My H is one step away from wearing a tin-foil hat

mrsconn23

Dear Prudie,
My husband refuses to go through the full body scanners at airports. He believes the machines were haphazardly installed and aren’t entirely safe, and are a government-funded threat to personal freedom. We are traveling with our daughter at the end of the month and he wants us all to opt out. I do not want a pat down, nor does my daughter, but this is a huge deal for him and it has caused much arguing. I am dreading our upcoming trip and I don’t want my daughter to become part of a tug of war between us. Should I refuse the pat down for me? For me and my daughter? Or should I just deal with the pat down because it’s so important to him? We only travel a few times a year and it’s really just a few minutes of discomfort and humiliation to appease what is a very real concern of his.

—Please Don’t Touch Me

VarunaTT

Funny that his personal freedom seems to be making choices for other people.

He can do a patdown if he wants.  They can walk through if they want.

baconsmom

Last time I flew, I went through the scanner and THEN got patted down. (The handkerchief in my back pocket was a red flag, apparently. ???) 

Yes, yes, personal freedoms, blah blah blah. I just wanted to go to Disney World. 

Heffalump

VarunaTT said:

Funny that his personal freedom seems to be making choices for other people.

He can do a patdown if he wants.  They can walk through if they want.

I've noticed that.  The people who claim to be the biggest proponents of personal freedom always want to tell other people what they can and cannot do.  (Libertarians excepted, @baconsmom.)

hmonkey

depending on age of daughter, daughter wouldn't go through body scanner anyway.

i refuse to go through the body scanner, so i normally take baby mo, getting me an automatic exemption and a very loving, very sensual patdown from a tsa agent.

MesmrEwe

hmonkey said:

depending on age of daughter, daughter wouldn't go through body scanner anyway.

i refuse to go through the body scanner, so i normally take baby mo, getting me an automatic exemption and a very loving, very sensual patdown from a tsa agent.

Least they could do is buy you a drink!

GBCK

Buffy got the pat down at age 2 since she triggered the scanner.  So it might be moot :-P

*Barbie*

I almost always get a post scanner pat-down on my hair (I have no clue why - if it's pulled back, the band doesn't have any metal) - my hair doesn't seem like it would be that interesting to touch. 

i wonder if they patted down the woman on one of my flights that had a metal zipper sewn into her weave.

aliwis000

Go get the TSA pre-check or Global Entry (which comes with pre check) and all you have to do is go through the metal detector.

Of course you have to go through a background check and provide finger prints but those very well might be on file elsewhere.

CMGragain

Your DH thinks that is a threat to his freedom?  How about traveling on a plane with a terrorist carrying a weapon?  How would that affect his freedom?
Our government is doing the best that it can to keep us safe while traveling.  I have no sympathy with whiners.

Oh, I didn't check.  This is one of Mrs. Conn's posts.  Sorry.

mrsconn23

CMGragain said:

Your DH thinks that is a threat to his freedom?  How about traveling on a plane with a terrorist carrying a weapon?  How would that affect his freedom?
Our government is doing the best that it can to keep us safe while traveling.  I have no sympathy with whiners.

Oh, I didn't check.  This is one of Mrs. Conn's posts.  Sorry.

LOL.  This kind of made my morning. (I'm easy to please. ) 

baconsmom

CMGragain said:

Your DH thinks that is a threat to his freedom?  How about traveling on a plane with a terrorist carrying a weapon?  How would that affect his freedom?
Our government is doing the best that it can to keep us safe while traveling.  I have no sympathy with whiners.

Oh, I didn't check.  This is one of Mrs. Conn's posts.  Sorry.

Can anyone help me find my eyebrows? 

CMGragain

Look, my DH worked for the US Department of Defense for 33 years.  He was in government security.  9/11 was crushing to him, because, as he put it, "It was on my watch, and I didn't put the puzzle pieces together."
You wouldn't ridicule anyone who is serving our country in the military, so why ridicule people who work in the Federal Government?  There are thousands of people who are doing their best to keep us safe.  Think about it, and shame on you!

baconsmom

I wouldn't *ridicule* the military, no. But I have huge problems with them, yes. And the federal government. 

Shame on you for just going along with the pack and not thinking critically about what freedom actually is. It's not living in a surveillance state, that's for fucking sure. 

VarunaTT

I'm sorry your DH feels bad that he, "Didn't put the pieces together."

That doesn't give the government the right to restrict any freedoms or start spying on it's citizens.  Ever.