Be prepared to get 'groped' before your flight to grandma's

If you're flying for the holidays, it may be a little different than it was last year because of the new body scanners and "enhanced screening" pat-downs at the airports, that were implemented in October.

If you are told to go through the body scanner you do have a choice to opt out for the pat-down instead, as TSA has announced that passengers who opt out of the body scanners will be required to succumb to a pat-down -- but you should be aware of what the "enhanced screening" pat-downs are. The new procedure includes agents using open hands and fingers to touch and press chest and groin areas of passengers, including the inside of a passenger's legs to the thighs.  

The ACLU said, "[During] the new standard pat-down, a screener of the same sex will examine your head, shirt collar area, and waistband, and may use either the front or back of his or her hands to feel your body, including buttocks, around breasts, and between the legs, feeling up to the top of the thigh. Women in tight skirts that don't allow an agent to feel the thigh area may be asked to remove the skirt in a private screening area and will be given a gown or towel to put on."

For those that have been taught that their body belongs to them and no one has the right to touch it, will have to adjust their thinking, now. Along with deciding what to pack, you are going to have to decide whether you are going through the body scanner or a pat-down. For some, this may cause a sleepless night full of anxiety the day before their flight, as they ponder what choice they are going to make.

It may even be more thought-provoking for others as they have to make a decision for themselves and their children, as children are not exempt from the body scanner nor the pat-down. You may want to prepare your child to be searched and prepare yourself to stand there and watch, if it happens, because you will not be able to interfere. In fact, for a particularly sensitive child, it may be mildly embarrassing to full-blown humiliating to stand there and "let" themselves succumb to a search in front of a airport full of people. After telling your child for years to not let anyone touch them, you'll now have to add an addendum ... unless it's a TSA employee.

So, why wouldn't anyone just go through the body-scanner? Just look at the picture above. It is an actual photo from a body scanner. And just because you opt for the body scanner doesn't mean you won't get a pat-down, too. If the TSA screener sees something suspicious, then you will have to go through the pat-down, too. I haven't seen a picture of what something suspicious looks like, and after viewing the above photo, I am very curious as to what that would look like, as in the picture there is nothing left to the imagination. 

All in all, for many, holiday airport travel will be no big deal, and body scanners and pat-downs will be taken in stride, and some will actually appreciate it, as they will feel safer flying. But for others, it will be a monumental decision, as giving up their rights, or their child's rights, for one minute will be a lot to ask, for it is shaking their core beliefs. This is why this is such a particularily touchy subject. 

Just this weekend, John Tyner from Oceanside told 10 News that he was selected to go through the body scanner. Tyner refused and the TSA agent said he could have a body pat-down instead. He told the TSA agents, "I turned to him, I looked him in the eye and I said, 'If you touch my junk, I'll have you arrested.'"  Read more about this here.

When a TSA supervisor explained the process, Tyner said, "You know, I'm not really comfortable with this. It seems to me it amounts to a sexual assault and I don't think that should be a condition for getting on the plane."

Tyner was told he would be escorted out of the airport and just before he left, a TSA supervisor told him because he started the screening process and refused to finish, he was in violation of federal law and would have to go finish the screening process or be fined $10,000.  

Many more people are coming forward with their personal experiences with the body scanners and pat-downs on the internet, and some feel that the "new" pat-down procedure was implemented to force people to go through the body scanner, after the announcement of "National Opt-Out Day."

"TSA isn't willing to discuss its 'new' procedures, I guess I'll just have to rely on all the rumors I'm reading online ... which indicate that, contrary to your posting, pat-downs are ... sometimes being conducted punitively, sometimes by officers of a different gender than the passenger, and sometimes for reasons other than those listed (e.g. wearing a dress)," said Jim Huggins on the TSA Blog.

According to TSA here are some rights you do have:

* Pat-downs are conducted by same-gender officers
* All passengers have the right to request private screening at any point during the screening process
* Anyone has the right to have a traveling companion present during screening in the private screening area.

Where do you stand on this issue?

Check out this interview with Meg Mclain, who was arrested for asking questions about the body scanner.

Note:  Be forewarned that November 24th is National Opt-Out Day, when many travelers will refuse the body scanner and opt for the pat-down instead.  

Note:  How do I know it is a full-body scanner:  The X-ray scanner (full-body scanner) has two blue walls and the  wave scanner is gray with cylindrical.