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This reminds me of Gandhi's non-cooperation attitude and shrewdness in dealing with unjust people or policies in power. As an individual, you are powerless whe

This reminds me of Gandhi's non-cooperation attitude and shrewdness in dealing with unjust people or policies in power. As an individual, you are powerless when you go through the security line. As a group, however, the American people have all of the power. Because this is both a democracy and a capitalist country (however flawed it may be), if there is an organized and concerted effort against the TSA policies, they simply cannot stand. Congress would not be able to oppose a unified voice of the people saying "this is not okay" and the airlines would not be able to tolerate a significant reduction in customers (and therefore would put pressure on the TSA to change its policies). Gandhi organized a "day of prayer and fasting" which was basically a general strike of all of India. It was a wake-up call to the British. If somebody organized a "do not fly" day where no one flew, that would probably be a bigger wake-up call than opting out of the scan. Sometimes you have to give up some temporary convenience or comfort to send a message to those in power that you don't agree. During the Montgomery bus boycott, people stopped using the bus and this was extremely inconvenient but they would rather not trade their dignity for convenience.

trunnell 16y ago
would rather not trade their dignity for convenience I wonder if that idea is still as powerful today.
synnik 16y ago
The major difference between this situation and any efforts of Gandhi or the civil rights movement is one of leadership. An entire country would (and did) follow Gandhi. I don't think there is a single person in the US whom everyone would follow for a day. Especially if it meant shutting down all business travel during that day.
- techiferous 16y ago
  I tend to agree; however, if the issue was important enough I think that a significant portion of our population would organize to achieve a goal. Look at how many people showed up for the rally to restore fear and/or sanity which actually didn't have any stated goals.
- ojbyrne 16y ago
  I think that's a rose-colored view on Gandhi. Maybe eventually most of the country followed Gandhi, but I doubt that was the case immediately. Any disobedience campaign takes time to develop.
sixtofour 16y ago
The way to stop the sexual assaults is not to target the sexual assaults, but to target flying. Don't opt out of the scanners, the opt out won't be available forever anyway. Just don't fly. Not on a particular day. Just don't fly. Currently, there are two major kinds of travelers, business and vacation. It will be difficult to curb vacation travel, since you want to go somewhere and you only have a week to do it. Business travel would be possible to cut drastically. And it would be good for business too. "All" it would need (and I realize "all" encompasses a lot), would be much more excellent process and data integration and sharing. I don't mean adding the word "solution" to a Lotus notes sale. I mean systems that make it all but irrelevant whether your employee or vendor is on site or on the moon. I'm not an enterprisy guy, so I know I've stated that in a clumsy and probably mistargeted way. But it does seem that if anyone, or any industry, could cut the need for travel and increase the value of services and products sold, the world would beat a path. Maybe the cost/benefit lines didn't cross. Maybe we'll look back and have the TSA to thank for that crossing, and a better way to do global business.

trunnell 16y ago

would rather not trade their dignity for convenience I wonder if that idea is still as powerful today.

synnik 16y ago

The major difference between this situation and any efforts of Gandhi or the civil rights movement is one of leadership. An entire country would (and did) follow Gandhi. I don't think there is a single person in the US whom everyone would follow for a day. Especially if it meant shutting down all business travel during that day.

techiferous 16y ago
I tend to agree; however, if the issue was important enough I think that a significant portion of our population would organize to achieve a goal. Look at how many people showed up for the rally to restore fear and/or sanity which actually didn't have any stated goals.
ojbyrne 16y ago
I think that's a rose-colored view on Gandhi. Maybe eventually most of the country followed Gandhi, but I doubt that was the case immediately. Any disobedience campaign takes time to develop.

sixtofour 16y ago

The way to stop the sexual assaults is not to target the sexual assaults, but to target flying. Don't opt out of the scanners, the opt out won't be available forever anyway. Just don't fly. Not on a particular day. Just don't fly. Currently, there are two major kinds of travelers, business and vacation. It will be difficult to curb vacation travel, since you want to go somewhere and you only have a week to do it. Business travel would be possible to cut drastically. And it would be good for business too. "All" it would need (and I realize "all" encompasses a lot), would be much more excellent process and data integration and sharing. I don't mean adding the word "solution" to a Lotus notes sale. I mean systems that make it all but irrelevant whether your employee or vendor is on site or on the moon. I'm not an enterprisy guy, so I know I've stated that in a clumsy and probably mistargeted way. But it does seem that if anyone, or any industry, could cut the need for travel and increase the value of services and products sold, the world would beat a path. Maybe the cost/benefit lines didn't cross. Maybe we'll look back and have the TSA to thank for that crossing, and a better way to do global business.