96% in poll say they'd change travel plans to avoid TSA gropings

[Liberal_in_LA]

Poll: Do New TSA Airport Screens Go Too Far?

Besides the Delays and Invasive Searches, New Screenings May Hurt Airline Industry; What Do You Think?


Passengers and pilots are getting angry over increasingly invasive body screenings. (AP)

(CBS) Revealing full-body scans and genital-touching pat-downs are poised to become a regular fixture of airline travel in the U.S., and people are hopping mad about it.

There have been accusations on both sides of fear mongering, insider profiting scandals and abuse.

Some of the effects of this two month-old change in the way airline passengers are screened are already being felt:

----------------------------

A surprising effect of the scans may eventually be a decline in air travel, according to an online Reuters poll. Reuters' readers were asked whether or not they would change their travel plans to avoid the invasive scans and pat-downs, and a whopping 96 percent (65,708 of 68,513) have thus far said yes.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/11/15/national/main7056945.shtml

[n2doc]

1. I will

I was planning on taking the family out west next spring for a meeting. Now I plan to drive them, instead of fly.

I wish everybody would avoid air travel this holiday season. Just one missed holiday would be all it would take to stop this madness. And the first pol who champions removing the gropers and nude scanners will become a hero.

[Matariki]

4. I did.

Cancelled my flight, and sadly my trip. Saving up vacation days for a nice road-trip.

[HipChick]

5. It's kinda of hard to drive over ocean

[Cleobulus]

14. Eh, you could always get one of these...

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-9729924-1.html

[Matariki]

25. Indeed. That's why I'm hoping there's enough immediate push back to end this nonsense.

[stray cat]

6. If you have five days off and spend 4 days traveling how is your visit?

[jberryhill]

17. "Now I plan to drive them, instead of fly"

As long as you don't mind doubling your chance of killing your kids.

2009

Auto passenger deaths / million miles: 37,261 / 2,973,509 = .0125

Airline passenger deaths / million miles: 52 / 7,557 = .0069

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_02_17.html

[n2doc]

23. I am not afraid of that

I will not submit to this tyranny. And I won't subject my family to it. You are welcome to be one of the sheep, if you so choose.

[jberryhill]

26. Drive Safely

And enjoy your trip.

[MineralMan]

32. Thanks. Don't mind if I do.

[avaistheone1]

66. I think you are smart

not to submit to this bullshit.

It is objectionable on all levels. The radiation is a health threat and it does penetrate the skin and goes to the muscle and tissue level. It is also objectionable because the scanners are ineffective, intrusive and humiliating, as well as huge waste of hundred of millions of dollars that has been handed out to the lobbyists and firm that make this obnoxious equipment.

Everyone should not be treated like a criminal nor be embarrassed in this way.

I am with you, do not submit. Don't travel, or if you must take a bus or a train. Fuck 'em.




:kick:

[seabeyond]

34. wow... you really are afraid, arent you? wow. lol. nt

[jberryhill]

36. No, I'm not afraid of flying, driving or the TSA

There do seem to be a lot of people who are positively petrified of at least one of those things.

[thunder rising]

50. I feel your concern.

[seabeyond]

2. got it people. it is not NORMAL to submit to groping and naked scanners.

it jsut is not normal human behavior.

[stray cat]

8. If we were meant to fly we would have been born with wings - normal is foot travel

[seabeyond]

15. wow. just wow. nt

[Skidmore]

70. It's true.

Flap your arms away and see how far off the ground you get.

[marmar]

3. This could actually end up hurting the airline biz quite a bit......

...... Flying already is a hassle with the security and endless fees, and this might be the straw that sends the camel to the chiropractor as far as passenger tolerance is concerned. I've definitely abandoned flying for the short route I used to take most often, Detroit-Chicago.

[Ilsa]

7. The airline industry needs to step up

and explain that traveled are not interested in security theater and window dressing. We want real screening of cargo and we want to be treated with dignity. If we can't get it, the airline industry will suffer and hopefully, TSA will be defunded.

[Mz Pip]

9. If this hurts the airline's

bottom line then I suspect it will be modified. If business suffers then that will have a far greater influence than people just complaining about it.

[marmar]

10. Very true.

nt

[progressoid]

28. Yep - Money talks. nt

[janewin]

61. wishful thinking

If it hurts the Airline industry, the govt will bail them out. After all, its for NATIONAL security and i might be wrong but isn't the TSA(govt) that is responsible for airline security?

[Mz Pip]

62. No more bailouts

that's that current mantra. So if whatever security protocol guts into the bottom line then I think it will be revised in someway.

I suspect that after the dust settles people will just grin and bear(bare?) it.

[HipChick]

46. Biz Travellers have always propped the industry up..the infrequent flyer won't be off too much of a

loss to the bottom line

[oxymoron]

11. I, for one, am booking a flight just for a little TSA action...

n/t

[MinneapolisMatt]

22. I shouldn't laugh at this.

But screw it! BWAHAHAHAHA!

