Before I went on Thanksgiving Break, my dad called me and went over the usual list of worries. Had I packed my passport? Did I call a cab? And most importantly—would I get to the airport on time for my flight?
The last question was one that probably went through all our minds, given the recent clamor over the TSA’s new security regulations. For those of you who haven’t traveled by air yet, the country’s most recent anti-terrorist attempt is a full-body scanner or pat down. The furor is over the violations of privacy that these security measures imply. Complaints across the country centered on how embarrassing it was to be seen or felt so thoroughly. Some people even threatened to stage boycotts and disrupt the Thanksgiving travel flow. The nation was so concerned that reporters from news stations such as NBC and CBS convened at both Raleigh-Durham airport and Tallahassee Regional Airport.
I wasn’t so concerned about the privacy issues as I was about the human traffic. My attitude was that there was nothing I needed to hide, but nothing had better get between me and my pumpkin pie. And here’s some further food for thought—it might be bad for you, but think about how much worse it must be for the people who have to scan or pat down every single person who comes through the airport.
Fortunately, however, Thanksgiving won out over privacy.
I arrived an hour early at Raleigh-Durham airport to see at least three different camera crews covering the implications of the TSA scanners, but zilch protesters. The line through the security was fast and painless. It took me less than five minutes to get through early morning security, and less than a minute to go through the body scan.
From my experience, the horror stories about the scanners and groping pat downs were highly overrated. Going through the scanners and pat downs wasn’t the scarring experience that some individuals have claimed. The staff at the Raleigh-Durham airport were nothing but professional. They were serious, focused solely on their job and respectful. Perhaps they were a little tense, but with all the nation’s airports on alert for possible protesters, that was only to be expected.
The only awkward moment was when they asked me to stand with my feet wide apart, a foot on each yellow footprint on the ground. I found it awkward because the space between the two yellow footprints was so large. Being a member of the vertically challenged subdivision of the human race, I found myself wondering if I should do some yoga squats, what with my legs apart and hands clasped above my head. And a one, and a two, and a… but before I could seriously consider that thought, the security lady slid open the doors and I got a “you’re good to go” from a fatherly-looking security man.
And then I was free to pursue my time with family and friends.
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