5 ms·

This seemed inevitable to me. There's officially nothing wrong with the scanners, right? Out-opters are just old fashioned, and they're just putting up with us

This seemed inevitable to me. There's officially nothing wrong with the scanners, right? Out-opters are just old fashioned, and they're just putting up with us for now until we die out, or they slowly but inevitably loosen the last fingers from our grip on our own dignity. I've already been denied entrance into the secure area of an airport once a couple years ago, until I went through a scanner, because they found traces of some chemicals on me and/or my luggage. (Was probably from a campfire).

67726e 11y ago
I don't opt-out to be old-fashioned, I do it as protest. You want to waste my time with your security theater, I will surely waste yours.
- asciimo 11y ago
  That was exactly my position. Then I got really uncomfortable during a pat-down at SFO and decided that I'd rather suffer humiliation at the hands of a machine.
  - 67726e 11y ago
    I'm curious what they did to make you uncomfortable? Aside from some pissed off grumbling it usually doesn't elicit much of a response.
    - asciimo 11y ago
      It started when the agent asked if I had ever been patted down before. I said something like "many times." He told me a story about some guy who flies out of SFO twice a week and always opts out. His tone was creepy, and he suggested that this fellow must really like getting patted down. Meanwhile, he was taking his time, giving me an unusually thorough "screening." I was disturbed by the whole thing and felt violated.
  - mindslight 11y ago
    Really? I call the process "molestation" and refer to the goons as "kiddie-fondlers" in every day conversation, but honestly I've never been uncomfortable with how they've actually touched me. I don't particularly want to be touched, but maybe my violation meter has already been pegged by the larger process or maybe I'm just happy to finally get through the obvious-target-of-next-false-flag chokepoint and interact with someone closer to being a human. Or maybe SFO is different due to having privatized thugs plus SF, uh, customs.
    - ipsin 11y ago
      If you've never been uncomfortable with how they've touched you, maybe it's probably because you've never been firmly searched. I thought the "light touch" was universal, but once I did get an agent who really "got up in there" . It wasn't traumatic for me, and I'd do it again, but it was a very different experience from previous pat-downs.
      - mindslight 11y ago
        Maybe? I've been felt up more than 20 times. I think perspective has a lot to do with it. I try to make a point of getting eye contact with people mindlessly going through the cancer scanner [0]. So I'm thinking more "bring it on", and if they do anything I reflexively react to, all the better for illustrating the modern state of USG. And as I said, having to completely unpack my backpack and separate myself into 4 or 5 bins is violating enough. Their net function is basically to destroy security. [0] Standard operating theory of the machines likely doesn't add to cancer risk, but I don't see why I should take on liability for unknowable malfunctions that may. And boy those goons sure do get hyper defensive when you ask why they're not wearing dosimeters.
        tjohns 11y ago
        Regarding cancer: All the US scanners use millimeter-wave (radio) now. All of the older backscatter x-ray machines have been sold off. A dosimeter would show zero, because there's no longer any ionizing radiation involved.
- fixermark 11y ago
  Ah, convenient. As of this privacy impact assessment update, you can waste significantly more of their time. ;)
- flubert 11y ago
  >I do it as protest http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2010/11/another_man_gets_harassed_at_a.html http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2010/11/another_man_gets_hara...
- blackbagboys 11y ago
  You know that the agents of the system whose time you are ostensibly wasting are paid to be there, right? And that the system is explicitly designed to accommodate such a 'protest'? You may find this an interesting read: http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2010/11/another_man_gets_harassed_at_a.html http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2010/11/another_man_gets_hara...
ThomPete 11y ago
Or they had a melanoma like me and their doctor said that the aren't sure it's such a good idea (yes we are aware it's not radioactive, yes we are aware that flying itself is also dangerous but no reason to add more)

67726e 11y ago

I don't opt-out to be old-fashioned, I do it as protest. You want to waste my time with your security theater, I will surely waste yours.

asciimo 11y ago
That was exactly my position. Then I got really uncomfortable during a pat-down at SFO and decided that I'd rather suffer humiliation at the hands of a machine.
- 67726e 11y ago
  I'm curious what they did to make you uncomfortable? Aside from some pissed off grumbling it usually doesn't elicit much of a response.
  - asciimo 11y ago
    It started when the agent asked if I had ever been patted down before. I said something like "many times." He told me a story about some guy who flies out of SFO twice a week and always opts out. His tone was creepy, and he suggested that this fellow must really like getting patted down. Meanwhile, he was taking his time, giving me an unusually thorough "screening." I was disturbed by the whole thing and felt violated.
- mindslight 11y ago
  Really? I call the process "molestation" and refer to the goons as "kiddie-fondlers" in every day conversation, but honestly I've never been uncomfortable with how they've actually touched me. I don't particularly want to be touched, but maybe my violation meter has already been pegged by the larger process or maybe I'm just happy to finally get through the obvious-target-of-next-false-flag chokepoint and interact with someone closer to being a human. Or maybe SFO is different due to having privatized thugs plus SF, uh, customs.
  - ipsin 11y ago
    If you've never been uncomfortable with how they've touched you, maybe it's probably because you've never been firmly searched. I thought the "light touch" was universal, but once I did get an agent who really "got up in there" . It wasn't traumatic for me, and I'd do it again, but it was a very different experience from previous pat-downs.
    - mindslight 11y ago
      Maybe? I've been felt up more than 20 times. I think perspective has a lot to do with it. I try to make a point of getting eye contact with people mindlessly going through the cancer scanner [0]. So I'm thinking more "bring it on", and if they do anything I reflexively react to, all the better for illustrating the modern state of USG. And as I said, having to completely unpack my backpack and separate myself into 4 or 5 bins is violating enough. Their net function is basically to destroy security. [0] Standard operating theory of the machines likely doesn't add to cancer risk, but I don't see why I should take on liability for unknowable malfunctions that may. And boy those goons sure do get hyper defensive when you ask why they're not wearing dosimeters.
      - tjohns 11y ago
        Regarding cancer: All the US scanners use millimeter-wave (radio) now. All of the older backscatter x-ray machines have been sold off. A dosimeter would show zero, because there's no longer any ionizing radiation involved.
fixermark 11y ago
Ah, convenient. As of this privacy impact assessment update, you can waste significantly more of their time. ;)
flubert 11y ago
>I do it as protest http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2010/11/another_man_gets_harassed_at_a.html http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2010/11/another_man_gets_hara...
blackbagboys 11y ago
You know that the agents of the system whose time you are ostensibly wasting are paid to be there, right? And that the system is explicitly designed to accommodate such a 'protest'? You may find this an interesting read: http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2010/11/another_man_gets_harassed_at_a.html http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2010/11/another_man_gets_hara...

ThomPete 11y ago

Or they had a melanoma like me and their doctor said that the aren't sure it's such a good idea (yes we are aware it's not radioactive, yes we are aware that flying itself is also dangerous but no reason to add more)