As the full body scanners show up at more and more airports, it seems that some are planning a national opt-out day on November 24 — a day where it’s suggested that people refuse to go through the full body scanner and instead ask for a pat down.
While I refuse to go through the fully body scanner, I don’t see the point of a national opt-out day. I opt-out every time I fly. And if anything, doing this on one of the busiest travel days of the year is going to hurt travelers, and not the TSA. The TSA couldn’t care less whether you make your flight or not. And undoubtedly this will lead to even longer security lines and in turn more missed flights.
So while it sounds nice in theory, I’m not how practical this is.
Speaking of the full body scanners, I had a fun incident at TPA just a couple of days ago. As usual I was selected for the full body scanner, and I requested a pat down. In a nice enough way the agent asked me why I was refusing, so I was happy to answer — “I’m concerned about the radiation levels, I go through checkpoints 200 times a year,” I said. She responded with “well they might tell you that, but it’s not true, the radiation isn’t bad for you.” I smirked and couldn’t help but say “I didn’t know you guys were trained medical professionals.” She said “we actually get quite a bit of training in this stuff.”
Oy vey…
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