For so long, the airline industry has taken it up the ass (Editor’s Note: they deserve it) but now it’s the Transportation Security Administration’s turn to face the heat for their part in the increasingly unpleasant air travel experience. The addition of Advanced Imaging Technology (aka Full Body Scanners) has been the hot issue to shift public focus from the horrible way that airlines treat you to the invasive way that the TSA treats you. I complied a bunch of links from the past few days for anyone looking for some good reads. I would like to state, for the record, that out of all my flying problems, I cannot specifically remember any outstanding issue I have ever had with the TSA.
- From Forbes: “Full Frontal Nudity Doesn’t Make Us Safer: Abolish the TSA”
- From The Consumerist: “You Might Be In Serious $%#@ For Refusing To Be TSA Screened”
- From Our Little Chatterboxes: “TSA – Sexual Assault”
- From Sign on San Diego: “TSA to investigate Oceanside man ejected from airport, may prosecute”
- From USA Today: “Unions tell pilots to avoid body scanners at airports”
- From The Consumerist: “Interview With Meg McLain, Ejected From Airport After Questioning Body Scanners” [This interview is a follow-up to my previous blog post]
- From Gizmodod: “One Hundred Naked Citizens: One Hundred Leaked Body Scans”
- From Strollerderby (So disturbing): “TSA Pats Down 3-Year-Old”
[I’m not even going to address the last link posted because I’m of the common sense that if you think a 3-year-old is being used as a human terrorist, you should probably first question the parents she is traveling with rather than scarring her in a way that’s usually portrayed in Lifetime movies. I only say this because even if the kid was a baby bomber, it’s basically 100% likely that it wasn’t of her own accord and she’s probably going to be fucked up for the rest of her life from that (talk about daddy issues) let alone the issues TSA adds on by feeling her up.]
My feelings on the entire thing is this: You can bitch and complain against TSA all you want but nothing is going to happen. With the exception of the 3-year-old girl, no one who is in a position to change it cares. I’m sorry, but it’s the truth. It’s all political. It’s easy to criticize the airline industry because all those CEOs give a crap about are their own paychecks. It’s the exact same with a government whose senators voted themselves a huge pay raise during a terrible recession. The TSA is a United States government agency. I agree that the full body searches are completely disgusting and offensive (see the 3rd link posted). I really do. I honestly don’t even think they’ll be all that effective in finding terrorists, but what do I know? I’m just a frequent flyer who no rights until after I’ve been waiting on a grounded airplane for over 3 hours.
Check out some of the links. What do you guys think? Does anyone out there have any personal experience with being “violated” by TSA?
