Fotografo de Bodas, Santiago

May 3, 2011

Yes, I put “Damn It!” in the title of this post, that’s how strongly I feel about the subject. I’ve also threatened Seba with his life if he ever chooses not to opt out.

Have you heard of the backscatter scanners they sometimes use at airports? Well, I am a MAGNET for those things. I mean, literally ever time I’m in a line with one, I’m chosen to go through it (only a select amount of passengers are made to go through this machine). And on our last flight out of Washington, D.C., the scanner wasn’t turned on as we waited in line. As we got closer, we saw them preparing to start using it. And as I approached the regular x-ray machine, guess who was the first person they asked to go through? Yep, me.

The last time we were in Michigan, the girl in front of me opted out. She was telling me that she worked at a doctor’s office and the doctor had told them that the radiation really wasn’t good for them and they should avoid it if possible. So they grabbed her for her patdown and then tried to wave me through the machine. I opted out and the TSA agent rolled her eyes so far back in her head all I could see what white. Sometimes the pat down agents are really friendly, and other times they’re crazy rough. At the Grand Rapids airport, I felt like the girl was giving me a back rub. I could tell that she thought patting me down was a waste of time and it was just as uncomfortable for her as it was for me. Though at this point, I no longer feel at all awkward because I’ve done them so many times. I just want to tell all the other passengers that stare at me, wondering what I did to deserve a full body pat down, that they too should opt out!

So yeah, I’ve never actually been through a backscatter scanner. I opt out every time. Why? BECAUSE THE WHOLE THING IS A LOAD OF CRAP. First of all, it’s radiation. For people like us, who are in airports a couple times a month, that gives us a higher risk of cancer. So yeah. No thanks. Secondly, it’s a machine that takes what is virtually a naked picture of you. And then the incompetent TSA does not delete them as promised. Any rogue employee could easily sneak a couple thousand nudie pictures of travelers on vacation out of the airport. The policies are really unclear. Thirdly, it’s a GODDAMN WASTE OF TIME.

Oh my gosh. I am sorry I’m using all caps lock so often in this post. I have to. The whole thing makes me so very angry.

BECAUSE SERIOUSLY.

When’s the last time a backscatter scanner has caught a terrorist attempting to blow up a plane? I’m going to go with…let’s say…OH WAIT, NEVER.

The only real way to say, “No. This is not ok with me,” is to opt out. If everybody, or even say 25% of all passengers opted out, TSA would not be able to continue with this process. At DCA I opted out and then Seba opted out right after me and they had to shut down an entire x-ray machine because they didn’t have enough people to run the normal x-ray machine and give us our pat downs. Ha! Take that TSA!

Do you opt out? Will you pretty please start opting out, if you’re reading this and you currently don’t opt out? And if you won’t, why?

15 Comments

Subscribe to comment feed

Facebook comments:

One Trackback

14 Comments

Haha – you're wonderful. I am alwaysssss getting searched. Always. But I have yet to ask to be scanned. I think they think I'm more likely to be carrying drugs than weapons. I'll definitely be opting out, though. =)

Comment by Nessa K — May 3, 2011 @ 10:05 pm

Reply
Yeees, I knew I could count on you to join my rebellion Nessa

Comment by Kyle — May 3, 2011 @ 10:12 pm

Reply
yes, I think those machines suck! What a waste of our money!! I much prefer a nice pat-down. haha

Comment by Heather — May 3, 2011 @ 11:15 pm

Reply
So glad for this post and how well you’ve educated me! I am opting out from now on!

Comment by Vivian — May 3, 2011 @ 11:33 pm

Reply
YAY! Someone else who always opts out!!! And I am totally a magnet for them too, I always get picked! No way am I letting some perv look at digital pictures of me. I think it’s way more invasive than a pat-down. Be forewarned tho that the policies are different in the UK airports – you cannot opt of the scanner, if you do they will not allow you to pass security and you can’t fly. Seriously. That is the only time I had to go through the scanner, and I was not happy about it. Although there the people who view your pics are in some room somewhere else, are “theoretically” all the same gender of the people being scanned, and call the people operating the scanner to let them know if you passed or not. So be prepared for your trip!