[WolverineDG]

12. I'm considering it

might take the bus home instead of a plane. Just sick & tired of all the extra fees, having to get to the airport hours before flight time, going through security.....for a lot less, I can take the bus, see some of the country, & not be treated like a criminal.

dg

[seabeyond]

18. we did that a couple years ago, and it was so freeing. not being angry that i would have to submit

that i would be able to do the trip without the beginning and end, selling out. the best. we have driven every since.

we have had to have longer vacation time for the drives. i get more time with family, that i love. we stop and see, and change routes. it is great.

[WolverineDG]

24. I've taken the bus for short, 2-3 hour hops that I used to drive

and wow, what a difference! I get to where I'm going refreshed, having been able to read, sleep, listen to my iPod, knit, stare out the window, instead of dealing with traffic, keeping an eye on the speedometer & gas gauge....

this trip back from Seattle, though is almost 3 days. A real endurance test & perhaps God will have the last laugh. Dunno, but the route goes through places I've wanted to see, I have the time, so why the heck not?

dg

[seabeyond]

27. from seattle to tx?

we drove from tx to SF last spring. my kids have not been west. lots of north and east. i am from calif and lived in reno and az. it was a balst driving thru all that. loved it. to we drove thru gr canyon, hoover, up to reno, over to shasta, hit eureka and came down to SF. then went south on the way home.

my kids favorite trip.

BUT they still have to see org, wa, into canada, montana and dow so that is our next trip. we all get along, so there isnt the fighting and stuff.

good luck on your trip. i think it is worth it. and certainly advantages to not being the driver. i could read for three days, lol. easy.

[WolverineDG]

52. Go to Greyhound.com & check out the routes

most from where I live go to Seattle via California (traveling through NM & AZ, although 1 went through UT & had a stop over in SLC--very tempting), while the routes back go through western WA, ID, MT, WY & CO. If the weather were better, I'd look into stopping over somewhere & scouting around. :)

dg

[dixiegrrrrl]

13. Well, if fear of the Fuhrergroper is what it takes for people to say STOP

it will have to do.
I would rather a line be drawn on the issue of unconstitutional search and seizure ( among so many other Constitutional
grounds which apply to our growing government outrageous).
but
so be it... genital fondling in order to fly will have be the reason.

[Kennah]

16. Suppose ...

... a group showed up at security and said, "Oh, we're not flying. We're just here for the pat down search."

[muntrv]

19. To quote Willie Nelson: "On the road again. I can't wait to get on the road again."

[Canuckistanian]

20. The citizens' opinions are irrelevant

The state will continue to protect you. Be thankful.

And in other news, a shipment of Soylent Yellow is now available at your local food dispensaries. Enjoy.

[krabigirl]

21. I will as well. I won't fly.

The only time I will is to visit family overseas, which is only every two to three years. Actually, next time, I am thinking about just staying over there for good.

[spin]

29. If enough people refuse to fly ...

the backlash will force the TSA to change their policies.

The sad part is that all these new machines and intimate pat downs will not detect explosives in body cavities.

It looks like the companies that make these machines are going to make a lot of money and that's the entire point. If the terrorists decide to cram explosives up their ass or in breast implants, they still will be able to blow up aircraft. We have spends billions on a system that's next to worthless.

But they really don't have to attack aircraft. Subways, buses and trains are extremely vulnerable.

All we are doing is running around like a headless chicken.

[Canuckistanian]

30. There should be a protest timed for Thanksgiving

The lost revenue by airlines should get their attention. They get a lot of revenue from Thanksgiving travellers.

[Liberal_in_LA]

37. there is.

[MineralMan]

43. The day before Thanksgiving is Amateur Hour at the airport.

Things are screwed up enough with the "I hardly ever fly" crowd. It's already a zoo, and none of them have even heard of this protest. I predict chaos, as usual that day.

[RavensChick]

48. You got that right!

The only time I was on a plane was Thanksgiving weekend 2000 when I went to Atlanta at the last minute. I know it was months before 9/11, but even back then the chaos was more controlled.

Now, it's so jacked up with the airlines I can only say one thing--Take the train!! I haven't gone out west yet but I can endure the train for 2-3 days than 2-3 hours in the air with a bunch of wingnuts!

[Name removed]

56. Deleted message

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

[MineralMan]

31. Does that mean the center seat will be unoccupied? It's much

more comfortable when it is. I like the window seat, and my wife likes the aisle. Having an empty center seat just makes life so much nicer.

So, I'm for this boycott, if that's the case.

[seabeyond]

35. ya, but you price will double because they have to cover cost. nt

[MineralMan]

39. I'm already booked and paid for Christmas, so no worries, there.

Of course, my wife and I are flying on Christmas Day, so we'll probably have two whole rows to ourselves. We always fly on Christmas Day. It's great! I'll wear my red Santa Hat and say "Ho! Ho! Ho!" to the folks in the security line. One year, I got to be on the KTLA TV news in Los Angeles, with my red Santa hat and my big white beard and hair. My 15 seconds of fame, I suppose.

[seabeyond]

49. lol, thumbs up. even chrsistmas day in an airport

can be jolly....

kinda like the first snow of the season. people just feel good.

