In this country we have rights and laws which protect us. Among these are the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure; and protection from unwanted intrusions to our person via laws about battery, assault, sexual battery and sexual assault. Children are protected from pedophiles, and parents teach children about private areas of their body which no one should touch. Yes, these are the rights and laws in our country, UNLESS you are an honorable, tax-paying citizen who wants to travel via air transportation. Then these rights and protections are taken away in the name of homeland security and the fight against terror. Isn’t anyone outraged about this? I am outraged, at two levels: professional and personal.
At the professional level, my outrage is on behalf of any human being, young or old, rich or poor, who has been traumatized physically or sexually, and the combat vets who have lived the traumas of war. Children and adults have a right to the integrity of their person, without violation. Those who have served our country deserve respect.
The invasive current security procedures may serve as trigger events to traumatic experiences in which the person had no control over who violated their body. If my experience is any indicator, asking questions about current procedures when going through security is responded to via a confrontational stance and the threat of an intrusive pat down. A concerned traveler is treated as though a crime is being committed and law enforcement must maintain control of the situation. We are to be compliant victims to the unreasonable invasion of our privacy. This is clearly NOT ok with me.
At a personal level, I found the previous pat down protocol invasive. I am not ok with a stranger seeing through my clothing. I am not ok with a stranger running her hands all over my body. Worse, I am not ok with an invasive pat down with a supervisor present who becomes an observer to the humiliation. I decide who is permitted into my personal space. That is my right.
Why should the American public be subjected to “guilty until proven innocent? policies” I am like many who travel: an honest, law-abiding, tax paying frequent flying citizen who believes in doing the right thing. Why must we prove our innocence time after time when we have already established ourselves through our daily lives as someone who is NOT a terrorist? In this great country with a wealth of creativity and intellect there is surely a means by which the rights of the innocent can be protected. Catching the bad guys is the goal - not terrorizing an elderly woman with a knee replacement who must have her body groped to prove she is not a criminal.
As As a result of my outrage for myself and others, I have created the “I Decide” cause whose goal is to educate the public about their rights as air passengers, and to encourage every agency, association, and organization which deals with traumatized adults and children to protest the current policy.
2. I will walk, drive, take the train, participate in meetings via web based media and explore any other option which will allow me to visit family and perform my work duties without giving up my right to the integrity of my body. Air travel is off limits for me until the policy changes.
I invite you to join the “I DECIDE” campaign. See you on the highway!
