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I'm taking a break from my standard food-related musings because something very interesting happened to a friend of mine yesterday, and it's one of those rare occurrences that has people I know of all political persuasions in agreement, and most very thankful for the existence of the ACLU.
When I came downstairs yesterday morning for coffee, I found that my friend John had sent me a text message which read, "Give me a call. I've got a story for you!" that he'd sent at 6:38 that morning. So, I coffeed up and called him. The story he told me is disturbing on a number of levels - from a big picture viewpoint, that the majority of people think this sort of thing is okay when a generation ago, we'd assume that the story was about travel behind the iron curtain, not in America. That he's getting a fair amount of nasty feedback for voicing in a public way that he wasn't okay with how he was being treated. That there seems to be so little recourse to get things changed, making actions like John's even more necessary. Okay, so on with the story!
John, his brother-in-law, and his father-in-law were on their way to South Dakota yesterday morning to do some hunting. He'd checked in, checked his bags, which included the guns they were taking hunting, and had proceeded to the security line to get to the boarding areas. Prior to this, he'd checked the TSA website to see if San Diego's airport was utilizing the AIT (backscatter) x-ray machines. According to the website the machines were not in use in San Diego nor were they on the list of locations which would soon be receiving the machines. Upon arriving in the security line, he saw that the AIT machines were, in fact, in use but that the standard metal detectors were also in use.
He stood in line to go through the metal detector. Before he put his stuff in the bins to go through the luggage scan, he activated his cell phone camera. At some point after that, he was pulled from the line by a TSA employee and told to go through the AIT machine. He refused. At that point, he was told that he'd have to subject to a physical search, which he agreed to, with the exception of having his genital area touched. What happened from there has sparked quite a bit of debate.
John chronicled the occurrence on his blog and posted the video (which really is just audio) of the scan process - which took over 20 minutes, and then the subsequent conversation that he had with a TSA manager as he was attempting to leave the airport, which he was doing at the direction of the TSA employees and accompanied by a San Diego Harbor Police officer. The end result of his refusal to go through the backscatter machine or subject himself to the pat down (which has been quite enhanced as of 10/29/10) was that the TSA representative told him that he would be sued in civil court and fined $10,000.
Here's John's original blog post about what happened - this includes the videos, but I'll also link to them separately.
screening, part one
screening, part two
final encounter
Here's some of the local coverage.
(And in a conversation John and I had today, he's a bit irate that his comment about his physical description was taken out of context.) Here's what he had to say about that:
As far as the UT thing, the guy kind of jokingly asked, "you don't look like a terrorist do you, I mean what do you look like?" and I replied, "I don't know; I don't think so. I'm white, 6'1", with short brown hair." (That's how I remember it.) I felt like he was asking me, "you're not Muslim/brown-skinned/etc." and it certainly was not my intent to imply that white people can't be terrorists or that any other group is.
UPDATE: John emailed me to let me know that the UT issued a correction after he contacted them about that out-of-context quote. Here's the text:
Correction:
The following e-mail is from John Tyner:
I thought this characterization:
"I'm 6-foot-1, white with short brown hair," he said Saturday night. "I don't look like a terrorist." of our conversation was really unfair. You asked me if I looked like a terrorist and then what I looked like, in a joking manner. I'm not sure that I ever uttered the words, "I don't look like a terrorist". And the context of our conversation was never such that I meant to imply that I shouldn't have been singled out because I'm white.
I would appreciate a correction to the story.
In reviewing my notes, Tyner is correct. I asked him if he looked like a terrorist and he said he did not. He then gave me the description of himself, at my request.
At no time did he raise the issues of appearance or profiling, and it was not my intention to suggest that he did.
The text of the story has been changed to reflect this. I apologize for misrepresenting John Tyner's end of the conversation.
Bob Hawkins
When he gets into a discussion or confrontation, I've never seen John be anything other than polite and relatively unemotional, even as other participants behave badly. (And I've had plenty of experience watching him; we served on our community's HOA board together for almost 2 years. The man has the patience of a saint.) I will say that John's matter-of-fact approach has been mistaken by some as arrogant or dismissive. I disagree, but perception is a powerful thing.
I offer up this insight into John's character because he's been accused of going to the airport yesterday with an obvious agenda; he didn't. But he is the sort of person who stands up for what he believes in, even if it's unpopular. He offers some reasoning and insight as to why he acted as he did yesterday here and here.
His blog post has gone viral. I checked a couple of hours ago, and there were almost 1200 comments to his original story.
Having read some stories on this site about the new TSA pat down parameters and the backscatter machines, I know our community here is divided. I personally think that John did an admirable thing, and he handled himself fairly well. I know that I like neither alternative about to be our only choices in clearing security for air travel. I am bothered that there seems to be no recourse to this other than to not fly. I'm disturbed that a search that is about as invasive as a law enforcement pat down is now standard policy - not just for me, but for my 13 year old daughter. I'm happy to see that there seems to be some national outrage about this. And frankly, while it might be uncomfortable to witness and raise some irritation meters, I'm very proud that there is civil disobedience in play with regard to these new policies.
