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So here I am trying to figure out my trip to the UK next month. And, of course, London airport is installing those full body scanners that show semi-naked pictures of you basically. They use electromagnetic impulses to detect things you could hide on your body, like a bomb essentially. The news keeps saying that people are really opposed to them. But then they show these little old ladies being all mad and being creeped out by their invasion of privacy.
What's the hive think? Is it that big of a deal? Are they a necessary evil in this day of suicide bombs and people attacking planes or are you vehemently opposed to the scans?
Personally I'd rather be scanned than be patted down and I'd rather be scanned than deal with the prospect of terrorists. Not that I want, say, the whole line of people waiting to be scanned to see my image, but if it's just one operator who's trained to look for metal...
Terrifying!! They have them already at SFO, but so far they are only asking the men to go through them.
Disturbing to know that there are nudy pics of my FI out there that I did not take!
It is embarrasing, but I think if they can have the screen so that only the operator can see it (not like the the x-ray machines, where almost anyone can see the screen) it is better than being patted.
TSA also "trains" its employees to search for bombs, etc in our luggage. That doesn't mean some TSA employees don't steal expensive equipment from our luggage, for example. I always travel with my mac & dslr on me. Everyone's human, and some are more opportunistic than others.
It definitely creeps me out that some random guy sees me nekkid when I fly. No more personal responsibility...
This honestly doesn't bother me that much. I saw the pictures that they create (on the Today Show) and they're pretty cartoonish. I don't think it's equivalent to me in a Playboy or something.
And agree with EJS...I'd rather have that than to be patted down.
The images are reviewed in some sort of enclosed room, so not any schmuck can see them.
But I'm also skeeved out by the thought of trading privacy for security. Getting a little too Big Brother.
It is ridiculous. Every single one of us is more likely to die as a result of the flu the dude next to you in the plane has, but we don't get ape sh!t crazy over that (only a little, this year).
Honestly, I think we should all have a little dignity and recognize that nothing can ever be 100% safe. The more terrorized and cowardly we act, the more the terrorists (whose job is to cause terror), have won.
I got the pat down when I flew out to Hawaii for new years. I think it was random sample, but it was so embarassing having to stand on display in a little taped square in front of everyone. we didn't have to deal with the scanners on the way home though, luckily.
From my understanding the viewer of the images is in a completely seperate location than the machine. Therefore this person would never really even know who you are.
I have no issues with this. It's not as if they are viewing a full frontal spread in Playboy. From what I saw on the news it's basically just an outline of the body, a woman was the participant and you couldn't see her breasts or any other private area. I just personally don't think it's too invasive and I'm all for what can protect us better.
hah, tell you what, if it eliminates going through all the steps I had to deal with last week when I flew into the states... I'll take it.
Seriously, I had to get x-rayed and had to COMPLETELY unpack each of my carryons 6 times for 3 flights (once for domestic flight in China, 3 before getting onto my international into the US, and twice in Newark before my domestic US leg!) It was absolutely ridiculous, the lines were horrendous, and it took for.ev.er. I'd MUCH rather have a quick scan and move on.
i'm fine with that if and only if they get rid of all the other completely looney rules they have in place. Color coded terror levels? please - give me a break, it's just a political gimmick. Taking shoes off, fluids in a baggie, etc. Like I couldn't switch my bottle of Herbal Essences with something if i wanted to. TSA that just screams and screams all day. If they could replace hapless TSA stuff with a single imaging machine that only one person sees, per line, whatever. I fly a lot, and that stuff annoys me soooo much, can't you tell? hehe
They look like aliens!
millimeter-wave-backscatter.jpg (13.1 KB, 62 downloads) 2 years old scanner_image.jpg (31.1 KB, 86 downloads) 2 years old
Also - the images are completely private - they don't display them for any other passengers OR other screeners for that matter.
I agree with others...I would rather have the full body scan done then to be patted down....I just want to be safe when I travel, so I am good with this new scan...
I also don't think it's too invasive. I'd rather have that then a pat down as well. Part of me does wonder where it ends, but considering that people are screaming for safety and for privacy, it's a decent compromise.
I would much rather have a naked scan done of me than be killed on an airport by a bomb that the original scanner didn't pick up! I don't know how in the heck that guy got on the airplace with that bomb! It baffles me! But, something more serious had to be done...& I guess this is it!
Sucks that this is what America has come to today, and that there are so many freakin crazy people out there!
The scan doesn't really bug me - I don't know the scanner, he/she doesn't know me, no big.
I just find an additional hoop to jump through (that may or may not actually make us safer) annoying.
I don't know how I feel about it. I think I will have to experience it before I can make any final decisions.
I did however, travel through Logan airport one time on a work trip. There were both woman & men (total 5 or 6) traveling in our group. The airline had canceled our original plane and the airport was desperately trying to find us new flights to get out of the city. Finally we got to security, instead of having the metal detectors; they had the machines that blow puffs of air on you. Most of us have never had to use that and didnt know what to expect & TSA didn't bother explaining anything to us. With all the girls-I can't be sure-but it seems as though they used more air on us, bc every one of our shirts went flying up to expose our tummies and a bit of our bras, the guy got nothing. Or so it seems, maybe they had their shirts tucked in. But we didn't have time to complain to anyone since our flight was already boarding and we still all needed to get through security and race to the end of the gates to catch our plane.
