I remember back in 2015 when these full-body scanners were under speculation by travelers. The Washington Post and several others made articles about this issue, but I never paid it any attention until it became an issue for me. This past summer, as I traveled to New York, I had an encounter with TSA (Transportation Security Administration) and their full-body scanner. Knowing all it entailed and what it consisted of, I was quite offended and decided to do a little more digging. The results were mind blowing, but its the government right? So what can really be done?
Since airports and TSA workers have reinforced new pat downs and body scans, there have been many high-profile acts of civil disobedience in response to these two new controversial procedures. A poll done by the Washington Post-ABC News found that only 32% of respondents objected to body scans while 50% were opposed to the pat downs offered as an alternative. These policies have not only raised questions about citizens' rights, but also passenger safety. Being that there are many critics to the government using invasive pat downs and body scans in airports, this policy should be eliminated for many reasons.
Not only did I FEEL violated, but I WAS being violated. My citizens' fourth amendment right was being violated. As American citizens, we are entitled to the right to be protected from unwarranted searches; by definition "these machines are a violation of the fourth amendment and highly invasive" (McCall). Because these body scans can take and project nude photographs of those who are subjected to them, they are seen as highly invasive. Furthermore, because the scans are often targeted at people who pose no obvious threat, the search of these people cannot be proven warranted. In all airports, many passengers are forced into one of two choices: "take a virtual strip search, or endure a really aggressive groping, and neither is appropriate" (Calabrese). The Bill of Rights was established not only to protect our freedoms, but also our human dignity, and these invasive measures are a direct violation of our dignity. When our dignity is stripped and we feel that we have no voice or defense, we feel emasculated and objectified. Despite the argument of many proponents that safety is worth any cost, there is no safety measure worth that humiliation. Speaking of cost, where are our tax dollars going?
They are a COMPLETE waste of time and money. Each $130,000 to $200,000 scanner is "a waste of hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars by inefficiently deploying screening equipment and technology to commercial airports" (Kelly). There is not enough capital to pay for these body scanners and it is money we do not have in the budget. Ultimately, spending money on these scanners is only making private companies rich off of fear-mongering. Besides it being a waste of money, it also "increases wait times at security checkpoints and create greater risk" (Carreiro). TSA is so focused on finding objects that they are really one step behind terrorists. This takes attention away from potential terrorist havoc and leaves passengers more vulnerable.
The list goes on and on dealing with: cost, the placebo effect, its ineffectiveness, etc. I just want to make others aware of this situation and inform people of their rights. Please use and exercise them, but know that with these changes, there are better protection methods for you as passengers as well as airlines while still having regards for your individual freedoms and rights.