I'm tired of seeing our parameters of what's right and wrong eroded bit by bit in the name of security - particularly when there's such a chorus of crickets over the very real issue of lack of cargo screening. I'm sick of fear being the motivating factor to get travelers to simply behave like lemmings and chalk up the really shitty choices of going through questionably safe and for someone who has body issues like me, horribly embarrassing body scan machines or being subjected to a pat down which includes contact with areas on my body that, as John says, should only be touched by a spouse or a physician, as reasonable, if unpleasant, measures to keep up what is really just the illusion of security.
Without further ado, here are tonight's Top Comment nominees:
From Julie Gulden
bubbanomics does it again! this entire thread is hilarious....from JanF's Miss Mayta...Etikos diary
JanF has theee best recipes evah! from JanF's diary "EtiKos: Ask Miss Mayta"
Blogvirgin speaks for me and all the over 65ers here.
From JanF:
This "Dear Miss Mayta" comment from Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse led to some advice from several quarters and an interesting observation from edwardssl.
From benintn:
This comment by Frank33 in Willa Rogers' diary on the Fiscal Responsibility Commission pretty much nails what's wrong with the Pete Peterson perspective.
From sardonyx:
In Christian Dem in NC's diary Psychologist who developed CIA techniques might lose license, means are the ends has been waiting for this to happen to those who designed methods of torture.
Top Mojo excluding search-identifiable tip jars, first diary comments, Cheers and Jeers, and Mojo Friday:
1) I hope they follow up on a particular threat by 8ackgr0und N015e — 164
2) This Democrat has her back now and forever... by APA Guy — 127
3) fantastic diary Big Al ... by Badabing — 118
4) Michael Moore said it best the other night by jerseyjoew — 103
5) Sorry, but most conservatives only care by HylasBrook — 77
6) My recommendation.... by Mahler3 — 75
7) I worked in a university hospital... by David Kroning II — 65
8) The NYT by fladem — 63
9) A few months ago I was told that I had cancer. by ZenTrainer — 62
10) T&R'd - just heartbreaking by jan4insight — 61
11) HOLY MOTHER OF GOD by Terminus — 61
12) MTP .. has sucked for a long .. long .. time .. by Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle — 60
13) Oh how about getting out in our communities by AllisonInSeattle — 59
14) Furthermore- "fiscally conservative" is not an by electricgrendel — 57
15) Wow. War Criminals MIGHT get sanctioned? by 8ackgr0und N015e — 57
16) No wars, taxes on the wealthy, and single-payer by TJ — 56
17) Bush's Book Tour... as Depicted By Doonesbury by JekyllnHyde — 55
18) "Where's her sense of Personal Responsibility?" by Lefty Coaster — 55
19) Nancy Pelosi deserves better than this by slinkerwink — 53
20) Sorry, War on... by cas2 — 52
21) Thank you, Sandy, for commemorating this young by DaNang65 — 52
22) They are a corporate Party, with some exceptions by RaulVB — 50
23) It'd be great if it happens by slinkerwink — 49
24) They are that callous... by David Kroning II — 49
25) I actually don't believe that Glow. I think if by BigAlinWashSt — 48
26) Not an uncommon story by ArtemisBSG — 48
27) I made a correction at Barnes&Noble Today by SFOrange — 47
28) They have my FULL b/u on not running again. by Lucy2009 — 46
29) On one hand by pkbarbiedoll — 46
30) This lady's family is already poor enough by david78209 — 46
31) We ration care based upon your purse by JDWolverton — 46
Top Mojo with No Exclusions:
1) Tip Jar by slinkerwink — 368
2) Tip Jar by david78209 — 335
3) Tip Jar by BigAlinWashSt — 316
4) Tip Jar by jbou — 306
5) Tip Jar by New Deal democrat — 298
6) Tip Jar by Clytemnestra — 206
7) Tip Jar by Christian Dem in NC — 188
8) Here's One Book You Should Buy by JekyllnHyde — 166
9) I hope they follow up on a particular threat by 8ackgr0und N015e — 164
10) tips, noms... by whoknu — 154
11) My deepest sympathy by Sandy on Signal — 145
12) Tip Jar by citizen k — 132
13) Tips for potable water for all. by Patric Juillet — 132
14) This Democrat has her back now and forever... by APA Guy — 127
15) fantastic diary Big Al ... by Badabing — 118
16) Michael Moore said it best the other night by jerseyjoew — 103
17) This is a personal reflection by teacherken — 100
18) There are some diaries that you should publish by Seneca Doane — 92
19) Pile O' Cats by webranding — 88
20) How many cats? by blue jersey mom — 79
21) Sorry, but most conservatives only care by HylasBrook — 79
22) My recommendation.... by Mahler3 — 75
23) It was fun re-reading (and slightly rewriting) by Seneca Doane — 73
24) Tip Jar by Chrislove — 72
25) Oh Hai Whoknu! Not 2Worry, Weez Ready: by leonard145b — 69
26) Tips for Speaker Pelosi by slinkerwink — 68
27) Hoomins, don't ever forget... by Ekaterin — 68
28) Taking time out from the army, for romance by kerflooey — 66
29) I worked in a university hospital... by David Kroning II — 65
30) I hatez midterm eleckshuns! by Ekaterin — 64
31) #sekritarmy will stick together by mcronan — 64