Just Because 'National Opt-Out Day' Didn't Do Much, Does It Mean People Don't Care About TSA Searches?
from the say-what-now? dept
Last Wednesday, there was a lot of media attention paid to this concept of "national opt-out day" concerning the TSA's new "naked scan or grope" security options. I didn't cover that story at all. Leading up to it, I don't think I even mentioned the concept of the "national opt-out day" once, because the whole idea seemed pretty silly. In retrospect, it may have been worse than silly. Since there was no corresponding gridlock at airports, it appears that the press has now decided that because "national opt-out day" was a failure, it means people don't really care about the TSA's new policies. In other words, the failure of the protest means this "story" is over, much to the relief of the TSA and the administration, who now thinks it can go on ignoring the very real concerns of passengers.This is a problem.
It's no surprise that the media storm over the TSA procedures had an arc. It's how major media stories go. But, it's unfortunate that there was this misguided focus on getting a bunch of people to do stuff on a particular day (and a day when they are probably least interested in actually doing what's asked of them). Because of that, suddenly, to the major media, it feels like this story is "over." But to the people who are still worried about the scans or uncomfortable with being groped by the government without reasonable cause, it's unfortunate that this story will now get less attention. It's not because the issue is any less. And it's not because the TSA has responded to the concerns. It's because of this one silly, poorly thought-out "event," which became a part of the media spectacle and an easy way to end the story with a claim that the whole set of protests has been a failure.
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Filed Under: journalism, opt-out day, press, privacy, security, tsa
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http://gizmodo.com/5698536/fliers-claim-tsa-have-deactivated-body-scanners
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Re:
would people keep it up? hell no.
so, let's do another opt out day, with much faster notice and see if the TSA ropes it off again. Bet they wont'.
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since it appears that this has happened at other airports as well, wouldn't that make National Opt-Out Day a success?
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Just ignore the news media
Don't believe me? Pick out a few top issues covered on the news. Now spend some time watching each of the news stations to see what was said on your topics. You will notice most follow word for word. Many also have the same beliefs on the topic, or sayings. So if one calls a certain politician a dork, the rest do also. I have even caught them saying the same thing line for line - word by word when they bashed a famous person. Rather if was a politician, actress, or actor etc.
Alex Jones wont let the TSA issues die.
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well...
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The real issue
You overlook the real issue here. The real issue is that the Media's Audiance that would want to hear about the TSA and the Groping is no longer concerned because it won't affect them again until either Christmas or next Thanksgiving.
It's no coincidence that the media was all over these stories right before one of the biggest travel times of the year. It stired up the people that fly only this time of the year and they got all bent out of shape. BUT now that they are done flying, and the TSA did a good job of not harrassing them by closing the scanners and most likely they couldn't grope the same percentage of flyer either, so noone's going to care.
The real tragedy isn't the lack of success of the Opt-Out plan, the real tragedy is that it should have waited until it made the biggest statement which would be after the holiday flyers are no longer an issue.
ALL of the "increased" security issues are because of the holiday flyers, it's no coincidense that they come into play in September/October.
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Did opt out day fail?
Shouldn't we be afraid of the TSA when they will close off the oh so necessary scanners just to prove a point?
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Re: Did opt out day fail?
I found it amusing that right after a cable news story on the "failure" of the national opt-out day was a story about how the traffic on the highways was very high. So, no one in the newsroom thought that the two stories were possibly related? Would it be too much to ask that they would have cited some stats on the traffic as compared to last year? Call it bias or just good old fashioned incompetance; in either case, it's just terrible reporting.
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Re: Re: Did opt out day fail?
I don't think that's part of a conspiracy, just an inconvenient coincidence.
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Boycott Flying!
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TSA to High Schools
Think about it...
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The machines were off
I suspect this was done intentionally to keep the number of people opting out to a minimum for PR purposes... then just phase them back in slowly.
Also noteworthy is that there were no significant delays were reported at any airports in the country this year (first time in a few years) for pre-thanksgiving rush.
