12 November 2010

pat down

morning news had a story abt pilots objecting to the pat-downs they're receiving after going thru the new airport scanning machines.

last week I went thru one for the 1st time & as an exhibitionist was initially tittilatd by imagining a stranger observing my genitals in public. well.... I was stoppd for a search. that surprisd me. I was askd to stand on a pad which had markings for feet. the TSA man clearly was uncomfortable with his job. he told me he'd have to pat me down & did I object. I sd no. then he askd me if I wantd to go to a private area. as much fun as that mite be under other circumstances I told him to get on with it. he began putting his hands on me but you cd tell by the paind look on his face that he wasn't enjoying his job.

he askd me if I was wearing any kind of medical device around my middle. "only fat" I replied with a smile. this nervous gentleman wasn't smiling back. he told me the scan showd something around my middle. "I'll have to pat you there." it turnd out to be my shirt which naturally was tuckd in my pants.

now if we've paid all this money for a machine that can't determine if yr shirt's tuckd in I think we've made another mistake. traveling is unpleasant enuf. detaining someone for something as silly as this is simply irritating. the next time I get stoppd I think I'll demand having someone who at least enjoys patting me down.

1 comment:

richard lopez said...

good luck w/ that alex. have you been thru o'hare? this is one of the most stringent airports i've experienced. both anna and i were singled out for scanning w/ the machine that can see thru your clothes. all in all, it was rather uneventful but after traveling 10+ hrs then having to navigate that huge airport then having to wait in a long long long queue then having to spread-eagle for that machine can make one just a tad bit cranky. no big deal, i suppose but we live in a time where we willingly lose our rights to privacy in exchange for what? piece of mind, i suppose. i don't know but man, going thru the international terminal at o'hare is quite an experience that is becoming more and more common in our young century.