Rape Survivor Devastated by TSA Enhanced Pat Down

[Zephie]

Celeste is a seasoned air traveler. She estimates that she flies upwards of 60 times a year for her job and she knows all the ins and outs of most airports in the USA. Want to know which airport has the best sushi? Celeste can tell you. What she, and most other people didn’t know, was that on October 29th the TSA changed their security guidelines. “I flew to Chicago with no problems. Everything was the same as before. It was when I attempted to fly back to Minnesota that I found out about TSA’s new rules. What they did to me, in full view of everyone else in line, was like being sexually assaulted all over again. I was in shock. I hate myself that I allowed them to do this to me. I haven’t been able to stop crying since.”

Previously, flyers walked through a metal detector and some persons were randomly selected for a pat-down that avoided the face, genital areas, and hair. This was the procedure that Celeste was familiar with.

Then came the full body scanners, a device that uses powerful advanced imaging technology (AIT) to allow TSA agents to see the naked bodies and genitalia of travelers. Not only have people expressed concern over being seen naked and having their photos stored in the machine, there are also health concerns from the scanners. Captain Dave Bates, president of the Allied Pilots Association, sent a letter to all 11,000 American Airlines pilots urging them to decline the full body scan, ”It is important to note that there are “backscatter” AIT devices now being deployed that produce ionizing radiation, which could be harmful to your health. “

Celeste is opposed to the AIT devices, “I knew there were more and more of these scanners coming on line at airports. I try to pick a line where there isn’t one installed yet, but this is getting harder to do. I fly often and I don’t want the extra doses of radiation and I hate the thought of people looking at me naked. Why should I have to let people see me naked to get on a plane? This is my body, I’ve worked many years to re-establish the feeling that I’m allowed to have control over my body after being raped. Even the thought of that leaves me feeling dirty and vulnerable again.”

http://pncminnesota.wordpress.com/2010/11/08/rape-survivor-devasted-by-tsa-enhanced-pat-down/

------

Article is from the Pagan Newswire Collective, but is not Pagan/religious in nature.

[Demeter]

1. Exactly So

I won't fly. Period.

[tblue37]

2. +1

[KT2000]

3. Same here

A friend just took the train because of this.

[timtom]

54. And that's been my stance, as well

Since 2002.

[TroglodyteScholar]

72. I'll fly...

...but I'm going to opt for the pat-down, comment LOUDLY when they touch me anywhere they shouldn't be, and do my level best to get a noticeable erection in the process.

If the screeners learn that it's bad policy, perhaps something will change.

[Mad_Dem_X]

81. Same here. n/t

[Lyric]

4. I will never, EVER fly. Screw that. And they do this to kids, too!

If there are any undiscovered pedophiles or child molesters out there, they'll know which profession to join--the one that gives them either (1) daily nude images of children, or (2) the ability to grope children's genitals right there in public, without consequences. All nice and legal-like, with perfect deniability. After all, they're just "doing their job", right?

Fucking SICK. There's no trip or vacation that's worth putting my child at risk of either molestation, humiliation, or being the "porn of the day" for some sicko. No thanks!

:puke:

[Zephie]

6. I can't believe the TSA didn't take that into account

It's insane that they didn't consider that they've pretty much given an open invitation to any unregistered sex offenders out there to molest people and get away with it. Even worse, the article explicitly states that Celeste was given the "pat down" by a male, despite the promise that it would be same sex only.

[Lyric]

9. There are lots of pedophiles who aren't "sex offenders" yet

simply because they haven't been *caught* yet. Those people would have perfectly clean criminal records. All the background screening in the world wouldn't do a single bit of good to keep undiscovered pedophiles out. This literally puts our children at risk--at the very least, of having their nude images ogled by some pervert, and at worst, actually being physically groped by one. And the same goes for adults, too, except that unlike children, adults at least have the option of walking away and saying NO. Children will have no choice but to stay there and suffer it.

What the hell were they thinking?!

And how much do you want to bet that there's some code or regulation that protects TSA agents from being charged with sexual assault and/or molestation if the act occurs while "on the job" and involves this new pat-down procedure? We've basically just LEGALIZED sexual assault for TSA agents. We've given them carte blanch to grope innocent people, with no legal recourse for the victims. What. The. Fuck.

:grr:

[Zephie]

15. It seems like there have been more than a few others

who have been subjected to opposite sex rub downs aside from Celeste. I am hoping that more main stream news sources pick these stories up quickly. The idea that these are being done on anyone - and especially children - is insanely wrong.

[WinkyDink]

41. I would raise holy hell.

[WinkyDink]

40. There are plenty in positions of authority, I believe, including judges. And perhaps Napolitano is.

[crikkett]

60. anything, to spend the money on those sexy new machines

besides that radiation may even be good for you. :sarcasm: I saw it on the Internet.

