TSA- What are are our rights?

Parent Cafe
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<p>Yesterday, when flying back from LA (Orange County), I was wearing a blouse, pants and a big pashmina-type scarf wrapped around me in lieu of a jacket to keep me warm when the plane A/C gets going. I walked through with the scarf draped over me and they patted the scarf down. Oh well. I just can’t imagine getting worked up about this stuff. Let 'em. Better safe than sorry.</p>

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<p>I can deal with scanning. I can deal with “patting.” And I’m fully aware that TSA employees don’t get their jollies doing enhanced pat-downs. We have to sacrifice convenience and even personal comfort for more secure travel - I get that. I can accept these as conditions for air travel. But the kind of groping described in post 28 above - doesn’t that cross a line? And will it be an indication of our lack of sophistication if we object to cavity searches, which may well be on the horizon, given the limitations of surface scans?</p>

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<p>“Is there any reliable information about the radiation risk from these scanners?”</p>

<p>NO. It is a medical device (according to the FDA definitions) that has never been cleared by the FDA through controlled clinical trials.</p>

<p>In Europe, pregnant women and children under 18 are exempt from body scanning because the Eropean officials admit that the risks associated with this procedure are not yet studied. A group of US MDs called upon the TSA to stop using the devices until the risks associated with them are well characterized. The radiation from these devices is designed to concentrate in the upper layer of your skin that consists of rapidly dividing cells. Rapidly dividing cells and radiation = risk of replication errors, mutations and cancer. We smother ourseves in sunblock yet we are OK with irradiating our skin with x-rays? </p>

<p>[American</a> Civil Liberties Union Body Scanners: Known Unknowns](<a href=“http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security-technology-and-liberty/body-scanners-known-unknowns]American”>Body Scanners: Known Unknowns | ACLU)</p>

<p>The whole scanner issue is a joke because the scanners are NOT designed to detect the type of powderous explosives recently used in HP cartridges (per CNN report that I watched while waiting for my flight at SeaTac).</p>

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<p>Speaking of jokes:</p>

<p>[TSA</a> Pulls Aside Humorist Dave Barry for “Blurred Groin”](<a href=“http://www.aclu.org/blog/technology-and-liberty/tsa-pulls-aside-humorist-dave-barry-blurred-groin]TSA”>TSA Pulls Aside Humorist Dave Barry for "Blurred Groin" | ACLU)</p>

<p>It sounds like a joke but it is not.</p>

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<p>I felt violated when a TSA employee pulled the elastic waistband of my skirt and looked down the front and back inside my skirt. Security Theater does not make flying any safer.</p>

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<p>Aren’t you the clever girl, avoiding LAX, Pizzagirl. All that traffic and long lines - so much easier to fly into and out of OC.</p>

<p>The airports in OC are a little friendlier to Pashima wearing women. </p>

<p>The screeners at LAX would have likely made you take off the scarf. ;)</p>

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<p>dntw8up, that is outrageous! Please report your experience here:</p>

<p>[Report</a> TSA Pat-Down Search Abuse | American Civil Liberties Union](<a href=“http://www.aclu.org/technology-and-liberty/tsa-pat-down-search-abuse]Report”>http://www.aclu.org/technology-and-liberty/tsa-pat-down-search-abuse)</p>

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<p>The inconsistency of training TSA employees is a known problem, by those that run TSA.</p>

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<p>I am flying tomorrow to visit an ill family member for the Thanksgiving holiday, and have been increasingly distressed as the visit approaches, less because a family member’s death is imminent than because of the enhanced screening measures.</p>

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<p>BunsenBurner - I have been informed by acquaintances employed in security theater that pulling on the elastic waistband of pants/skirts to look down the front and back is permissible. It is also permissible to require those who are not wearing elastic to remove pants/skirt and submit to an enhanced pat down while covered by a flimsy sheet. The flying public has no idea what screening measures they’ve implicitly agreed to by purchasing a ticket and entering the security line, and that lack of knowledge is supposed to further enhance security.</p>

