Cav's Place

And just when you thought that it was quite insane enough, it would seem that airport security is getting even worse. I do wonder if people will finally do something to stop this trend at least now, since plenty seem bothered by it, but unfortunately polls say most won’t, because they’re exactly the frightened sheep those in power wish them to be, believing they have to put up with all these things or the terrorists have won. And, of course, the terrorists do win thanks to that attitude, the only question being which ones.
Still, it’s nice to see that some do take action, through various means. Since this is not only about airport security but about a general trend in society, I can only hope that the numbers of those who act out against such measures will grow and those of the frightened sheep will dwindle, though experience says that it almost always turns out exactly the other way around, with the few rational individuals being crushed by the combined efforts of those in power and the mindless masses.

But let’s stop for a moment and just focus on these measures themselves, leaving the all too obvious greater implications aside. There’s quite enough to say about the risks posed by these scans, plus the privacy worries and discomfort associated with both possible procedures. Not to mention that, from the point of view of security, they still can only really stop copycats, because they only look for potential terrorists that’d use the methods that have been used in the past, when any serious attack planned by a major organization in a Western country is likely to involve an entirely new strategy. So, overall, we have yet another method of greatly inconveniencing, harming and taking away the freedoms of regular people in exchange for an all too small increase in security.
At first glance, it would appear that privacy is the primary concern of those who complain about these measures, along with the discomfort caused by being groped in such a manner if they opt out of the scanner. But different people are going to react to this in different ways, so this sort of response is to be expected from the mainly puritanical society seen in the USA but would perhaps be quite unlikely in more socially (and sexually) liberal countries. In the end, though even this can cause certain problems, excepting the victims of rape or abuse, who have every reason to be frightened by the prospect, being seen as if naked or even groped in such a manner shouldn’t realistically be a major cause of concern in itself. The fact that you’d likely be arrested if you’d show up naked or start groping your significant other in such a manner while waiting your turn is something that needs to be discussed separately, however.
What I see as truly worrying are the potential health hazards posed by those scanners. Even occasional exposure could be somewhat dangerous for certain categories of people, such as those who already have or are very likely to develop cancer or for small children, but imagine what they could do to those who travel by plane frequently. Since we’re talking about radiation, the damage tends to accumulate over time, so repeated exposure leads to ever increasing risks. That means that every single person who goes through the scanner forfeits just a little more of their right to a healthy life each and every time. The fact that people are exposed to similar or even greater doses of radiation in plenty of other places and in plenty of other ways isn’t an excuse, as it only means that we have our work cut out for us if we’re to eliminate such hazards from our lives, so we must make absolutely sure that no more will be added to the list.

Then again, considering the huge environmental footprint of flying, I certainly find pretty much anything that discourages people from using this means of transportation to be rather pleasing for that particular point of view. But, considering the frightened sheep, it’s unlikely that enough will stop flying because of this to have a significant impact, so the potential benefits are slim to none in this area as well.
Still, whether you’re more concerned about your health, your privacy, your personal property or anything else, refusing to fly is the most obvious way to protest against these measures and I strongly encourage everyone who is in any way able to reach their destination by some other means, or to skip the trip completely, to do so for as long as it takes. Even if your country does not currently employ such methods and expresses no desire to do so in the near future, they are likely to end up doing so anyway if this system will be permitted to exist and propagate, so it would also be very useful to send a very clear message to authorities and airline operators everywhere that such measures will not be tolerated, preferably by refusing to use their services until they sign binding agreements stating that they will never make use of these or any other similar methods of screening passengers.
However, if this would be impossible for you or if the impact would seem to be negligible, there are always other ways. The first is, obviously, having everyone opt out of the scanner, which would mean far too many people would need to be felt up for the security staff to manage. The others may be more and more disturbing and, at some point, even more and more illegal, but I also think these would have the greatest impact even if done by a small number of people. I’m talking about things such as farting just when the security agent’s nose is perfectly positioned to smell it, having something perfectly harmless but very gross somehow glued to your clothes in an area that you know will be reached, working out how you could wear something under your clothes that would cause an offensive message to be seen by the person watching the scanner’s screen, starting to fondle yourself or each other while waiting your turn and exaggerating the potentially disturbing parts of the procedure, flashing the security personnel or even showing up completely naked. Who knows, perhaps this way the message will get across before the frightened flock will once again mindlessly smother every voice of reason.