John Tyner, a 31-year-old man hailing from Oceanside, California, not only declined San Diego International Airport’s kind offer of a full-body scan via privacy-invading machine, he also declined a full-body groping via privacy-invading human.
Unfortunately for TSA (who would like to make it unfortunate for Tyner as well) he happened to record his interactions with security personnel on a cell phone. Now TSA honchos are growling that they may well follow through with a threat to fine him $10,000 for not submitting to either procedure — inasmuch as it’s now a crime to care about one’s personal dignity.
The penalty has gone up, though, since TSA threatened Tyner at the airport. It’s now $11,000.
Five or ten dollars for refusing an obnoxious groping, I understand. Or a nickel. Better? A penny. But thousands of dollars?
I’m sure other aspiring passengers who initially cooperated with such intrusions also decided mid-procedure that things were getting too invasive for comfort and that retreat was the better part of valor. I doubt that TSA has sought to extract $10,000+ from each recalcitrant.
But it seems Tyner’s conduct is especially heinous. First, he balked at unreasonable search of his person; second, he blatantly exercised his First Amendment rights by shockingly sharing evidence and testimony about what happened.
If the TSA doesn’t do something, fast, more and more people might act as if their constitutional rights still apply.
Do they?
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
8 replies on “The Costs of Airport Security”
I have just come to the realization that the Full Body scanners are an expensive HOAX foisted on the public. The scanners are so powerful that they will never see any explosive deevices, they look right through all cloth and must explosive material are essentially the same organic material as cloth, such as the Christmas Eve bomber wore case, elosed Please pass this on , I have already sent it to Bill Oreilly…
Lawrence A Neumann
Trumbull, CT
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
Of course, having a Consittutional scholar as president, they would already know that it is unconstitutional. And not a peep out of the ACLU.
And it also doesn’t work. And they do not do this in Israel, where they are surrounded by nations that desire their death and demise. Of course the Israeli security personell is not proscribed from doing what actually DOES work, ie profiling and real police work. Which is why Israel hasn’t had ANY plane incidents.
This is the illusion of security and the idea of doing “something” even if it is ineffective, rather than doing something that might not be politically correct.
No more non-driving vacations for me for a while.
Push, push, nudge, nudge…how much degradation will you accept? And if you revolt? If you fight back? If you even raise your voice citizen…? Fines, jail, your name on a ‘no-travel’ list? Worse, on a no commodities list? Hmmmm. Food is a potent weapon. Remember those African kids on TV and their bloated little belly’s? No sweat. That was just crazy politics. It can’t happen here…can it?
Well, the founders probably never envisioned a time when Americans let strangers stick their hands in their kids pants either. Ya know? Before the little cuties could go to grammas for Christmas? Did you? What does ‘incrementalism’ mean? What’s coming next year. A prodding finger? A night stick to the parent’s throat while a person you wouldn’t even shake hands with gropes your 12 year old in a private stall? Did you ever wonder why the Soviet bloc people seldom went anywhere but to work? Do many Americans even know who the ‘Soviet bloc people’ were?
Travel will not be a fun thing in the coming socialist paradise. In a few years there won’t be anywhere to go anyway. Well, except maybe the government run death camps for the old people and the unwanted kids.
Out-a-sight prices, curfews, travel restrictions, ration books for everything..what’s not to like? Got your 1001 ways to burn rice and fish heads book yet?
“Soy sauce with that sir?’
Can you speak Esperanto?
Can we stop this nightmare from happening? No! It’s too late. We lost the cold war too, it just taking us longer to fall down. Besides, too many of us have become excited with the thought of self-immolation.
America’s latest crop of imbeciles has become high theater to the rest of the world. They laugh to see us giving up heaven to prove we are politically correct to the devil.
I found the invasive procedures to be too much when I had to leave my luggage unlocked and TSA reserved to itself the right to open my luggage and go through it as they pleased and remove anything they didn’t like. Finances have prevented me from traveling as much as I did in the past but I feel fortunate that I saw so much of this country prior to 9/11. Now I drive. I’d rather spend two days driving to my destination than fly. Driving is relaxing. Flying is no longer convenient. It has become more trouble than it’s worth. I think a large part of the country is accessible by car and that will be my first choice in the future. Flying just isn’t worth it, unless time is of the essence or you have to cross an ocean.
$10,000 fine for standing up for his constitutional rights is a crime against all humanity by itself. This fine is a threat against anyone if they decide to demand their rights and should be used as evidence the TSA knows their actions are illegal.
Maybe I’m in the minority here, but if they want to look at my privates, they are more than welcome to. I have nothing to hide. I just want to get through the damned line!
The search is for our benifit(the passenger). I personnaly had rather be scanned than blown up at 30000 ft. These folks that are so sensitive should spend a little time in the military in an open barracks. CLH 21 yrs active duty USAF.
I agree with Andrew and Charles. If being TSA-molested is the price I have to pay for spurious security enhancement, I am ready to forfeit all my constitutional rights against unreasonable search, as well as forefit my self-respect. IT doesn’t matter to me that there are far better and less indiscriminately intrusive means of looking out for the safety of airplane passangers. What counts is that government and its flunkies are willing to treat me like this, so I better just put up with it meekly and obsequiously.