." I'd rather be safe and it take a little longer to get to my plane that have something horrible happen! Happy Holidays!

[motorguy]

It is not that flying is a right. But 'to be secure in their persons, house, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures' IS a right. And, while it is possible that the louts at the TSA who are doing the invasive searches don't necessarily get off on doing them, they are still unreasonable and in violation of the Constitution. You can't even argue that these searches do any good: they have resulted in no (zero, zip, none, nada) detection of a terrorist. In fact, to the extent that they convince people to drive somewhere rather than fly, they will actually cost people's lives.
Finally, I am indeed a grownup. It is inappropriate for you TSA apologists to try to shout to me: 'Grow up, deal with it' or whatever other loudmouth statements you want to make.