Since the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States there is no doubt that we have lost some of the freedom we previously took for granted. We have seen a loss of privacy, heightened security, and random screenings. The concern I wish to address in this document is that of the so-called "random" searches I have seen take place at various airports across the nation.
At A Glance Author Steven Babkirk Contact [email protected] IAM prcdangl When N/A These random screenings / searches are a violation of our right to privacy as well as our right to unlawful search and seizure. We are told that we must comply or we will be detained and we will not be aloud to take the flight that we have paid for. Perhaps this is just the price we must pay for our safety in troubled times but I still question if this is really improving our safety. There have already been numerous reports of people getting past security with handguns and other weapons that are no longer aloud.
My large concern however is not our safety but our invasion of privacy when we fly and travel. The federal government has said that the screenings at the security check points as well as at the gate are random. Since the first of the year I have watched during my trips and there is nothing random about them. Security pulls people out of line by their own conscious decision. To this end I will state that I have seen a profiling pattern emerge in the screening process. Not only are we seeing a large number of foreign people including Arab-Americans but I have seen a pattern in the profiling of the modified as well.
I start my day from a small airport in the Pacific Northwest at around 6am. I fly so much that everyone that works at the gates as well as security all know me by first name and we have developed a wonderful sense of normality when we see each other. I have never been pulled for a screening at this airport. While I flew through security and onto the plane with no hassle a college student was pulled for a random screening. This student was dressed nicely and had a small carry-on bag that had already been checked at the security station via x-ray. The flight was full and this was the only person pulled for a hand search. The only thing that made him different from the rest of the people on the plane was the tattoo work on his arms and a small handful of piercings.
I believe that this person was detained because of his modifications and nothing more. Some would say that perhaps security had flagged him when he went through x-ray for something that they may have seen in his bag. The problem I have with that argument is the fact that security will pull your bag at the x-ray machine if they see something that could be "contraband". That way if there is a problem they have the National Guard as well as other security there to intimidate and control you if necessary.
I have seen this pattern over and over again since the first of the year. Both personally and to those who happened to be traveling on the same flight with me. In the last six trips I have taken, consisting of around thirty separate flights I have been pulled out for a "random" search eight times. The security personnel then proceed to go through my bag and rummage through every pocket. They go through my wallet, check my laptop, make me take a drink out of a bottle of water I carry to prove that I'm not carrying a liquid fuel or acid to attack the crew or light fire to something on the plane.
I have just boarded my second flight of the day. Security did not stop me but they did stop another passenger. This person had multiple tattoos that were visible from the elbow to the wrist. He also has a tattoo on the back of his neck as well. I spoke with him briefly and explained what I was writing. This is the second trip that he has taken this year to visit friends and family. On both trips he has been pulled out for a "random" search. This was his second time being searched today.
I would love to know how many other modified travelers have had similar experiences with security and feel that they are being profiled because of their modifications. If there are enough of us I feel that we should ban together and contact the FAA and other major airlines to demand that they stop the profiling of the modified community. They need to be told that our choice to be tattooed, pierced, or altered from how we were born does not make us criminals or terrorists. Please feel free to contact me directly through my iam page or via email at: [email protected]