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Re: The machines were off
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Propaganda
I wouldn't exactly put much trust in any media report about the effects of "Opt Out Day".
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Let this non-story die
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Re: Let this non-story die
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Re: Re: Let this non-story die
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Re: Let this non-story die
Like the chick who walked through in a bikini, yeah for her! Just get on with your life and leave the oh so bad memory of the airport scanner behind you.
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Re: Re: Let this non-story die
So... You're okay with spending billions of dollars for machines that don't work, instead of spending it on techniques that do work? Really?
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Re: Let this non-story die
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I love comments...
It remains amazing to me that though 80% of the country purportedly support the scanners nearly 100% of comments on news stories that I've seen are anti-scanner. Of course, a lot of people that are "interested" in this store are against that can't account for the overwhelmingly negative response. Even on the original CBS poll report 98% of the responses were negative and yet the media just keeps quoting these numbers.
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It makes me sick your going to be frisked.
shut up and get on the plane or stay home
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Overblown
If you have nothing constructive to say, shut up!
Security is invasive by its very nature. But we cannot turn our backs on the danger. The key is to accept the realities and minimize the personal impact, privacy concerns and rights issues for the good of everyone and the individual. A balancing act. This "opt-out"...what if terrorist had used that day to actually blow up a plane. I wonder how that would have went because you know some were thinking about it.
Anyways, let's work together and drive change based on the real world realities and not some mis-placed sense of personal injury. If someone seeing my naked means 200 people won't die this year, let me know where I need to line up!!!!
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Re: Overblown
What then?
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Re: Overblown
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Re: Overblown
I absolutely disagree. Most of us are very aware of the fact that these machines and policies don't work and are not protecting us at all. We'd like to see actual security put into place, which is a good part of why we're protesting. Which is sort of the opposite of what you said.
I am definitely concerned about the scanners and the pat downs and believe that very strict guidance and oversight needs to be in place.
I am concerned about the fact that both are dangerous, useless, and expensive. The guidance needs to be away from these measures and the oversight needs to be by people who aren't financially gaining from the measures.
However, people are out there that will use every loop hole in our security to try and terrorize the population. In other works KILL PEOPLE.
Yes, so let's ditch the scanners and the pat-downs - which don't work - and trade them in for measures that do work.
Where will all these people who offer no alternatives to the scanners and pat downs but believe both are intrusive and unnecessary be when a plane falls out of the sky and a couple of hundred people are dead.
Your statement is disingenuous. First, the scanners and groping don't lessen your chances being blown out of the sky, so alternatives aren't necessary. Second, plenty of people have offered alternatives. Third, we'd be in the same place we were the many times that this has happened before.
Wait, you know that 9/11 wasn't the first time, right?
They will be in their houses trying to rationalize that they played no role in it.
It's more likely that they'll be in their houses, angry at politicians who put useless, expensive scanners in to please their lobbyists, while ignoring inexpensive safety measures that actually stood a chance of stopping the terrorists in question.
You'll be in the one trying to rationalize your role in it, just like you're trying to rationalize the loss of liberties that these scanners and pat-downs represent.
The world is not perfect but I seem to remember something from grade school:
If you have nothing constructive to say, shut up!
What grade school told you this? I'd be very interested in hearing about it, because adults don't generally encourage children to come up with constructive criticism, much less allow it in their classrooms.
Are you thinking of having nothing nice to say?
Security is invasive by its very nature.
No, it's not.
But we cannot turn our backs on the danger.
That's right, we can't, which is why we're protesting these dangerous security theater measures that are causing us bodily harm, along with harming our liberty.
The key is to accept the realities and minimize the personal impact, privacy concerns and rights issues for the good of everyone and the individual.
Yes, that's why we should get rid of the scanners and groping, and start introducing real security, Israeli-style.
A balancing act. This "opt-out"...what if terrorist had used that day to actually blow up a plane.
