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defrogIf you haven’t heard, November 24 is National Opt-Out Day, a day in which air travelers in the US are encouraged to protest the use of Nude Body Scanners by (1) refusing to go through them, and (2) refusing the subsequent “enhanced” frisking that will result from refusing the scanner.
Of course, this depends on whether yr airport has Nude Body Scanners (60 airports have them now – that will go up to 500 by the end of the year). Also, in most cases, it’s currently voluntary as long as there are the usual metal scanners as an option. But TSA agents do randomly pull people for nude scanning, at which point there’s two ways yr getting on that plane – either you let govt employees take virtually nude pictures of you that may or may not end up on the Internet someday, or you let them feel you up. Or, hey, you can let a terrorist blow up yr plane. It's yr choice.
Note that if yr flying via San Diego, simply turning around and getting a refund from yr airline can still cost you $10,000 in fines.
So little wonder people are upset about this, what with Thanksgiving coming up and all. To say nothing of the fact that the nudity/feel-up options still don’t make you any safer, and the nude scanners are being installed in part because they’ve got a well-connected lobby machine.
That said, I’m not so sure that National Opt Out Day will make much difference. Enough people would have to be willing to risk missing their flight, as well as generally stand up to The Authorities and make a nuisance of themselves in public with the result of possibly be detained for hours. Most people aren't willing to do that (and the TSA is more or less banking on this).
Also – and this may surprise some of you – I confess I get annoyed by people who make a big-ass deal about liberty and personal freedom at the security checkpoint. Sure, I think TSA rules and procedures are mostly arbitrary, stupid and in some cases probably unconstitutional. On the other hand, the TSA agent I’m dealing with has no power to change that, and typically does not have the luxury of being lax about enforcing rules. And besides, I’ve got a plane to catch and don’t have time to spend several hours giving lectures on deaf ears about My Goddamn Constitutional Rights, You Goddamn Nazi Fascists. That’s an argument better pitched at Congresscritters, judges and media talking heads, not the underpaid drone who has to put up with yr crap and everyone else’s.
Also, to be perfectly honest, I’m not all that worried about people seeing me naked and possibly posting the photos on the Internet. There are already photos of me naked on the Internet. If anything, I’d be more concerned about the lower quality. The enhanced groping is less appealing, but I’ve also had worse experiences.
But that’s just me. Lots of people won’t be comfortable with either option, and there’s no reason to subject them to it, especially when it's pointless from a Fighting Teh Terrors perspective.
So I do think it’s worth letting as many people know as possible that this is what it’s come to with air travel security – one way or another, it’s going to get intimate, if the US govt has its way.
But if yr going to get into civil disobedience, I do like the suggestion from one commenter on BoingBoing – if yr going to be frisked, pretend it’s turning you on. Especially if yr a guy.
Sure, you’d probably double yr chances of going to jail. But it’d almost be worth it.
Search me,
This is dF
Of course, this depends on whether yr airport has Nude Body Scanners (60 airports have them now – that will go up to 500 by the end of the year). Also, in most cases, it’s currently voluntary as long as there are the usual metal scanners as an option. But TSA agents do randomly pull people for nude scanning, at which point there’s two ways yr getting on that plane – either you let govt employees take virtually nude pictures of you that may or may not end up on the Internet someday, or you let them feel you up. Or, hey, you can let a terrorist blow up yr plane. It's yr choice.
Note that if yr flying via San Diego, simply turning around and getting a refund from yr airline can still cost you $10,000 in fines.
So little wonder people are upset about this, what with Thanksgiving coming up and all. To say nothing of the fact that the nudity/feel-up options still don’t make you any safer, and the nude scanners are being installed in part because they’ve got a well-connected lobby machine.
That said, I’m not so sure that National Opt Out Day will make much difference. Enough people would have to be willing to risk missing their flight, as well as generally stand up to The Authorities and make a nuisance of themselves in public with the result of possibly be detained for hours. Most people aren't willing to do that (and the TSA is more or less banking on this).
Also – and this may surprise some of you – I confess I get annoyed by people who make a big-ass deal about liberty and personal freedom at the security checkpoint. Sure, I think TSA rules and procedures are mostly arbitrary, stupid and in some cases probably unconstitutional. On the other hand, the TSA agent I’m dealing with has no power to change that, and typically does not have the luxury of being lax about enforcing rules. And besides, I’ve got a plane to catch and don’t have time to spend several hours giving lectures on deaf ears about My Goddamn Constitutional Rights, You Goddamn Nazi Fascists. That’s an argument better pitched at Congresscritters, judges and media talking heads, not the underpaid drone who has to put up with yr crap and everyone else’s.
Also, to be perfectly honest, I’m not all that worried about people seeing me naked and possibly posting the photos on the Internet. There are already photos of me naked on the Internet. If anything, I’d be more concerned about the lower quality. The enhanced groping is less appealing, but I’ve also had worse experiences.
But that’s just me. Lots of people won’t be comfortable with either option, and there’s no reason to subject them to it, especially when it's pointless from a Fighting Teh Terrors perspective.
So I do think it’s worth letting as many people know as possible that this is what it’s come to with air travel security – one way or another, it’s going to get intimate, if the US govt has its way.
But if yr going to get into civil disobedience, I do like the suggestion from one commenter on BoingBoing – if yr going to be frisked, pretend it’s turning you on. Especially if yr a guy.
“Him, the cute guy, I want him to do it, he’s hot, nice big hands”.
“So, while you perform your job, let’s get acquainted. Are you married”?
“You know, I go shopping for suits just so I can get my inseam measured”. [...]
The goal is to make the screeners so uncomfortable they will refuse to do it.
“So, while you perform your job, let’s get acquainted. Are you married”?
“You know, I go shopping for suits just so I can get my inseam measured”. [...]
The goal is to make the screeners so uncomfortable they will refuse to do it.
Sure, you’d probably double yr chances of going to jail. But it’d almost be worth it.
Search me,
This is dF