[sally cat]

33. Maybe they figure terrorists fear groping more than death and will quit.

[amborin]

38. not a scientific poll......

[Liberal_in_LA]

40. no but rarely do these unscientific online polls get 96%

[amborin]

41. maybe not but the results are still not valid.....and now only 79%

[MineralMan]

44. Plus, if you had a second question asking how many had

flown in the past three years, you'd get about 2/3 of them, anyhow. Polls like that are completely bogus.

[gmoney]

42. What happened to prompt this increased "security"?

Is there "increased background chatter" or something? Did someone blow up the World Trade Center again while I wasn't paying attention? Is there a reason that the TSA is going crazy?

President Obama, stop this stupidity and invasion of privacy NOW.

[tblue37]

47. No, but Michael Chertoff (and probably other politically connected people)

invested in backscatter scanners, so of course we must have them in airports so such folks can make their megamillions.

[-..__...]

45. "are already being felt"...

apparently so, otherwise this wouldn't even be an issue.

[IrishEyes]

51. I'm taking the Amtrak next time

Lately, every time I go through security it beeps. It is because of the underwire in my bra. Security pulls me aside and a guard checks me. I don't know what to do. I have a very large chest so I can't go braless. It is so embarrassing because security treats you like a criminal as they grab your boobs. I'm only going to travel by air if there are no other options.

[Name removed]

59. Deleted message

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

[IrishEyes]

65. I'm sorry you feel the need to be so mean and insulting

I have done nothing to you to deserve that treated. For your information, sports bras don't fit me because I have very large breasts. I was only commenting that it is difficult to go through security.

[laughingliberal]

74. +1000 nt

[jmm]

75. +1

Not everybody has the luxury of being able to stroll into any KMart and find a five dollar sports bra without an underwire that will fit them.

[CLANG]

77. The comment you are referring to will not withstand the new rules. When do they take effect again?

[Name removed]

60. Deleted message

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

[MadHound]

53. Good, when the airlines scream, politicians will listen,

Whereas when people scream, the politicians plunk down a few million for another scanner and forty more gropers on the payroll.

[alarimer]

54. Silly, those porno-scanners are only for the riff-raff, don't you know.

They wouldn't be around long if rich assholes had to go through them to get on their corporate jets.

[pitohui]

55. what people say and what people do has little relation

the fact remains, every time i get on a flight, it's full, and there's an announcement about how we'll take no more first class upgrades, we'll take no more standbys blah de blah

people talk the talk they don't walk the walk

[AsahinaKimi]

57. Mostly each year around New Years..

My parents send me a ticket to fly back East. I have already told them I will not be coming, till this stuff stops. They are disappointed, but understand completely. I suppose I could take a bus or train, but its too far.

[kenny blankenship]

58. It's just a 5mm wide catheter with a fibre optic probe!

I don't see why people have to get so bent out of shape about it. If that's "invasive", it's not much of an invasion. The catheter is fully sterilized and repackaged between uses for Christssakes.

(future TSA discussion on DU)

[Pacifist Patriot]

63. Some of us have little choice, but....

my next flight is on December 4. Be ready to see me land in jail rather than get to my destination. At least I can say I tried to get there.

[gkhouston]

64. Why is a decline in travel a surprising effect? And why are they calling them "pat-downs"?

Shouldn't we be calling them "feel-ups"? :shrug:

[Common Sense Party]

67. I have to fly about four more times this year, and then again in January.

I'm not thrilled about the new "procedures," but I hardly think it's the end of the world.

[CLANG]

78. No, but it's an indication that the end of the world is closer than we think.

[Fuzz]

68. That low?

[nc4bo]

69. So glad I have no where I'd like to go via air travel.

I consider myself fortunate. I don't think I'd handle the new rules very well and would probably end up escorted out of the airport minus the price of the ticket.

Don't want to be touched by TSA.

Don't want to be xrayed by TSA.

Don't want to have that icky, creepy and possibly angry feeling due to dealing with airport security.

Don't want any one else other than my husband and immediate family to be able to view my private parts.

Thank goodness I have no where to go that requires me to have to fly.

[TroglodyteScholar]

71. I'm thinking about it...

...but I'd have to sacrifice the cost of the ticket I already bought, as well as get a more expensive ticket for a smaller airport. And I'd have to abandon my travel buddies and drive separately instead of carpooling to one airport.

Goddamnit.

On edit: I wonder how the travel sites and airlines would react to wave after wave of travelers demanding refunds after learning of the treatment they'll be required to endure in certain airports? Would anyone get that message even if we managed to send it?

[Kat45]

72. "A surprising effect of the scans may eventually be a decline in air travel"

I don't see why it's surprising. I'm certainly not surprised that people don't want invasive searches and/or full-body scans.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

73. The bus to Mexico is starting to look good,

If I want to travel internationally without the TSA grope.

I looked it up online.
Nice air-conditioned bus, 12 hours from Houston to Monterey. $53.00 one way.

The peso is still at 8 cents like it was when I was a kid.

[daleo]

76. I have foregone one trip already

It probably cost the airlines a couple of grand, since my spouse would have come too.