On Opt-Out Day, or any other day, they could simply place the bomb in a cavity. End of story.
I wonder how that would have went because you know some were thinking about it.
Actually, most security agencies think that our airports aren't the biggest targets, anymore. In regards to our airports, the terrorists have won. They believe that the next step is to cripple a highway, train station, or another urban center.
(My guess of your reaction to that statement: "Ahh! Let's put scanners and groping in front of the Mall of America!!!")
Anyways, let's work together and drive change based on the real world realities and not some mis-placed sense of personal injury. If someone seeing my naked means 200 people won't die this year, let me know where I need to line up!!!!
Too bad that's not what it means.
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Re: Overblown
Sure. But, as stated, the TSA seems to be aiming for perfect security, which is an impossible goal. Someone will bring down a plane sometime. The problem is not that people "don't like" these new procedures, but that they realize the invasiveness greatly outweighs the actual effectiveness.
You can't just claim "but people are trying to kill us" and use that to make everything seem okay -- especially without any evidence that such procedures work. Based on that reasoning, it should be fine to force you to strip naked and be searched before you go out in public "because people are trying to kill us." But, obviously, you would find that problematic. So why do you say one is okay, but not the other?
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Re: Overblown
But hey, let's spend billions at the airport, give everyone cancer, sexually assault them (except on Thanksgiving, where we turn the machines off so that they have something to be thankful for) for a 1 in 200,000 chance of an attack.
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Profiling?
In Israel profiling is used, but the concept has been widely rejected here.
What can U.S. learn from Israel airport security? - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News: "Israeli intelligence agencies, working in lock-step with airport security, flag travelers deemed potentially dangerous -- a designation applied most readily, and controversially, to Arabs who make up 20 percent of the Jewish state's population.
Commensurate scrutiny follows: from the rifle-carrying guards that question the drivers of incoming cars, to the unsmiling sentries who eye passengers as they wheel in their luggage, to the security interrogations in the check-in lines.
As a last resort, on Israeli airlines at least, undercover sky marshals can be seated next to passengers seen as risky."
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Re: Profiling?
That's untrue. Let me fix it for you:
In Israel, behavioral profiling is used, in addition to four layers of hard security measures, including baggage searches in bomb-proof areas. The concept hasn't been discussed here.
There you go!
(By the way, I'm in favor of the Israeli system.)
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Re: Re: Profiling?
I wasn't talking about it Techdirt. I was talking about in the US. Profiling as a security measure hasn't been a popular concept in the US.
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Re: Re: Re: Profiling?
Behavioral profiling has not been even brought up in the US because any profiling is automatically going to be equated with racial profiling
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Profiling?
So profiling does involve a level of observation of you. It may not be as intrusive as the current TSA approach, so maybe you aren't as aware of it, but you are being watched in some fashion, or you couldn't be profiled.
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Why I couldn't "Opt Out"
I predict (and hope) that this issue is far from over. I have stopped flying, but my elderly mother lives out of state and her health is failing. Sometime soon, I may have to fly on short notice. When that happens, I will do my best to not raise any flags, and hopefully just have to go through metal detectors. But if I get selected for an "enhanced" search, they better be prepared to physically restrain me, or arrest me. I won't let them do it willingly.
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Opt Out Day accmplished a lot. Why is everybody so quick to dismiss it?
Unfortunately the mainstream media has been following the TSA's line of "nothing to see here, move along." Disappointing. But reporting aside, it was a major success.
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Separate but Equal, Via Jordan (response to Suzanne Lainson, et. al. #29-33 )
http://www.mail-archive.com/cikeas@yahoogroups.com/msg16234.html
http://www.airliners .net/aviation-forums/non_aviation/read.main/976313/
http://www.securitymanagement.com/article/pro filing-aviation-threats-004454
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/what-are-israeli-ara bs-are-they-jewish-1.123496
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=8200
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if you decide to link to an external story to make a point, please don't use the new york times or any other website that requires registration/payment to read it. thank you
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