Technology At Its Worst
Just a few months ago, I went through the metal detector at the Atlanta airport, without beeping; nevertheless, I was directed to go into the Whole Body Imager (WBI,) where my body was photographed. I was irritated they had insisted that I go through the WBI, as I had not sounded any alarms, in the metal detector. After being forced to submit to the WBI, I was then patted down by a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employee.
My first thought was, what could they possibly be seeing, on my body, that would have the TSA agent pat me down, but then my second thought was, if I do not catch my flight out of Atlanta, I will have to stay overnight. So, there is a forced cooperation, similar to sexual assault, with a perpetrator who is stronger and more powerful than you are, and who has the ability to force you to comply with their will.
After I was allowed to continue, I started to think about what just happened to me. First, it should be noted that, I was dressed professionally. I am a frequent business traveler, who always packs light, and well knows the procedures. I remove my lap top, I remove my belt, I remove my suit jacket, I remove my shoes, and I suppose the TSA removes everything else. I wondered, why pull me out of the line, especially since I did not beep when I went through the metal detector? Secondly, why did they pat me down even after going through the WBI? Also, I wondered how many blue eyed, brown haired, freckled faced females, have ever been responsible for bringing down an airplane?
There are presently two types of full body scans, deployed at the airports, Backscatter and Millimeter Wave. Both types of technologies will provide the Transportation Security Officer with a picture of you, without clothes, a virtual strip search. The image will also provide a picture of metallic and non-metallic objects, but can also provide medical information about you, such as a catheter or prosthetics, information that you may not want people to know, especially a stranger. Michael Chertoff, the former head of Homeland Security, who so highly recommend that the United States implement these invasive WBI machines, is now a consultant for the company which manufactures Backscatter.
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in the link provided below, the WBI is not suppose to store images, but it should be noted that the system is capable of storing images. Presently, the storage feature is disabled by the manufacturer and cannot be enabled by the operators. Additionally, images are only to stay on the screen while the individual is being assessed, and then the image is deleted in order to receive the next individual’s image.
http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/privacy/privacy_pia_tsa_wbiupdate.pdf
While we are supposed to believe that the present image, of our naked bodies, being viewed by complete strangers, who are not medical personnel, has our faces obscured on the Millimeter Wave, one has to wonder how that anonymity will be preserved.
In Florida alone, there are two cases which should at the very least force us to question what we are being told by the government. First, at an Orlando Court House, using this technology, intentionally shot over 35,000 images that were saved on computer hard drives. The U.S. Marshals Service has not denied that they are storing and recording the images. One hundred of these images were obtained, by an online tech magazine Gizmodo, through a Freedom of Information request, and thus made public. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/blogpost/2010/11/full_body_scanner_images_relea.html
Also, at the Miami International Airport, after TSA employees were themselves forced to go through the WBI machines, as part of their training, a violent altercation broke out between scanned employees. One employee was reportedly ridiculed for the image of his body that was reveled to his co-workers; after claiming he could no longer endure the comments, about his body. If the comments being made about fellow TSA employees are so heinous that they have lead to an arrest, what must they be saying about the rest of the flying public? http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/jokes_about_tsa_scanner_package_r07BeUPwveXGc53E6KuWYL
If these scans or the invasive, embarrassing, and highly inappropriate pat downs were able to ensure that our skies would be safe from all future terror attacks, then we might all have to take a deep breath, and find a better way to endure these humiliations; but even the Federal Government admits that these procedures cannot guarantee our safety.
In trying to find a silver lining, it has occurred to me that the body scans could be forwarded to our health care professionals, who would then schedule us, with our online calendar, for an appointment, based on the level of concern, which the image has raised. We could really be connected.