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<p>OMG, Charles Krauthammer’s essay in today’s WaPost is the funniest thing I’ve read in ages.</p>

<p>[Charles</a> Krauthammer - Don’t touch my junk](<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/18/AR2010111804494_pf.html]Charles”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/18/AR2010111804494_pf.html)</p>

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<p>OC airport is ranked as one of the most dangerous airport to take off and land. It is because it is in the middle of most wealthy town, and the pilots are required to shut their engines when they get close to the airport.</p>

<p>My H won´t let us go through the full body scanner. He read it somewhere that amount of X ray from the scanner is not healthy. He said to always ask for a pat down because you do have an option of doing the scanner or a pat down.</p>

<p>Last weekend when D2 and I were flying back to NY, at our international airport,some how they identified D2 as a possible terrorist. I was ahead of her trying to get our visas stamped, I turned around and I saw them pushing D2 into the scanner. I literally screamed at them to stop what they were doing (didn´t help they didn´t understand English). I ran back to ask them to do a pat down on D2 instead (actually D2 told them in Spanish). I looked crazy enough that they didn´t even bother to do a pat down.</p>

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<p>I find it weird that we are willing to put up with this level of intrusiveness, when we accept much greater levels of risk in so many other areas of our lives (such as on the highway). My problem with this is that I’m afraid once you “enhance security” in any way, there’s no turning back, ever.</p>

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<p>Good for you, oldfort. I would do the same. I’m not a fan of untested medical devices and governmental medical experiments. Read the opinion of scientists on the risks of body scanners:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/ucsf-jph-letter.pdf[/url]”>http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/ucsf-jph-letter.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>I traveled through a foreign country just a few days after its leader was sent a suspicious package that was reported to be packed with explosives. Do you think the security folks there were stripping everyone naked? I went through the magnet *with my 3-inch wedge shoes on *, was wanded all around, and my carryon was scruitinized (they did find the lip gloss that did not make into my plastic baggie while in the US I was able to go through the security with a bottle of grape juice in my carryon!).</p>

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<p>Not that I know of, but here is a letter of concern from several MD’s and PhDs from UCSF school of medicine that lists some potential health issues.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.npr.org/assets/news/2010/05/17/concern.pdf[/url]”>http://www.npr.org/assets/news/2010/05/17/concern.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Has this actually been done to passengers? I never heard of this being done.</p>

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<p>My daughter just went through security at Boston Logan a few minutes ago with no scanner or pat-down of any kind, although she said she would gladly comply with either.</p>

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<p>My concern exactly. For example, It’s only been recently that anyone realized how high the radiation dose is from CT Scanners. There’s been a big push to lower the level but millions have already been exposed. For example, I have several friends who thought it was a great idea to get a heart scan in their 40s to make sure they didn’t have heart disease (no symptoms or anything - just wanted reassurance). Well, come to find out, a heart CT is equivalent to 400 chest x-rays. Now these friends are at high risk for breast and/or lung cancer. They would have never done the heart scan had they known that.</p>

<p>Sometimes they don’t know the ramifications until years after the fact. The medical community does not have all the answers.</p>

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<p>“Has this actually been done to passengers? I never heard of this being done.”</p>

<p>The poster who wrote about TSA people looking down her skirt said it was done to her. Interesting statement found on the TSA blog: if you refuse the procedures and decide not to fly, you will still be subject to arrest by LEO and civil penalties.</p>

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<p>The two Congressman who are going to have leadership responsibilities for aviation issues seem to be a tad upset by the new “enhanced pat downs” (note the last line):</p>

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<p>[TSA</a> pat-downs ‘overly intrusive,’ key lawmakers say - USATODAY.com](<a href=“http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2010-11-19-tsa-pat-downs-criticized_N.htm]TSA”>http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2010-11-19-tsa-pat-downs-criticized_N.htm)</p>