@daydreamwanderer, that reminds me the last time i flew to vegas they made this woman unpack her stuff...well, she was a woman in her 40's and apparently had picked up a lot of, well, showgirl type clothes. We're talking leather red boots and a sparkly bra and all kinds of stuff. I felt SO bad for her! But it was funny too =]
I went through one and they could tell I was wearing lace panties! How creepy is that? And better yet, they announced it in front of everyone while I was awaiting their results of the scan and told me loudly that my undergarment print was showing oddly on the screen. Gee, thanks. I really wanted everyone knowing what I was wearing underneath. They still had to pat me down, which was really uncomfy cause of the area that they suspected...Grrr!
Haha they do look like aliens! I would rather have that than having someone pat me down. Especially because they touch you all over for that ick.
Yeah, FI was scanned in one of those machines on our way back from Detroit a couple weeks ago and it was very quick and totally private. No one can see the screens they are looking at. And I'd rather walk around in my underwear around total strangers than be bombed out of the sky.
For some reason I always have issues when I fly. I can't tell you how many times I've been pulled aside and had extensive screening take place. And I've been in one of these machines. It's not a big deal at all. They had a woman screener come in to check the image and it was way easier than the wand and pat downs I've been through and super fast too!
Ms Sassy - they have that air puffing machine at the Jacksonville airport - I don't like it either!!
I once got patted down at Logan as part of a random check, that was slightly embarassing - had to stand in a glass cubicle in the middle of the hubbub while some TSA chick looked inside my sneakers.
the puffer machine in jacksonville smells a little bit weird. I always hold my breath! But the airport itself is lovely!
@ejs - thing is, it wasn't just me, it was EVERYONE. They had seven security officers actually past the gate on the little bridgy thing that you walk down to get on the plane. It was absolutely insane. I've never seen anything like it before. It took so freaking long. I'm glad my layovers weren't too short!
Is it bad that I'd be more embarrassed to have them see my love handles than my girly parts?
I think I'm ok with the machines... if they keep me safer, then I'm all for it! However, I TOTALLY unerstand why some people woule be really uncomfortable with the new machines. It doesn't really seem like there's a good answer to this :-(
They've actually been in London for a few years. Last time I was "chosen" for one right after they installed them in Heathrow I had been given the choice of going through or getting an extra pat down, emptying bags, and something else. Of course, they made it sound like it was one of the puffer ones and didn't tell me what it actually was. Once I found out I was really pissed and felt violated.... this was before hoopla though too and the screen wasn't exactly tucked into a little booth.
Am I the only one who would rather a pat down? I've never had someone "get fresh" on a pat down and they don't usually grab your chest or butt.
This whole thing is stupid. Whats to stop multiple people to bring multiple vials of 3oz explosives. What's to stop many things.
I should clarify, the reason I felt violated was that 1) I wasn't told what it was 2) I could SEE the person looking at the image... and they could see me... and now they know what I look like naked 3) What IS to stop the TSA 18 year old screeners from abusing this. Or the creepy 40 year old ones.
It's supposed to now me done in a manor that's fully enclosed and they don't physically see the person at any point. That's not as bad... It's not much different that the fact that most department stores have camera's in the dressing rooms.
My bigger issue is the severe loss of privacy we're having forced upon us as a whole/nation.
I'm fine with the scanners anything that will help us stay safe is great. It is funny how a country like the U.S. that is so sex crazed (sex in media, movies, songs, advertising damn near everything) is soooo conservative when it comes to a body scanner. I'd rather be put into a machine that basically takes an x-ray of me rather then have some one pat me down. Think about it, but that is just my opinion.
@Daydream..."Is it bad that I'd be more embarrassed to have them see my love handles than my girly parts?"...HILARIOUS!!
We were talking about this at work today. Isn't it amazing how they had them ready to go so fast? Honestly, I think that as long as other parts of the world are lax in their security, the U.S. will always be at risk. The bomber boarded his plane in Amsterdam so are THEY getting scanners as well?
@Daydream..."Is it bad that I'd be more embarrassed to have them see my love handles than my girly parts?"
- What if they see both!? lol I see lots of dimples and rolls on the lady above ;-)
I've done the full body scan and been patted down. When I had the scan they actually gave me the choice of scan or pat down. I'd totally rather have the scan. At least you just walk through it and don't have some lady poking at you in front of a bunch of other travelers!
@KLP - that's what made me think of it. My first reaction was "who cares if some random person I'll never see again sees an outline of my bust?!" and then I saw the picture and was like "OMW nooooo they'll see my fat rolls!!!" haha...
@ Chipmunk.
Excuse me, but my opposition to the scanner is NOT about prudishness. It is about personal liberty and acting like children. We cannot be perfectly safe, but we all seem willing to give up our privacy, our dignity, our tax dollars, to pretend we are more safe. And it is pretend.
That sounds angrier than I mean. I guess the nicer way to say it is that this is a matter of principle for me, not body consciousness.
@Jamaica - Interestingly enough, most European countries are far more intense WRT security than the U.S. Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam does have the body scanners, and has since 2007. It's unclear at this point whether or not Mutallab actually went through one of these, though, as his flight originated in Nigeria.
i once took my scuba ankle weights in my carry on luggage in when they were xrayed they looked like a dildo - the man looked at me, looked at the image, looked at me, i looked at the image and i was DESPERATE to show him and he was "no, its ok love-i dont need to see" and i was "yes, you DO need to see" as i opened my bag to show him
i couldnt care less about the scanned images - although i know i wont look my best the above example shows its kinda alien looking and hard to identify the person so i wont feel violated
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