My friend Jill put it better thanI could. This is her post about the TSA scanners and pat-downs, and I highly recommend it to anyone that’s even remotely interested. Remotely interested, adn even un-outraged by the new procedures.
“As for me, I shall remain outraged.” – Click.
She hits on all the important points and here are just a couple that I co-sign:
- If we’re suddenly safe on airplanes now that the scanners and pat-downs are in effect, were we unsafe between the time of the last attempted hijacking/bombing and now? Were all of you ‘safe now’ people sitting at home, petrified to fly during that time?
- No, flying is not a right. Neither is talking on the phone. But if the government tapped all our phones and overheard every single one of our conversations to our spouses, friends, children, parents, would that be okay? By that logic, you ‘flying is not a right’ people are also huge fans of the Patriot Act. AND GO.
- Of all the terrorist plots aboard airplanes since 9/11, none were stopped by the TSA. Big fat none. They were stopped by the passengers. The same passengers that are now having their butts, breasts, and genitals groped.
Here are just some of my own points I want to toss in:
- The scanners are a big waste of time and money and can easily be overcome.
- Just because you’re fine with it, don’t for a minute think that means you get to tell the rest of us to be fine with it. Because victims of rape or sexual abuse, Muslim/Mormon women, among many others, will never be fine with this.
- Obama is a fucking idiot not to speak against the scanners. It’s an issue that crosses party lines, that has Dems, Repubs, Libs, everyone up in arms. He could have easily turned this into a uniting issue and helped put an end to it, instead of coming off as our out-of-touch overlord who doesn’t care about the scanners because Sasha and Malia will never have to be patted down before boarding Air Force One.
- Adam Savage was chosen to go through the scanners. They got their picture of his body but somehow missed the 12-inch razor blades on his body. Since the razors weren’t near his genitals they probably wouldn’t have been detected in the pat-down, either.
- You are no safer now than you were before. If you honestly think you are, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I can sell you. Take a flight out tomorrow, because I’ll need about 10 hours to drive there.
Please read Jill’s post. It’s awesome.
