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“Mind is the Master power that moulds and makes,
And Man is Mind, and evermore he takes
The tool of Thought, and, shaping what he wills,
Brings forth a thousand joys, a thousand ills:—
He thinks in secret, and it comes to pass:
Environment is but his looking-glass.”“As a Man Thinketh” by James Allen -
“Attitude is everything…perception is everything else.”Sam Nathews
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Pee-Poppin’
We all knew that something like this was going to happen. And it did. What, you ask? Well, the Transportation Security Agency popped a cancer survivor’s urine bag during one of its overly friendly gate-rape, er, I mean “enhanced security screening pat-downs” on Monday at Detroit’s Metro Airport.
Thomas Sawyer, a bladder cancer survivor (and yes that’s his real name), warned the TSA agents of his medical condition and of his Urostemy bag before the pat-down, but he said it didn’t seem as though they were listening, or even that they cared at all.
“I tried to tell them about my medical condition,” Sawyer said. “But they weren’t very interested in hearing about my medical condition.”
Sawyer said the nude-image producing full-body scanner picked up on his urostemy bag. This unnatural appliance caused him to have to get an enhanced pat down. After ignoring his warning about his urostemy bag, the TSA agent placed the palm of their hand on his chest and popped his urine bag. Of course this caused urine to cascade down Sawyer’s body, soaking his shirt and pants, in front of everyone. Sawyer said, as anyone could imagine, he was utterly humiliated.
“I felt like everyone was staring at me, ” Sawyer said.
He was embarrassed to the point of tears.
Is this really what air travel in the land of the free has come to? Humiliating cancer survivors to the point of tears in public?
Had that TSA agent been just another civilian, instead of a government official, Sawyer would be too nice of a guy not to have sued.
But as long as it’s in the name of security, it seems dehumanizing American citizens in public is just something we have to deal with.
Pitiful.
John Pistole, Chief Executive of the TSA did personally call Sawyer and apologize. And because he is a good citizen, Sawyer accepted his apology.
But that apology does nothing to ensure that an incident like this doesn’t happen again. After the apology, the TSA just seemed to shrug the incident off.
Until we American citizens reach down, find our own “pair” (instead of letting a gloved TSA agent do it for us), and stand up to this unnecessarily intrusive procedure, the TSA will continue to alienate, embarrass, and dehumanize you, me, and our families.
Or you can not worry about your constitutional rights and let the government worry about them for you. They seem to be a pretty caring and trustworthy bunch these days.
Oh yeah, have a Happy Thanksgiving.
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Pat-Down….WAY down.
Degrading. Humiliating. Embarrassing. These are the words that American citizens recently used to describe their experience with the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) new airport security measures, according to cnn.com.
The new airport security procedures are as follows: You may either receive a nude-image producing full body scan, an “enhanced” pat-down or you can leave. Oh, or you could say what Josh Tyner said, “If you touch my junk, I’ll have you arrested,” and then be faced with an $11,000 fine, and thrown out of the airport. Either way, it’s your decision.
Anderson Pratt, a junior majoring in civil engineering, said when he flies home to Virginia, he will not be looking forward to the new screening processes.
“I don’t think the government should be able to see you naked or rub on your junk in the name of security, or anything else,” Pratt said. “As American citizens, we should not be subjected to a humiliating ultimatum like that just to go see Grandma.”
And you know what America? Pratt is right. The TSA, as a federal agency, is also required to follow several laws that reflect American values and help ensure accountability and effectiveness. Certainly, one of those laws is our right to privacy.
However, it seems that the TSA has felt it necessary to completely pervert that responsibility and alienate U.S. citizens.
It seems to me that the TSA places itself above the law. You may think that is absurd, but picture this scenario. You are coming to my house for dinner. When you arrive at the door, I give you two choices if you want to come eat. I tell you that you have to either go into the bathroom, strip naked and take a picture of your nude body and show it to me, or let me rub and touch your “goodies.” If you had any self-respect, you would call the police and let them know that I threatened to sexually assault you.
But for the TSA to do this to millions of people per day is fine. Why? Because it is part of the government, and it seems like the organization is saying it can do whatever it wants as long as it’s in the name of safety.
Really? Since when did using the excuse of public safety write the government a blank check to ignore the Constitution or to violate federal law?
I mean, if security is all that matters, why not ban all carry-ons, strip search every passenger, and handcuff us all to our seats? Certainly we’re not going to go that far (I hope), but how far is far enough?
If the American people do not answer that question, we will in fact be signing that check.
Think about this situation. Not long ago, the Supreme Court held that Guantanamo Bay, a military base in Cuba, is subject to U.S. law. A high-security facility built on another country and designed to house ACTUAL terrorists, is subject to the rule of law. Shouldn’t American airports be, as well?
So students, until that question is answered, and unless you want to Forrest Gump-it and run back home to see Momma, you better come to terms with the fact that somebody’s going to do something intrusive with your genitals. How intrusive? Well, have a look-see:
Please don’t get me wrong. I know we have to be safe, to be sure. But if we give up too much of the freedoms we know—and are entitled too—in the name of safety, in a way, the terrorists have already won. And that is something that we, the people of the United States of America, should not be told to live with.
Check out what Anderson Cooper has to say on the topic…
http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2010/11/17/kth-airport-scanners-a-conflict-of-interest/
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“Goals are a means to an end, not the ultimate purpose of our lives. They are simply a tool to concentrate our focus and move us in a direction. The only reason we really pursue goals is to cause ourselves to expand and grow. Achieving goals by themselves will never make us happy in the long term; it’s who you become, as you overcome the obstacles necessary to achieve your goals, that can give you the deepest and most long-lasting sense of fulfillment.”Anthony Robbins
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“Flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.”Douglas Adams
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“Never take life seriously… nobody gets out alive anyway.”Who Knows
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[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Miss Ell’s Theme Song…
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Pumping jealousy into the hearts of tramps everywhere…
