Does no one else feel that this conduct by agents of the government is extremely over the line? Where is the outrage? Would anyone on this site want to watch their wife/SO/mother/child go through this type of "screening"? Would I or anyone else not be immediately arrested if we came up to someone on the street and did this? Why the free pass for the government, who is supposed to protect it's citizens?After traveling this holiday season, I am left humiliated. I was selected for the infamous TSA pat-downs twice. At first, I thought it was no big deal. I expected that it may happen to me, so I was able to mentally prepare for the body search. Well, I was wrong. I was at the Philadelphia Airport, and a woman instructed me to move a few feet to the clear booth in front of me and wait. I looked around and could see curious faces staring in my direction. I saw my finance looking at me with a caring face. What I did not see was a private room. Tears began to fill my eyes as I realized I would be molested in front of all these people. Due to my standards of modesty encouraged by Judaism, I was wearing a knee-length denim skirt.
The TSA official took her hands down my thighs and calves, then went up the middle until she felt my genitalia. She then felt my pubic bone with the back of her hands. Afterward, she pulled forward my hemline, so she was able to see down my skirt, including my underwear. Onlookers close-by were able to see this as well. She felt underneath my bra-wire, and the side of my breasts. Fellow passengers just stood there, watching this happen to me. I wanted to burst into tears. I so badly wanted someone to rise up and say: Don’t do this! She is just a girl! Please stop! But there was no one. People watched, then took up their bags, got one last look, and began walking to their gate. I tried to be calm, I didn’t want to cause a scene or anything else that would prevent me from flying home. My fiance had my bags, and we left for our gate. I thought this awful experience was behind me. Well, I was wrong once again.
At the gate, TSA officials began assembling like locusts in front of the gate. This was an additional security measure, the intercom voice said. While waiting to board with my finance, I get waved down by a official. They want to check my bags. I hand over my backpack and roller carry-on. I honestly answer “not well” when the official asks how I am doing. They open my carry-on, and my undergarments are displayed to everyone looking. They go through my clothing in both of my bags, and when they are satisfied, they hand them back to me as if they did no wrong. I am beyond humiliated. My privacy has ceased to exist.
The worst part of this story is that I treasure my privacy. I have higher modesty standards than most people. I cover my shoulders, chest, mid-section, and thighs. I wear skirts. I also am careful about who I touch, and I am even more particular about who touches me. I cherish my body, and my personal space. The TSA robbed me of this. I am not being over-dramatic. I am simply being honest. A complete stranger was able to see down my pants. They saw my underwear. They saw my private parts. This is not normal. I did not agree to this. I was forced.
When my stay at home was over, I hoped that this would not happen again. Once again, I was wrong. There were two lines, one left and one right. The left had within it two lines leading to two metal detectors. The right line was considerably smaller. There was a full-body scanner, and a metal detector. I told the attendant I wanted to proceed through the metal detector because I did not want to be exposed to any radiation. After I went through the metal detector, I was waved to the side. The pat-down was going to happen again. This time, however, I asked why. The official informed me that it was because I did not go through the body-scanner. But, the entire left line was not going through the body scanner, and they were able to go to the gate without this intrusive search. The official did not have an answer to this.
I saw several black screens, and when the official saw me staring she offered me privacy during the search. I was relieved that the entire population at the gate would not see me get violated. I was accompanied by two female attendants, and the search began. I felt it was more intrusive than the one I experienced in Philadelphia. Perhaps it was because it was in private, perhaps it was just different standards used by the airport. Either way, my genitalia was felt, my breasts were felt, both thighs were rubbed, and my rear-end was felt as well. The only question I had at that point was: Why me?
Why me? I am a twenty-two year old girl. I have light tan skin, usually straight hair, large brown eyes, and I always wear a smile on my face. I am no terrorist. “Well, how do we know that?” the TSA official replied. I fit no profile. How is it helping security if I am the one who gets assaulted? People see me, and the thought I am a terrorist is no where in their heads. If it was, I would get suspicious stares everywhere I went. I would make people uncomfortable. How does this help our security? Treating everyone like a terrorist? That is ridiculous. By treating everyone like a terrorist, we are implying that we haven’t a clue who terrorists are. But we do know who terrorists are. They fit a profile, yet we are not using this. We make small children get pat-downs because they can be explosive. We molest young modest women like they are hiding deadly weapons in their skirts, instead of realizing they are protecting their bodies from objectification.
I treasure my body. I am protective of it. But now, I am left wondering what it’s worth. If some stranger is allowed under the law to feel to touch me wherever they want, no matter how private, how precious is my body? How valuable is my privacy? How prized is my dignity?
My country disappointed me. I was born in America, raised in America, educated in America. I rarely leave America, yet America treats me like a terrorist. There are other countries, Israel for example, who encounter terrorism more frequently than the USA, yet I have never been molested as a typical procedure. Israel has it right. They are more knowledgeable, yet we are not accessing them. Instead passengers who are obviously not terrorist are being sexually assaulted, and their bags are being displayed for all to see.
What is the passenger left with? Humiliation, and the realization that no one, including the United States government, cares about our privacy or dignity. Our bodies are not anything special, they are not anything to be treasured, they are worthless.
tk421
Senior Member
8,500
posts
tk421
Senior Member
8,500
posts
Tue, Jan 4, 2011 11:39 PM
Jan 4, 2011 11:39 PM
So, are the American people still OK with the new TSA "security" procedures? Here's a post from an aviation message board I'm on. Would you be fine with this? Where is the line drawn? How does this make flying safer? It's all about control and the subjugation of the public.
Jan 4, 2011 11:39pm
