This needs to go viral. Anybody who still flies and prefers not to go through the backscatter machines, is potentially subject to this kind of systematic abuse by “guards” who sometimes disappear inside their militaristic uniforms.
BTW: Some of the backscatter machines are to be taken out, returning me and those like me who hate them to a time before we had to choose between the two evils of extremely dangerous X-Rays and possibly abusive “pat-downs.”
TSA Scanners Get the Boot at 7 Major Airports
I’ve always chosen to be groped over to be X-rayed. And to date, have had only one Nazi female guard whose invasive, sadistic pressure to my groin I could have done without. That’s one incident out of about fifteen times flying since the backscatter machines went in. I can just imagine how someone with a history of abuse would, or would not be able to, integrate this kind of violence.
Now that I have a new titanium plate in my wrist, I’ve lost the choice to opt out, and must opt out, get groped, or not fly. Sure wish I could teleport and/or bi-locate already!
3 thoughts on “Time to take down the TSA. Will this video help?”
OK Ann. love your posts. But “Take Down the TSA”? Isnt that a “reactive” response instead of a wise forward looking headline. We have laws against abuse. The Govt needs to proactively enforce them if they want to retain any public trust. Make an issue out of the abusers. Pay those who protect us a decent wage. Same issue across the board–Banks, hedge funds congress, Fannie May etc. IF headlines are all about taking down “them” we dont to enter into the deeper dialog about harnessing the massive call for “taking down the system” as we perceive it exists to transforming the “system” as we in fact find it. Because how else will it change. There are 300+ million of us in the is country. Some 120 million of us chose to vote. We wont improve by demonizing some “other”. I thought we had learned that.
But like phrases “Tax the Rich” ie more”, etc – dumbs us down-what we accuse the conspiracy elites of doing- instead of respecting our ability to handle, even relish complexity. The call should be for an equitable tax system that is fair and smart in that the incentives need to be for things that move us forward as a society, things like education, high school drop put rates, true innovation in the face of food shortages and climate change. Yes the the wealthy and those with huge incomes will pay more, but our eye will be on a different ball, a different outcome than simply punishing some scapegoat(s) for our long forming deeply unhealthy system wide dysfunctions. We will be holding out a vision of a life want for future generations. And then we can argue about that , but also start figuring out how it manifest what most of us agree we need to do.
We cant waste much more time with the reactionaries. Too much work to do. As Donella Meadows admonished us.
So was the TSA overreach of failure of a bureaucratic bias to solving problems with bigger systems- which are prone to abuse and/or other problems? Headline should be “TSA clean up your act. Prove you care.” Are they heart warming stories of the kind TSA person who saved a family’s trip from turning into a nightmare. Probably.
So your headline sparked me to chime in with something I normally don’t take the time to do.
And is a huge longer discussion.
I am in awe of the wide range of material you bring to our attention and rarely have or take the time to read in depth. But just the headlines keeps me on my toes.
Just remember the millions plugging away to do the right things for the future.
BTW- Bioneers is making their recent plenaries available online.
Everyone should hear Paul Hawkens closing remarks from last month.
http://store.bioneers.org/product_p/2012-hawken.htm?1=1&CartID=0
Another I think you would value is
How Materialistic Society Makes Us Ill
Plenary Speech by GABOR MATE, MD.
http://store.bioneers.org/product_p/2012-mate.htm
you can watch these for $3
And there are more coming.
Does Bloomington still have a Beaming Bioneers?
Thanks, Ann.
ps Joan is hitting the road as a published author. So far so good with welcoming crowds.
Max
Thanks for the reminder, Max, and yes I am a bit jumpy right now. And thanks for the tips! Will look into them. Bless you and Joan, and I sure hope her publisher sends me a copy soon so I can review on this blog. Ann
Sorry for the typos. One correction.
So was the TSA overreach of failure of a bureaucratic bias to solving problems with bigger systems- which are prone to abuse and/or other problems? Should have read:
So was the TSA overreach a failure of a bureaucratic bias to solving problems with bigger systems- which are prone to abuse and/or other problems? Or something else?
Are they heart warming should read, “Are there heart warming…”