Monday, November 15, 2010
Passenger to TSA: “If you touch my junk, I'll have you arrested”
by Larry Geller
Yes, a passenger rebelled. And he documented the entire event, with some video and audio, on his blog.
Perhaps saying “if you touch my junk, I'll have you arrested” was not the best thing to say, but it’s a natural reaction to the threat of sexual assault.
He selected an airport that would not have a backscatter x-ray machine, but it turned out that they did. He declined to be x-rayed, and was told then that he would be patted down, and yes, they would be going all the way to the family jewels.
The blog documents his ordeal quite well. I hope you’ll visit it, and scroll down to the entry with the story and the videos. The series has already racked up well more than 5,000 comments. It’s hot.
I found it interesting that he was told he would have to leave the airport, and he did so willingly, escorted by a cop. He got a refund for his non-refundable ticket, and was then confronted on leaving and told that unless he went back through security, he would be hit with a $10,000 civil lawsuit. That’s harassment, they had told him he could leave.
As I said, this is hot. You’ve gotta read it. Please check out the link above.
Imagine for a moment if everyone refused. It’s not going to happen, but just imagine.
This hits us hard since we have to fly so often. Pilots are very upset, because they are exposed to so much radiation as it is.
This is a clear violation of the "innocent until proven guilty" doctrine that is so fundamental to American democracy and liberty.
As the US continues to invest hundreds of billions in wars that it cannot and will not win, TSA has been implementing an incrementally increasing infringement on basic civil liberties in this country.
Rather than resisting, perhaps passengers should simply volunteer to remove all clothing in the presence of all passengers. That way, everyone would know you are "clean". Trouble is, you would probably then be arrested for indecent exposure...ironic, given that the other option is exposure to radiation.
For many, the "intimate" pat-down is indeed sexual assault.
Bottom line, this is so George Orwellian 1984, it is truly not funny anymore.
"Brazil" here we come...Merry Christmas!!!
: November 17, 2010 at 1:19:00 AM HST << Home
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