As you may have seen in the news lately, there is a growing backlash over the controversial full-body scanners that are being placed in the airports around the Untied States. CNET.com is reporting that “A growing number of airline passengers, labor unions, and advocacy groups, say the new procedures--a choice of full-body scans or what the TSA delicately calls "enhanced pat-downs"--go too far.”
The article goes on to say that “Unions representing U.S. Airways pilots, American Airlines pilots, and some flight attendants are advising their members to skip the full-body scans, even if it means that their genitals are touched.” Really?! You would rather be sexually assaulted then to be seen naked??
CNET goes on to report that “Air travelers are speaking out online, with a woman saying in a YouTube video her breasts were "twisted," and ExpressJet pilot Michael Roberts emerging as an instant hero after he rejected both the body scanning and "enhanced pat-downs" options and was unceremoniously ejected from the security line from Memphis International Airport.”
As I try to look at this issue from a nudist perspective, two things strike me as odd:
1. As a country that has no problem with exposure to violence yet recoils in horror at the sight of a bare breast (Ms. Jackson if you’re Nasty!), are we making a big deal out of nothing? Does it really matter who sees us naked? Why is this such a hang up for us? I certainly don’t want to go through an “enhanced pat-down” every time I go to the airport. Actually, I got no problem riding the plan in my birthday suit. But I’m a nudist and once you’ve embraced the lifestyle, your perspective on these issues tends to be a little skewed.
2. There is very little discussion on the long-term effects that this type of radiation may play on our bodies. Again, from the CNET article “Body scanners penetrate clothing to provide a highly detailed image that TSA says is viewed by a remote technician. Technologies vary, with millimeter wave systems capturing fuzzier images with non-ionizing radio waves and backscatter X-ray machines able to show precise anatomical detail.”
UPDATE 11/15/10: Biochemist says 'naked' X-ray scanner may be unsafe
Below is an image of an adult man that was taken using a Rapiscan Secure 1000 backscatter X-ray scanner. What testing has been done to assure us this is safe?
The ACLU has dubbed these devices "naked strip search machines" and a growing number of web sites have been launched to try and bring this to an end. Including Nudeoscope.com, DontScan.us, and StopDigitalStripSearches.org, all are hoping to translate dissatisfaction into political action.
UPDATE 11/15/10
I understand that we need to protect our right to privacy and that sometimes good intentions can become over reaching. Those who have left comments about this story seem most concerned about "handing over liberties without hesitation and tolerating these invasions." Excellent points that I don't disagree with!
However, isn’t the way our culture views nudity also part of the problem? When this story first broke, the press seemed more concerned with the fact that others would see us naked rather then the safety of the machines, the invasiveness of the "enhanced pat-downs", or the fact that images of screened passengers were being saved for unknown reasons. Perhaps the MAIN issue here is that our right to be clothed is just as important as our right to be naked. All rights need to be fought for and preserved.
As for me, just let me fly naked! Life is so much better nude.
