At LAX And Beyond, Was National 'Opt-Out Day' And The Aiport Body-Scan Backlash A Big FAIL?
We're against the scan, man. And the TSA grope, too. Not because we mind the attention. Just based on principle. Freedom to move about the country is more than an advertising slogan. It's a core, constitutional part of who we are.
reason.com Did you get your stuffing scanned over the holiday?
If cops can't arbitrarily grab our junk and check our trunks on routine traffic stops -- thanks to all those black and brown folks who fought in court -- then TSA agents shouldn't be able to either.
But Americans, we've become a meek and sheepish people. We go with the flow. And on "opt-out day" people said take my nuts, please. Just take them.
(We think it's funny, too, that Democrats like L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa are pro-scanner. If a Republican was in the White House we wonder if they'd go back to their ACLU roots).
Actually, it looks like the Transportation Security Administration might have done a P.R. end-run around the issue by turning off the x-ray (and x-rated) body scanners that have prompted this just-say-no campaign in the first place.
In any case, the media said yawn to the whole opt-out day protest that kicked off the Thanksgiving holiday. The opt-out folks, however, claimed victory, stating that the TSA was "shutting down full body scanners, selecting fewer people for secondary screening, using less invasive patdowns and being unusually friendly and helpful to flyers."
Our commenter of the day, Wimpie, concurs:
Opt Out Day was a complete success ! We never wanted to show up traffic, merely to educate the public and get the word out.Millions of people now know about this airport travesty.
......"Opt-Out Day" went viral on the net and in mainstream media.
It made every news show and every newspaper in the Country.
We call this EXTREME SUCCESS.The TSA buckled "out of an abundance of caution" and closed nearly all of the body scanners yesterday, so there was nothing to opt-out of.
Any unbelievably, no planes exploded. All good.
What was your holiday travel experience?
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