Comment by Petunia — May 4, 2011 @ 12:16 am

Reply
hahaha i was thinking about telling you how I opted out in miami… in tampa i was not even paying attention but as i approached the only open detector looked “different”. I have never been chosen to go through it so i wasnt sure if that was THE naked machine. I only knew it when i was standing inside so i had to let the pervs do it. They had the regular x rays closed!!! so everyone was “forced” to go thru it. I was mad that we had talked about this on twiter and I missed it. When i returned from MIA i was 100% sure which was the machine. The had it closed and got it opened just before I walked towards the security line. I said i would rather have the TSA agent do a manual search. she barely touched my calves. i thought it was going to be more uncomfortable. I have been telling my parents for a long time to opt out bc i think it is too much information to TSA. we are used to manual searches. if you travel to colombia, get ready for a very uncomfortable manual search (even in between your boobs and btw ur legs but all the way up) and not just at the airports!!! I dont mind bc i know that they are looking for guns so I feel safe that if anyone hides them, they will get caught.

Comment by cata — May 4, 2011 @ 6:29 am

Reply
and i forgot to tell you, i always get picked when i travel from Cali for an x-ray in Cali’s airport. This is the regular x-ray, not the naked scan, of my stomach to look for drugs! hahaha i always ask them to let me see after and show me how it would look if i was a mule. this x-ray you cant refuse. it is the police that asks “would you be willing to do an x-ray scan?” and if you say no they take you somewhere else for interrogation and I dont even want to know what else. I guess any woman that travels alone is a candidate… I hate to get the radiation but at the same time I understand why they do it. It has gotten better in the past years, i dont get picked as often (even even i travel alone). The police asks how much money you are traveling with and they dont believe me when i say $20!!! hahaha it is true, after all the shopping and vacation I am broke. Plus i never carry cash. they get mad in COL and the US when I answer the truth about how many dollars I am bringing into the county. You can never get it right with these people!

Comment by cata — May 4, 2011 @ 6:36 am

Reply
My first time going through this was on our way back to Chile through SFO in March, and I forgot about the whole controversy until I was in the machine and realized it was one of the new scanners. I don’t know that I will opt-out in the future either, to be honest. I don’t travel enough to be worried about the radiation right now, and in terms of the invasion of privacy I prefer someone seeing a “naked” picture of me to someone feeling me up. Both the pat down and the scanner meet your points 2 and 3 in my mind. I agree the whole thing is ridiculous and over the top, but “ridiculous and over the top” seems to be the TSA’s motto, unfortunately, so I don’t know that everyone opting out will cause them to rethink the process, it will just cause security lines to get longer. I’d be happy to be proven wrong though!

Comment by Emily — May 4, 2011 @ 7:13 am

Reply
Oops, when I said both options meet points 2 and 3, I was meaning in the sense that point 2 is an invasion of privacy that lends itself to being used in inappropriate ways. Not that a pat down creates pictures that can be smuggled out of the airport. I probably should have elaborated on that one.

Comment by Emily — May 4, 2011 @ 7:15 am

Reply
I somehow have had the uncanny luck of never going through one of those things! I hope the streak continues!! Love your passion, though, lady! I feel like I can hear you chanting “Opt out!” in my head!!

Comment by Oneika — May 4, 2011 @ 8:01 am

Reply
Agreed! I’ve only seen them once, and I simply walked to the next line a few feet over where they weren’t using it. I was seriously tempted to go to the line that was using it just so I could opt out to make a statement and lower their efficiency, but I was running late so I took the quick/easy way…

Comment by brett maxwell — May 4, 2011 @ 10:39 am

Reply
I knew from the start that sketchy sh** would happen with these. OBVIOUSLY men are going to take the photos of women and use them for weirdo purposes and they caught them doing so just months after it started. I definitely opt out and also told my boyfriend he better opt out, haha!

Comment by Catherine — May 4, 2011 @ 10:47 am

Reply
I’ve never been asked – but I would opt out…radiation is not ok.

Australia is super lax (people can still come into the terminal and meet people at the gate. I love it.

Comment by Deidre — May 4, 2011 @ 6:10 pm

Reply
Wow, as someone who’s never flown before but is about to start doing it pretty regularly I had no idea about this. I’m so opting out. Radiation – what the hell?

Comment by Ceri — May 6, 2011 @ 9:23 am

Reply