Airport security has recently been changed, and is causing conflict between travelers and security officers. Many Americans feel that from the time they get into the airport, to the time they get out, they are being treated very rudely and like criminals. In a survey done, 61% of Americans said they were not okay with the new airport security measures.
New to the airports, are full body scanners and pat-down procedures. The pat-down procedure consists of a TSA (Transportation Security Administration) officer inspecting the entire body, feeling everywhere, even some rather uncomfortable areas, in search of something that could cause problems while flying. Officers have said to gotten kicked, punched, and told off while doing this job. The TSA officer must undergo 8-12 hours of training before they can do the procedure on travelers.
The new body scanners are scanners that give off extreme radiation when travelers walk through them. They show an image of your entire body, naked, to a person in a different room who examines the pictures in search of harmful objects. Americans don’t feel like it’s not at all fair that they have to go through this, just to fly on an airplane.
Innocent Americans are forced to feel uncomfortable or be shown naked to a stranger, just to travel. Some Americans are protesting or not flying at all to show their anger towards airport security. Being a teenage girl, I know that if I was traveling and had to have a pat-down, where an awkward older guy felt all over my body, I would be disgusted and slightly embarrassed. So should a sixteen year old year really have to go through that to travel with her family for a vacation? I don’t think so. This procedure is the same for all age groups: ages 1 to 100. Either way, traveling is not as fun as it used to be. So take your pick: full body scanners, pat-down procedures, or simply not flying at all. Lately, many are choosing not to fly at all.