back scatter brain

I am amused by how border security varies by airport. Two weeks ago in Ottawa, I was going through border security to the US. The attendant asked my preference for x-ray or pat-down, to which I opted pat-down. The touching wasn't more invasive than the back of hand scanning that has occurred on the other side of the metal detector before all of this x-ray business. It went by like a cool breeze. I felt curious and somehow disappointed when I was told I could go ahead and grab my stuff after I hadn't felt the least bit violated. I wondered about my privilege at this point. Clearly, I was not suspect and joked and giggled my way through security and customs with the lovely border folks.

At LAX a week later, I wasn't offered the opt-out. I was ushered into the horrible round x-ray machine and told to lift my hands. I politely requested a pat-down and the security officers graciously agreed and asked me to hang out in no-persons-land between the lines until they could find me a woman officer to do the touching. My presence between the lines confused some people, and the lines got a little screwed up as people started lining up behind me. Clearly the opt-out is not a common thing at this airport. When the officer arrived after what felt like quite a long time of my standing there confusing people, she took me to the other side of the room away from the security machines and offered me a private room (upstairs somewhere!). I said that wouldn't be necessary and she proceeded with a thorough touching and squeezing of my parts. She was instructional and polite about it, and I felt comfortable with her. Quite a contrast from the Ottawa experience, though.

Last week, I left Ottawa for the US again and this time (no joke!!), nobody noticed me walking through the metal detector. It was late at night, nobody was around, I walked past the bag scanner folks, nervously collected my stuff, stood there awkwardly for a moment and walked away toward the customs line. Seriously, I felt like I was being surveilled and tested and border security officers were about to roll out of hiding and tackle me to the ground.

A few days ago in Washington, I opted for body grope, and it was the most serious pat of them all. The officer was wonderful in that she explained what she was going to do in full beforehand and asked permission before changing hand positions on my body each time. I can see how this amount of touching could make people uncomfortable. She pressed firmly on inner thighs and breasts and had to slip her hands inside my waistband. It took a few minutes. Again, she was great about it, but for the first time I woke up to the potential invasiveness of the procedure. She touched everything.

First of all, the TSA does not have its crap together. I'm not a security fan, just pointing out how inconsistent (and merely psychological, money-making and fear-instilling) the whole business is. Likely that psychological effect is the point, in which case, I'm against it. And as my dad pointed out a couple of weeks ago, if we wanted to make a statement of our resistance against employing back-scatter technology, we could organize for more folks to opt for the body-grope on a regular basis, because airports are totally not equipped for this burden of time. It took more than five minutes (probably closer to ten) at LAX for the security officers to find me a woman officer. If I had requested a private screening, this would have added time. I also think the idea of the back-scatter is normalized in the security line. Resisting might also serve to draw attention to new securitization and start folks asking questions.