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 by Dr. Rita Louise
Before you start reading, I have to tell you... I am a little hot under the collar and want to talk about something that I think is becoming increasingly important.
The other day, I went to Starbucks to take a quick break from the many errands I was running. I got something to drink and decided to sit outside and enjoy the warm rays of sun that were shining through the trees. It was a warm but breezy afternoon. There was another reason I went outside. I smoke. Yes, you heard me right, I smoke. And I, like the other 46 million Americans who do choose to smoke, our rights to indulge ourselves in our chosen vice, when and where we would like to indulge, has been take away from us.
It started with smoking and non-smoking sections in restaurants. It wasn't long before most restaurants became, either by choice or by law, fully non-smoking. Bars, which have traditionally been smoke filled environments, were forced to follow suit. And even though there are an estimated 46 million Americans who smoke, we were made to feel like social outcasts. We were forced to stand outside on the sidewalk just to have a drag. Rain, snow and blistering heat, the number of people who make this choice are required to endure the prevailing weather condition. Businesses, on the other hand, make no attempt to provide reasonable accommodations to their smoking patrons.
Apparently, this was not enough. Even the most ardent smoker has resigned him or herself to standing outside, but store after store and city after city have taken the ban on smoking to an all time high. If you are not a smoker, you probably have never noticed it. If you are a smoker, like me, you shake your head and wonder how you could possibly comply to this new ridiculous anti-smoking ordinance.
What is the ordinance? It is the requirement to stand 25, 30 or even 50 feet away from the front door of the establishment. I challenge you to go check this out. Many now are posting signs that tell you how far you have to stand away. If there is no sign, ask. Then, stand in the doorway of any restaurant, mall or other public establishment and look around. Using your best guess judgment, estimate how far 25 feet is from the front door.
Like many establishments I have patronized recently, stepping 25 feet away from the front door puts you either somewhere in the middle of the parking lot or in a street, busy or not. If, while you are standing in the "designated smoking area", you get hit by a passing car I can only assume that you can't sue the establishment nor the city. After all, you were the idiot who stood in the middle of the street in the first place.
The original intention of this piece was not to talk about cigarette smoking, but the infringement of my personal rights. This instance did, however, mimic the original item I did want share with you. That topic, the new full body scanners they are installing in airports around the country.
This is something I probably wouldn't pay much attention to in the general sense of the word, but the other day I was heading to a conference where I was doing a presentation and Alex Jones's radio show was on-air. On the show, one of the things he was talking about were these new scanners. What really caught my attention was the part where he talked about what was actually revealed when someone is scanned. I was shocked by what he said.
If anyone has seen the movie "Total Recall" starring Arnold Schwarzenegger you might recall the scene where he walks in front of a full body scanner in order to enter the mass transportation system. What the Hollywood version of the scanner reveals is the x-ray image of his bones as he walked in front of the device. If you happen to be carrying a gun, for example, it would be easily seen by the screeners.
Since 2007, several manufactures began developing advanced imaging technology devices which we have come to know as full body scanners. Congress approved the use of these machines in airports this year after the man called "The Underwear Bomber" tried to take down a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit last Christmas.
These scanners operate based upon two different technology models: millimeter wave machines and one that uses backscatter technology. Millimeter wave machines emit electromagnetic waves. When these waves bounce off the body a very detailed 3-D image is created. Images are created using the backscatter technology, on the other hand, by subjecting us to low levels doses of x-rays which penetrate our clothing to reveal what is underneath.
At the airport, boarding passengers are asked to step into or stand in front of the scanning device. Once in place, they are asked to hold their hands overhead for five to 7 seconds. Images that are produces are sent into another room and are viewed by inspectors on a computer monitor. The images have been described as" nude images resembling a chalky drawing with facial features blotted out".
Innocent sounding as it is, in my opinion, this new technology takes invasion of our personal privacy to a whole new level. Seeing my bones move across a screen, as depicted in "Total Recall", is one thing. Having an image taken that shows all my "stuff", if you know what I mean, is something completely different. What makes it even worse, is that somebody, and who the heck knows who that is, is looking these images. If you don't believe me, go online and do a search for full body scanner images. There are several images graphic images that have been taken by this device.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center describes the images taken by these devices as being "equivalent to a 'virtual strip search". In the images, passengers appear naked on the machine's monitor. Genital is graphically shown. To make us feel a little less violated, the TSA is quick to reply that our faces are obscured. They are also quick to point out that images created by these devices are not saved and that the screener never sees the passengers in person.
I have to laugh, because if I showed up at the airport in my robe with nothing on underneath and then just dropped it as I got to the front of the line, I would be arrested for indecent exposure. I guess it is ok for some underpaid, unqualified and uninvited individual to look at me nude, but if I want to put it on display for all to see, then it is wrong. Only in America.
There are other implications of this technology, especially the scanner which uses the backscatter technology. To create the image, low doses of radiation are emitted from the machine. David Brenner, the director of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University, says the risk to an individual is "very small indeed" for a single scan. He is, however concerned about frequent fliers, pilots and young people. In response to the alleged health concerns surrounding this technology, the Office of Science and Technology stated that the scanners have been "tested extensively" by US government agencies and were found to meet safety standards. Pardon my skepticism, but please....
At this time, we are still afforded the opportunity to opt out of full body scanning but this option has problems of its own. Instead of having our most private parts put on display we can choose to get a pat-down by airport security. Reports indicate that individuals who select this option find that airport employees frisk the passengers, putting their hands on our most intimate areas. In one article I found, one US Airways pilot said that he felt as if he had been molested. In another article, it was reported that a 3 year old girl was subjected to this type of pat-down. Had she been touched in this way outside the airport, the perpetrator would be labeled a pedophile. One American Civil Liberties Union spokesperson called this a choice between a "virtual strip search" and a "grope."
Legislation has been written to make full body scans the primary screening method used by US airports by 2013. Although no action has been taken to make it law yet, it is only a matter of time.
America has always been labeled the land of the free. Having just celebrated Veterans day, it must be remembered that thousands of people have died throughout the years fighting for our freedom and our right to choose. Yet is seems day by day and year by year our freedoms and our right to chose our destinies are being slowly taken away. It hasn't happened all at once, but slowly... one slow step leading into yet another one.
This can be clearly seen in the whole anti-smoking sentiment in this country. First smokers were restricted to certain areas in a restaurant. Then they we were kicked out of the restaurants. Many of us could understand and respected this request. But I'm sorry, why do I have to stand in the middle of the street? If my cigarette smoking bothers you so much, move... If I'm sitting outside of Starbucks, respecting your rights not to have smoking inside the building, and you want to sit outside, then deal with it or go back inside to the smoke-free environment that was created for you.
The same holds true at the airport. First is was your bags, then your pockets, your belt, your jacket and your shoes. Now they want to virtually strip you or cop a feel. When does it all end? As I increasingly been hearing from ex-military men, this is not the America I fought for.
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