[Demeter]

74. TSA Doesn't Make Decisions

The GOP supported manufacturer of these reckless machines did.

[Raine]

30. I avoid flying at any cost

I'd rather give up a trip than take a hellish plane trip. x(

[Le Taz Hot]

43. Oh my gosh!

You're right! I didn't even think about this in terms of children/pedophiles. I'm sick now.

[Warren DeMontague]

5. The best part is, they claim to be looking for weapons, but it's really about looking for weed.

That's essentially what 90% of the "security" in the airports is focused on, IMHO.

[crikkett]

61. i'm really glad that's just your opinion

why would anyone in their right mind travel with weed anyway?

[Zephie]

63. I wondered that myself

I'm all about marijuana legalization, but I get jumpy even on the ten minute drive home. I'd never even consider trying to get on a goddamn plane!

[Ignis]

75. That whole "medical" part of "medical marijuana" escaped you, eh?

:freak:

[crikkett]

77. Just as the whole 'brownshirt' part of TSA escaped you?

:eyes:

[Ignis]

78. Snark just isn't your forte, is it?

Are you saying that

1) I called the TSA "brownshirts"
2) You called the TSA "brownshirts"
3) Someone else called the TSA "brownshirts"

and therefore

1) I'm overlooking something I said
2) I'm overlooking something you said
3) I'm overlooking something someone else said

and thus I'm

1) a Nazi-lover?
2) a Nazi-hater?
3) a Nazi-ignorer?

:freak:

Seriously, put some effort into it next time. Opaque, non-sequitur snark does nothing more than make the snarkster look foolish.

[crikkett]

79. Nope, I'm saying that

I can't understand why someone in this day, with the TSA that we have, would try to fly with pot.

[Ignis]

83. Simple: Because they need to.

Hence, the "medical" part I mentioned above.

[Dreamer Tatum]

71. Pretty sure TSA agents have all the weed they need already nt

[The Backlash Cometh]

7. The man had no right to touch her! I hope she sues.

[uppityperson]

8. I can see pilots avoiding the radiation due to the increased amts they get from their job

I used one and didn't have much of an issue with it. Pilots fly enough, are exposed to enough radiation from their times flying that I can understand them trying to avoid these. I don't really care if my body parts were seen by someone but can understand why someone else might.

After reading about the "enhanced" pat-down routines, I'll get scanned any day rather than felt up. It won't make my quit flying.

[Cid_B]

52. I got a nice experience with this just last week...

... on an international flight. They went from the 75 year old woman to me , the Caucasian military guy... Good plan guys..

That was the first time I was uncomfortable during a pat down in 30 years of flying...

[seabeyond]

53. i swear, everyone brave enough needs to just be having orgasms during PD. oh baby, oh baby

yes... (throw head back)... yes, right there. come one, baby....

relly dramatic, really loud and entertain all...

[uppityperson]

73. Funny person you are.

[Dawson Leery]

10. The TSA, like the DHS must be dismantled.

[avaistheone1]

20. Strongly agree.

:kick:

[readmoreoften]

29. +1

[Name removed]

11. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ipaint]

12. Follow the money.

Ever since the Christmas Day Bomb Scare, Chertoff has been making the rounds championing the Full Body Scanners as a way to detect hidden explosive devices.

Here is a Chertoff quote from the New York Times on December 29th.“If they’d been deployed, this would pick up this kind of device,” Michael Chertoff, the former homeland security secretary, said in an interview, referring to the packet of chemicals hidden in the underwear of the Nigerian man who federal officials say tried to blow up the Northwest Airlines flight.
A few days later the Washington Post revealed that Chertoff represents Rapiscan - a maker of full body scanners drawing criticism of groups who oppose full body scanners
"Mr. Chertoff should not be allowed to abuse the trust the public has placed in him as a former public servant to privately gain from the sale of full-body scanners under the pretense that the scanners would have detected this particular type of explosive," said Kate Hanni, founder of FlyersRights.org, which opposes the use of the scanners.

Rapiscan has already sold 150 full body scanners to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), with a price tag of $25 million. Rapiscan full body scanners, like the Rapiscan WaveScan 200, seem to be the preferred scanner of choice because they obscure the "private parts." But the fully body scanner lobby is also littered with a number of companies vying for the $300 million dollars the government has set aside for this type of technology for airports.

