At what cost, security? Or, might as well have some fun

I had the unexpected opportunity to travel with a slice of Americans, those of us who fly don’t often see, much less share time. Will I do it again? Absolutely yes – but I have a better plan and it involves a Speedo bathing suit

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"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

– Benjamin Franklin, 1775

Walking the Walk

By Charles O'Dell
Contributing Editor

I recently spent forty hours on a bus trip from Baltimore, Maryland to Austin, Texas because I refused to submit to a full body scan or allow an aggressive personal “pat down” at the Baltimore-Washington Airport when returning from the Thanksgiving holidays spent with my wife’s family.

Susan had passed through regular security and took the 3 ½ hour flight back to Austin without me. A goodbye hug from my teary wife wasn’t allowed as I was escorted out of the security area and informed that I could try again the next day.

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announcement of a revealing full body “back scatter” radiation scan and an aggressive physical “pat down” being introduced as new airport security measures had raised small red flags for me. But it was a recent news report about the young man in a San Diego airport who refused both procedures on grounds of violating his Fourth Amendment rights and an attack on his guaranteed privacy that really got me to thinking. What would I do if I was pulled out of security line for a full body scan or a pat down? What should I do?

Neither of these techniques is practiced at Austin-Bergstrom Airport where I begin all my air travel away from home, but both are used at Baltimore-Washington International Airport where we landed that Saturday before Thanksgiving. As we walked past security on our way out of the BWI terminal I knew my indecision was coming to an end.

Internet research the following few days turned up a letter from New Jersey Congressman Rush Holt to TSA raising serious questions about the lack of supporting data that supported TSA and the equipment manufacturer claims that the radiation was below government standards, and assurances that all full body images taken were destroyed. My eleven years of observing government officials in Hays County has given me a healthy distrust of official claims.

On Thanksgiving Day I made my decision – If selected for a full body scan I would refuse, and I would also refuse to submit to an aggressive pat down search. I wasn’t sure what the consequences would be but I began making my plan for what I seem to know was coming. Would I be detained, interrogated, fined and tossed out of the terminal? TSA Administrator, John S. Pistole, had said on the evening news that those refusing to submit would be, “banned from flying forever.” That seemed a bit over the top, but I knew no law could violate my Constitutional protections.

Our flight was scheduled to leave BWI Friday afternoon at 5:40pm and I couldn’t shake my growing feelings of anxiety that had begun the night before after making my decision to refuse both of these intrusions on my health and privacy if pulled from the security line. But having reached a thoughtful decision and being prepared with a backup plan gave me a fuller sense of resolve. The balance between responsible security and diminishing personal freedom is always a struggle, and it seemed to me that TSA initially set about striking that balance for airline passengers.

After the failed shoe bomb incident, we were asked to have our shoes scanned. That seemed to be an appropriate response to me. Then the failed “underwear” bomb occurred. TSA could not assure Congressman Holt that the new full body scan or the aggressive pat down would have discovered this or any other underwear bomb.

The facts are these: There is no absolute security so we must decide how much liberty we are willing to forsake for an acceptable level of security. We are at greater risk of dying in a plane crash caused by mechanical failure or pilot error than by a terrorist action. The full body scanner and pat down doesn’t reduce that risk. We are at greater risk of injury or death driving to the airport than from a terrorist act against the airplane we fly. The full body scanner and pat down doesn’t reduce that risk. I was at greater risk riding the bus those forty hours than any risk from an airline terrorist before the new procedures.

There is no evidence showing these new procedures have reduced risk of terrorist actions than existed before these intrusive procedures were introduced. It’s clear that the financial cost of the full body scanners far exceeds any real reduction in risk – it merely creates a false impression of increased security. And at great cost of personal privacy and dignity. These security resources would be better spent in reducing risks from cargo, airport personnel and airline personnel.

After being escorted out of the security area I called my sister-in-law who had agreed to standby until we had passed through security. She picked me up outside a few minutes later and we drove to her home in Silver Springs, Maryland. I purchased snacks at a nearby grocery store and my bus ticket online (it was cheaper). My sister-in-law and her husband then took me to the local Greyhound bus station and I began my trip back to Austin.

Because my first bus had electrical power and wifi, I had intended to send dispatches to the RoundUp along the way. The wifi didn’t work for me and no other buses I transferred to had either power or wifi for my laptop so I concentrated on meeting and sharing life stories with my fellow passengers.

Twenty three bus terminals and ten states later Susan picked me up at the Austin Greyhound bus station Sunday morning about 11:00am and we stopped at Whole Foods to have lunch and to grocery shop. I was once again reminded about how our personal liberties are chipped away unnecessarily by those who would control the lives of others. We had to wait until noon to have wine with our lunch. How fitting a reminder that unless we draw a line, others will impose their values and restrict our personal liberties unnecessarily if we allow them to do so.

The two most important outcomes from my decision to take a stand against unjustified government intrusion are that I feel good about myself, and I had the unexpected opportunity to travel with a slice of Americans those of us who fly don’t often see, much less share time. Will I do it again? Absolutely yes – but I have a better plan and it involves a Speedo bathing suit.