Community | October 21, 2010 | 13 comments

How to opt out of the TSA’s naked body scanners at the airport

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im1mjrpain
I encountered my first airport naked body scanner while flying out of California today, and of course I decided to “opt out” of the scan. You do this by telling the blue-shirted TSA agents that you simply wish to opt out of the body scanner. Here’s what happened after that:
A TSA agent told me to step to the side and stay put. He then proceeded to shout out loudly enough for all the other travelers and TSA agents to hear, “OPT OUT! OPT OUT!” This is no doubt designed to attract attention (or perhaps humiliation) to those who choose to opt out of the naked body scanner. I saw no purpose for this verbal alert because the same TSA agent who was yelling this ultimately was the one who patted me down anyway.
For the pat down, first I was required to walk through the regular metal detector. From there, I was asked if I wanted to be patted down in a private room, or if I didn’t mind just being patted down in full view of everyone else. Not being a shy person in the first place, I told the agent I didn’t need a private room.
He then explained to me that he was going to pat down my entire body, including my crotch and my buttocks, but that he would use the back of his hands to pat down the crotch and buttocks areas. This is probably designed to make the pat-down seem less “personal” and more detached. That way, air passengers can’t complain of being felt up by TSA agents who might get carried away with the pat-down procedure. He asked if it hurt for me to be touched anywhere, and I told him no, at which point he proceeded with the pat down.
It was a well-scripted pat-down, covering all the areas of my body, including a mild crotch sweep (it wasn’t especially invasive or anything, as doctors will do far worse during a physical exam). He swept my arms, legs, hips, back of the neck, ankles and everywhere else. To the TSA’s credit, this guy was fast, efficient and only used a light touch that was in no way disturbing. But it did take an extra five minutes or so compared to walking through the naked body scanner.
Speaking of the naked body scanners, as I was having my crotch swept by the back of the hand of this TSA agent, I was observing other air travelers subjecting themselves to the naked body scanners. They were told to walk into the body scanner staging area and then hold their arms in the air in a pose as if they were under arrest. They were told to freeze in this position for several seconds (perhaps 10 seconds) during which they were being blasted with ionizing radiation that we all know contributes to cancer.
The TSA, of course, will tell you that these machines can’t possibly contribute to cancer. But they said the same thing about mammograms, and we now know that mammograms are so harmful to women’s health that they actually harm ten women for everyone one woman they help (http://www.naturalnews.com/020829.html). So I’m not exactly taking the U.S. government at its word that naked body scanner radiation is “harmless.”
As these air travelers were being scanned, their naked body images were appearing on a screen somewhere, of course. Some TSA agent was examining the naked body shape and contours of all these people, and even though we were told by the TSA that the image viewing machines cannot store images, we have since learned that the machines actually do have the capability to store those images (http://www.naturalnews.com/029378_f…). In addition, rogue TSA employees could simply use their cell phones to take snapshots of what they see on the screen. There are no doubt rules against such behavior, but it’s bound to happen sooner or later.
Meanwhile, my own security screening was proceeding fully clothed. I don’t want to broadcast my naked butt cheeks on the TSA’s graphic monitors, thank you very much!
Very few people opt out of the naked body scanners.
The most fascinating part about this entire process was not the verbal broadcast of my opt out status, nor having my crotch swept by the latex-covered back hand of some anonymous TSA agent, but rather the curious fact that I was the only one opting out. Although I must have watched at least a hundred people go through this particular security checkpoint, there wasn’t a single other person who opted out of the naked body scan.
They all just lined up like cattle to have their bodies scanned with ionizing radiation.
To me, that’s just fascinating. That when people are given a choice to opt out of being irradiated, they will choose to just go along with the naked body scan rather than risk standing out by requesting to opt out.
You see, I’m not convinced that the TSA’s naked body scanners enhance air travel security at all. Previous security tests conducted by the FAA show quite clearly that the greatest threat to airplane safety isn’t from the passengers but from ground crews, where bombs and other materials can be quite easily smuggled onto planes.
But even though naked body scanners may not enhance air travel security, they do accomplish something far more intriguing: The successful completion of an experiment in human behavior. If you were to pose the question “Will people line up like cattle to be electronically undressed in front of government security officers?” The answer is now unequivocally YES!

