If you haven’t flown since 9/11 or you have lived under a rock, then you may not be fully aware of the atrocity and violation of our basic civil rights, primarily the fourth amendment, that have taken place.
Now, I have yet to fly since they implemented the new x-ray machines, but my privacy has still been violated on more than one occasion. Myself and others that I have spoken to have had our bags “randomly” searched by the Transportation Security Administration or TSA on our return flight, without a warrant, without probable cause and without, most importantly, my permission.
I put a lock on my bag to keep people out, not to allow the TSA to just take a peek when they deem it necessary. They certainly did not find anything in my bag that should not have been there and I highly doubt that my deodorant, that I can no longer put in my carry on bag triggered a potential threat. After all I would not have access to my deodorant again until after I reached my destination, at which point I may have been able to use it to take over the world and eliminate all B.O.
Of course most of us think the procedures the TSA has in place are is a bunch of nonsense, but we all still comply like little sheep because we still feel threatened by “terrorists” ten years after the attack. Not University of Cincinnati student Aaron B. Tobey though, on December 30th when flying out of Richmond’s International Airport on the way to his Grandmother’s funeral in Wisconsin, he opted out of the body scan and chose to do the pat-down instead. When he removed his shirt to make the pat-down a bit easier on the TSA, a brief description of the fourth amendment was scrawled across his chest, he was then detained for 90 minutes for disorderly conduct. Mr. Tobey plans to take action against the TSA, according the wired.com, Tobey’s “federal lawsuit claims wrongful detention and a breach of the First Amendment and Fourth Amendment” violations that the University of Cincinnati Student plans to sue for $250,000.
His actions preceding the incident and after have more than impressed me. I am so proud of this young man who can plainly see the clear violation of civil rights the TSA is imposing on travelers. I visited the TSA website which seems to be full of a bunch of feel good words like “value” and “integrity” which mean nothing when they find it necessary to search people who pose no real threat to national security. I hope this young man not only wins his $250,000, but I also hope he is the catalyst that ends these clear violations of our civil rights.
Sources of Information:
wired.com
Huffington Post
Fourth Amendment
Thanks for stopping by the Middle Brick Road, I hope you enjoyed this post. My name is Kacey and I am really big on health and all things natural – freedom – politics and bringing change by abandoning the boxes we too often put ourselves in.
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Mmmm…how are your rights violated when you CHOOSE to fly. No one is forcing you to fly. I gladly give up my bag (and in some cases what can be considered my personal rights) for my safety. If you don’t like it, drive or take a boat!
Taking alternate routes of transportation is not always an option. Yes, we choose to fly, but we also flew for years without extraneous measures like these in place. If my bag is already being x-rayed or I am already stepping through a metal detector, why the additional security measures when I show no signs of being a potential threat? The fourth amendment clearly states that we should be protected from unreasonable searches and seizures. What about having a full body x-ray, or the TSA rummaging through your bags that have already been x-rayed seems “reasonable” to you?
If it means that no one is able to “sneak” anything onto the plane I am flying on…then yes…search it all! I have been patted down because I changed flights at the last minute. I didn’t mind at all and thanked the TSA agents.
What about my rights to safety? Do I not have any rights to feel safe because there is a protection from from unreasonable seaches? What’s so unreasonable about making sure there are no bombs (or other dangerous materials) on a plane?
We will just have to agree to disagree on this one. To me it’s a slippery slope, if we allow them to force us to take off our shoes and put our toiletries in plastic zip-lock bags, then they can x-ray us or pat us down . . . what comes next? Where/when do we stop searching people who have given us no reason to feel that they could jeopardize our safety? There has to be a better way.
There are ALWAYS other modes of transportation. Car bus train or even a boat if you want to get across the ocean. If you don’t want to be searched then choose not to fly.
Love you too, whoever you are lol
Please, give me that boat info leaving out of Richmond and going to Paris.
Drive to cruise ship port. Board boat to England, France, anywhere you want to go. Disembark and take a train to Paris. No flying involved.
That isn’t trip information. I am certainly no expert but, I have never heard of a cruse ship leaving (I will be generous and say New York) and travelling across the U.S. And if it really is about safety, are we not just as vulnerable on a cruise ship or train?
If you need to travel across the us then you can drive. Or a bus. Or a train. Or a friggin horse. How do you think people got around before planes were invented? How did our ancestors get here? Boats across the ocean. No one said we won’t be as vulnerable. But your issue isn’t with our safety and vulnerability, it’s with having your rights violated. If you don’t want to be searched, then you will have to chooses a more vulnerable mode of transportation. It all boils down to what you cherish more, your rights or your life. Don’t argue that flying is sometimes the only mode of transportation when clearly, it’s not.
I think you’re missing the whole point, but I am done arguing with someone who won’t even reveal their identity.
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