The fall of our society

Over the past year, the TSA has deployed X-Ray backscatter machines and millimeter wave scanners at security checkpoints across the country. A significant number of passengers, myself included, were opting out of the scans and asking for the pat-down instead. But at the end of October, TSA changed the rules in order to "encourage" use of the scanners. According to news reports, instead of just checking for weapons, TSA personnel will now deliberately grope passengers genitals and breasts.

Given that I am flying tomorrow, I now have to make the choice between having naked pictures of me taken by TSA, and possibly stored forever despite TSA's denials (see EPIC's lawsuit against TSA and the United States Marshals), or being sexually assaulted by some guy who would otherwise be working at Burger King. What kind of society have we become that it is acceptable for the government to degrade its citizens like this?

In my mind, TSA has become the real terrorists that this country needs to prevent. The 9/11 attacks killed 3000 people, but in doing so, changed the rules of the game such that hijacking an airplane is no longer a significant threat. However, TSA violates the rights of millions of people every day. I wonder if this is how Germany slowly made its slow slide in the 1930's...