FULL ARTICLE HERE:
http://www.infowars.com/how-to-opt-out-of-the-tsas-naked-body-scanners-at-the-ai...
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13 comments // How to opt out of the TSA’s naked body scanners at the airport

  • ayipis
    • 0
      ayipis  
    • we cant have planes being rammed against buildings and we cannot profile people..LOL

      so we SCAN everybody..just to be fair *wink wink*

    • 1 year ago
  • good_stuff
    • 0
      good_stuff  
    • I feel bad for the TSA's who have to do this stuff. What if the opt out was a severely obese passenger, would they have to look beneath the rolls of fat?

      I wonder if I am allowed to argue that it is against my religion for anyone except a female TSA to pat me down (I'm male)?

    • 1 year ago
  • dadevil
  • remanns
  • remanns
  • remanns
    • 0
      remanns  
    • I,... personally,.... prefer the "personal' touch.
      ( CAN you select your "pat down" partner? )

      I REALLY want to be able to LOUDLY publicly proclaim,..." I want MINE from HER " !!! in response to an "Opt out" ! "Opt out" ! cry from security. Really. I would be OK with that. I dig girls in uniform.

      - TURN ABOUT is air fare play !

      p.s. "Opt out" ?!? "No,...baby,....I'm opting IN,....IN LIKE FLYNN"! is also an acceptable retort.

    • 1 year ago
  • natuhlee
    • 0
      natuhlee  
    • A police state is coming and it's terrifying that so few people seem to care or even notice. But then again, I guess that's the genius of the system - turn people into slaves and have them be happy about it

    • 1 year ago
  • Mark701
    • 0
      Mark701  
    • I will never step in front of one of those machines! Ever! They blast you with x-rays that have the strength to penetrate your body just like an xray at your doctors office. Except they aren't focusing on one small part of your body. How can anyone make the claim that this won't hurt you? It's electromagnetic radiation, which CAN hurt you.

      I suspect the claim that it won't hurt you is based on an assumption of frequency of exposure. It's not that the x-rays are harmless but that you won't be exposed to them often enough to cause any harm. (which by the way is the exact same rationale used by doctors and dentists). However there are people who fly quite frequently and some perhaps every day. There is no way this is going to be safe for them.

    • 1 year ago
  • bubl_415
    • 0
      bubl_415  
    • Well, we are not all sheep. I opted out on the 8th of Oct. on my way to NY out of SFO. I do not want extra radiation projected into my body. Off course the TSA lady was screaming "OPT out! OPT out!" like I'm some crazy person that everyone needs to be aware of, scream all you want lady I don't really care! I wore leggings and a tight cotton shirt dress so it's not like I can hide anything in that outfit.

      I do not trust that these machines aren't harmful. I don't want them to affect my reproductive health, I have yet to have a child and that is a concern for me as well as various forms of cancer. My mom used to get pissed when the dentist wanted to ex-ray my teeth unnecessarily so there is no way I'm going to let them scan my whole body. I plan on be well traveled in the future so this body scanning is not an option for me. What about people who travel for work constantly? This is not healthy and I don't think it makes us safer.

      Also its funny how when you are eating at a restaurant in the airport there are no real butter knives (ohh so sharp), but there are real forks and spoons. As if you can't stab someone in the eye with a fork and do no damage. Ha!

      System of Control...

    • 1 year ago
  • im1mjrpain
    • +2
      im1mjrpain  
    • Just wait and watch how this gets even worse. Today, you can opt out of the TSA’s naked body scanners, but after a year or two — once the sheeple get comfortable with giving up all their freedoms — these scans will become mandatory. That’s the day I give up air travel for good.

    • 1 year ago
  • bubl_415
  • Mark701
    • +1
      Mark701  
    • im1mjrpain:

      I don't think so. The fact that they're "optional" means they can say you had a choice not to be scanned So, in the event you get cancer they can waltz into court and claim you chose to be scanned and they are not liable for what happened. Not sure it would hold up but I guarantee it would be their first line of defense.

    • 1 year ago
  • im1mjrpain
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