As I said the scanners show a detailed image of a person's body, in an article from the LA Times the scanners were compared to a "virtual strip search". Images such as this appear on the screens of security.The images are certainly graphic, but should people have to sacrifice their privacy in the name of security. The body scans are effective and you can see in the picture where this man's gun is located. patting down a person may not have been as effective in this situation. In a pat down a woman could potentially hide a weapon in her chest and no security officer is going to pat her down there, but here trade off is another member of security essentially seeing a picture of her naked.
Would you feel comfortable stepping into a full body scanner at O'Hare? Do you feel personal privacy should be sacrificed to ensure national safety? If so, where should the line be drawn?
Although these scanners violate personal privacy, I think that they are a good idea and should be used in airports. We all know the damage that can be done by terrorists, and these scanners help prevent that damage. I am willing to let a security official see a picture of my body in order to make our nation safer.
ReplyDeleteJust a clarification, the pictures above are edited and real ones are more graphic (genitalia can be seen).
ReplyDeleteI agree with Brian on this one, though. I think that we have to trust security officials to look at these pictures from a professional standpoint and use them only to find weapons. I support most limitations of privacy because I think that we are misapplying the constitutional right to privacy.
The clause that you have the right to privacy and the right to no unlawful search and seizure was made, essentially, because under Britain colonists were subject to seemingly random searches and raids on their homes and belongings. These body scanners are not a violation of privacy because they do not put any of your belongings in harms way and do not involve a foreign officer entering your home. It is a few second in front of a machine that makes everyone safer.
I understand where Sam and Brian are coming from, but I don't know if I totally agree. Maybe the constitution was originally written to prevent random searches and raids on their homes, but I think we need to look at the situation through a modern lens. I think our definition of a right to privacy has changed, and I think that it is slightly unfair to do these full-body scans. I want to trust the security officials to look at these images from a purely professional standpoint, but I have difficulty believing that this will be the case. I suppose I'm just a bit skeptical but I don't really know whether I think these machines should be used.
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