The Washington Examiner has a list of other full body scanner lobbyists including another heavy weight, Tom Blank, with the lobby group Wexler & Walker(pdf) - A lobby group that represents American Science and Engineering (AS&E) another full body scanner manufacturer.Blank was the former Deputy Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration - essentially Blank is lobbying the same federal department where he was boss.

http://www.nowpublic.com/world/full-body-scanner-lobby-michael-chertoff-rapiscan-2552674.html

More pigs at the taxpayer trough.
As long as Americans roll over, belly up like dogs every time these assholes enrich themselves at the cost of our privacy rights, they win.

[dixiegrrrrl]

13. Cheers for you !!!!!!

Most excellent information.
Something I long suspected, that the fear hype was all for profit.

We refuse to fly. Period.
This is NOT going to make any form of public transportation popular.

Wonder how long it will take for the Reich to insist on forcing auto occupants to get out and be scanned?

Right now our short travels are fairly decent because we avoid the "4-lanes" ( freeways,) and thus the checkpoints.
Tho I have not driven cross country since 2005.

[Heywood J]

22. I couldn't help but read that as "Rape-iscan"... (NT)

[readmoreoften]

33. It certainly is a funny choice of words. Maybe they should've contacted a branding expert.

:shrug:

[csziggy]

82. I never knew the business name for the scanners - now I will think "RAPISTscan"

Every time I see a story about them.

[Ikonoklast]

14. I'm with her.

I have had a life-long aversion to strangers touching my body, it's just one of those things with me, and in her case, an even harder thing to overcome.

[Odin2005]

16. These fucking BASTARDS!

Jesus Christ, what is gonna happen to my friend with cerebral palsy, who is a rape survior, if she ever has to go on a plane? :grr:

[The Backlash Cometh]

18. Again, I think nothing is going to change until the daughters of important people

are forced to make these decisions.

[readmoreoften]

28. Even then it won't make a difference.

It's just their daughters after all. Campaign contributions will come first.

[The Backlash Cometh]

57. Really?

You don't think someone is going to do something when a picture of Chelsea Clinton getting her crotch grabbed by a male TSA inspector goes viral on the internet? How about the George Bush II's daughters?

You know what's really going to piss people off? If these girls are never selected to make that choice.

[MadHound]

65. Do you think that any women of the rich and elite are going to get groped in this manner?

That's why they have private planes, that's why there are exceptions for this sort of security for those who fly on private planes. The rich and elite are not going to be subjected to the same sort of TSA madness.

[The Backlash Cometh]

66. That will be investigated someday, and it will begin a revolution.

[Celtic Raven]

70. Exactly

[WinkyDink]

42. Kind of like how the Salem Witch Trials ended only when a politico's wife was targeted.

[The Backlash Cometh]

58. Exactly.

[NuclearDem]

17. This is sick

But wait! I see what they're trying to do.

This must a secret stimulus plan for Amtrak!

[tavalon]

35. If only

I could be okay with that. I've taken far more train trips since this idiotic TSA has morphed into the brownshirts.

[NashVegas]

19. For Everything Else, There's Xanax

[GoneOffShore]

21. Even pilots are rebelling against the TSA.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/11/american-airlines-pilots-advised-to-avoid-new-airport-scanners.ars

It's time to dismantle the TSA and the Department of Homeland Security (or as it used to be called Heimatsicherheitsministerium).

[hedgehog]

23. A lot of people are complaining about the new pat-down,

but this is the first report I've seen claiming a pat-down of a woman by a male officer.

[snappyturtle]

26. I don't want to be patted down by anyone, male oor female.

The regular scanners should be enough. This whole deal of airport "security" has gotten out of hand. I was patted down in Minot,ND last December....it's damn embarrassing. I would have a heart attack if a TSA agent did the new "pat down" (grope). I guess it's traveling by train or auto for me!

[pipi_k]

24. You know who else they don't wanna try patting down?

Women with PMS and painful, swollen breasts.

I'll tell you what...there were times going through Perimenopause where the entire area was so painful I would be in tears from the slightest touch.

No doubt there are ladies out there who know exactly what I'm talking about...


Stay. Away. From. The. Bosoms.

[tavalon]

36. You know what else they don't want to be patting down?

Me. Not if they know what's good for them.

[Gold Metal Flake]

25. See what happens if you don't do as you are told? Now go through the machine.

[tavalon]

37. Bingo!

Very perceptive.

[Ilsa]

39. My best friend swears her patdown was to humiliate her in front of other

passengers because she didn't accept the virtual strip search.

[Gold Metal Flake]

59. That is EXACTLY what it is for.

The TSA is continuing on it's mission of normalizing the police state.

