You want to get to grandmother’s house on time for Thanksgiving dinner? Don’t mess with the TSA.
If a TSA agent asks you to go through the full body imager, just do it. Smiling is optional.
I know there are concerns about the revealing (and very unflattering) pictures they take.
I know it has been called an “electronic strip search.”
I know some frustrated frequent flyers are calling for a national opt out day on Wednesday, November 24th.
I know pilots’ unions and some flight attendants are calling for an “opt out” every day. Aside from privacy and civil liberty issues, they’re concerned about the radiation used to produce the image. Think about it. You and I may go through the scanner a couple times a year. They could go through it a couple times a day … five days a week … you get the picture. Even if, as the Homeland Security boss says, the doses are small, they add up over time.
So, airline professionals have a unique set of reasons to object.
Now lets get back to why I think you should not.
1) You don’t want the alternative.
The alternative to the full body scan is not to shift over to another line where there’s an old fashioned metal detector. Oh, no. You say, “I opt out” and you’re going to get “felt up.”
You laugh, but I’ve been told that the new, enhanced pat-down procedure is as close as any of us ever want to get to a sexual assault.
2) You don’t want to miss your flight.
The pat-downs take longer than the scan – a lot longer. So, if the pilots, flight attendants and many of your fellow passengers opt out, the line waiting for pats down could be unreasonably long.
Your plane could be half way to Denver before you clear the security checkpoint.
I have nothing against civil disobedience. But if you’re at the airport because you actually want to get on that flight that you paid way too much money for, then heed my advice.
Or, you could get to the airport really, really early. Say, three or four hours before departure? The kids will love you for it.