[SammyWinstonJack]

67. Well they can do that without me. I refuse to fly ever again! Sickos!

:puke:

[Name removed]

27. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Lorien]

31. Yep, that's basically looking at a person nude, not much left to the imagination

And storing the photos? Geez, there's little difference between that and just being asked to disrobe and walk nude through a booth. And what's that supposed to be on her backside? A gun? How would that not be detected by a standard metal detector?

[readmoreoften]

32. Do celebrities have to go through this? I think this is where these machines are going to get sunk.

Some actress will walk through. The TSA guys will keep it. It will end up on the internet. Everyone else will say: holy shit, they've got nudie pics of us!

[WinkyDink]

44. No reason to store, when the nudes walk through continually.

[bettyellen]

80. are you kidding? they will save and send their fvortie images and trade them like

babeball cards. it;s awful, but it;s how it works in America.

[tavalon]

38. When I first heard that SeaTac was getting these scanners

I considered doing a protest in front, naked, in just that pose with signs in each of my hands. My husband talked me out of it because he doesn't want the mother of his son to go to jail.

[Le Taz Hot]

46. Oh. My. God!

That's it. I'm never flying again.

[seabeyond]

47. this is not for real

it is a hoax. read the rest of the article/comments instead of looking at a really fit young naked gal... do you wonder why it is a fit young woman in the picture?

[superduperfarleft]

49. .

edit: nevermind

[tavalon]

34. I knew something like this was coming as soon as I heard about this

I avoid flying as much as possible because I don't like the Dog and Pony enhanced brownshirt game. Luckily, I don't have the sexual abuse past but I know I will have the hardest time keeping my pissy comments to myself (ask my husband, he holds his breath every time we go through TSA, hoping I'll keep it in until we get passed them).

This is so infuriating.

[seabeyond]

48. that is my problem, i dont lower eyes and tuck tail in and become submissive

i forget i am suppose to be intimidated. i dont fly anymore either

[tavalon]

55. I don't believe the whole charade and I don't suffer fools gladly

My hubby is a go along to get along kind of guy and I think it genuinely scares him to go through TSA with me, because he knows it takes all of my will to keep my mouth shut and one wrong word from one of them and well, I've said things that have not gone over so well. No body cavity searches. Yet. But yeah, I avoid flying at all costs these days and this from a woman who used to get Southwest frequent flyer vouchers (TX - WA).

[WinkyDink]

45. Janet Napolitano is a FASCIST. And I wonder if MICHELLE would like to go through this.

[JCMach1]

50. There was an excellent scene showing this recently in Dexter

exactly how it can affect someone...

[The Straight Story]

51. once we control the congress and white house we should stop this BS

oh wait...

[unapatriciated]

56. We flew recently and witnessed an elderly woman being "patted" down.

I don't think I could have handled being touched by a stranger the way this woman was. It was not a simple pat down and in public view of passenger waiting in line.
She was flying with her daughters who informed those who looked on in disbelief, that this has happened many times and their mother was used to it.
The reason for the very aggressive pat down was knee replacements setting off the metal detector.

[crikkett]

62. SUE!!!!

n/t

[GoneOffShore]

64. There's a thread on FlyerTalk that discusses the HR

Implications of the new "Grope" pat downs.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-safety-security/1145721-business-liability-w-new-tsa-screening-procedures.html
The way to go may be that since many people travel for business at the behest of their employers, the "grope" and the "Nude-O-Scope" could be considered harassment and a hostile work environment. If large companies start finding that employees are filing harassment complaints because of the TSA they will pressure the govt to actually do something about these clowns.

Also be aware that Michael Chertoff works for a company that manufactures and sells one version of the "Nude-O-Scope".

Edit to add link.

[seabeyond]

68. "harassment and a hostile work environment. " excellent. people sya, just dont fly. some people

dont have that option. i do. i say no. not getting my money for all rights taken away. but some people have to fly and dont have the option cause of work. this makes sense.

let the movement begin

[ismnotwasm]

69. A few years back

We called the ACLU on the TSA because my husband, who decided to take his wheelchair (he has MS) was inappropriately searched. He didn't quite know what the hell was going on until it was over. The man put his hand way up in his crotch, under his butt, squeezing away, and felt his breasts. (He's a big guy, but not THAT big) We complained of course. We also explained what happened to the next TSA worker on the flight back. He was appalled, and explained to us what should have been done. The pervert, my husband calls him --and will call him forevermore-- didn't ask him if he could stand (he can) or ask him if he wanted to be searched in private if it was so necessary. They barely looked at the scooter.

Nothing ever came of it, we complained up one side and down the other. I'm sorry to see these new policies, because it's our belief that some of the workers enjoy their shit far too much. We should call the ACLU again I think even though it's been a few years.

[Egnever]

76. Sounds like this reporet was watching dexter two weeks ago

and went looking for the real life story.