Khloe Kardashian has chimed in with her thoughts about the trials of going through airport security, presumably enhanced patdowns. She compared the experience to rape, saying “they are basically just raping you in public.” It always makes me shudder when people whip out the rape metaphors. It’s just sounds disrespectful to anyone who has gone through something like that. I doubt there’s anything comparable to that experience, but Khloe Kardashian thinks that full body scanners and enhanced pat downs are the same. Remember, this is from the same woman who got a bikini wax from her sister Kourteney on camera and had her laser pubic hair removal filmed for her show. (Kim even compliment Kourteney on her ‘vagina.’ It wasn’t shown, but of course there were plenty of camera and lighting people there to capture those precious family moments.) You would think that having some government employee see you “naked” in a sequestered room or feel up the crack of your ass wouldn’t be half as mortifying as all that.
KHLOE Kardashian doesn’t like airport security!
The reality TV star — who’s married to sportsman Lamar Odom — says she always chooses the pat-down instead of the full-body scan because she doesn’t want anyone being able to take a peek.
“Well, they are just basically just raping you in public,” she said. “The people are so aggressive! It’s like, ‘Chill out, you didn’t find anything on me yet, calm down.’
“They say, ‘OK, I’m going to be patting you down and I’m going to be touching the crease of your ass.’ That is so inappropriate!”
Khloe recently revealed that husband Lamar wants the couple to have twins.
“He asked me, ‘Can’t we just put two in there?’” she said. “He’s crazy, he thinks it’s like that easy.”
[From Showbizspy]
Here’s what bothers me about the full body scans. I really don’t care if someone sees me naked as part of their job, as long as the photos are destroyed and never get out. It bothers me if someone can see my damn tampon or pad. I’m also concerned about any radiation those machine might emit. I’ve yet to fly since the full body scanners were instituted, but I am bothered by the fact that they might be able to see up inside me. (And anecdotal evidence suggests that’s the case.)
It seems ridiculous to compare a minor inconvenience like a body scan or enhanced pat down to ‘rape’ although Kaiser pointed out to me that ‘sexual assault’ might be a more apt way to describe it. For some people with medical issues it can an incredible inconvenience and massively embarrassing. Read some of the comments on this Washington Post story from people with knee replacements, colostomy bags and insulin pumps who have been subjected to some very embarrassing and potentially health-threatening situations in airport security.
On a lighter note, I found these rubber pasties called Flying Pasties that are meant to hide your privates from the full body scanners. They stick on and shield your breasts and junk from the scanners with amusing sayings and graphics, like “Only my husband sees me naked” and “Objects are larger than they appear.” Maybe Khloe should invest in some. They won’t be as painful to remove considering that she’s hairless in that area.
Update: here’s the video of Khloe telling this to George Lopez, thanks to E!
Khloe, Kim and Kourtney are shown promoting their book in LA on 12/2/10. Credit: WENN.com
Can’t stand this obnoxious, stupid tranny.
Nobody should use the word “rape” casually. Undereducated trollop!
Her use of the word was thoughtless, but for people who have actually been raped or sexually assaulted, the new TSA measures are one big, painful potential trigger.
When someone is patting you underneath your underwear … palm of hand toward your body … that is considered sexual assault to me. (There have been several instances of TSA agents going under the underwear … which shouldn’t have been happening!!) I haven’t flown since the enhanced pat-downs began but I would choose a picture over being touched any day.
I really, REALLY like Khloe the best out of the girls, BECAUSE she says what she thinks, and has no censor. However, this was not appropriate.
I love how suddenly a Kardashian is modest. Please.
Here is the link to an article who had to have enhanced pat down simply because her pad obscured the view of her private area … this is just totally unacceptable.
http://www.boingboing.net/2010/11/24/menstruating-woman-s.html
Obviously there are some TSA agents who are performing inappropriate pat downs, but the majority of them are as respectful as they can be. What would people prefer? To explode mid-flight from a bomb or to lose some personal space privileges before flying?
So what do you propose? Would you rather have planes be less safe? If I’m getting on a plane with my children, I want to be as sure as possible.
I have to agree with Brittney here. While I don’t equate the patdowns with sexual assault, they are hefty triggers (coming from a survivor). They are, at the very least, terribly uncomfortable and invasive. I would much rather have the machine, which – by nature of being technological – treats everyone the same. No “extra” pat downs for pretty girls, which yes, I have seen happen. The radiation emitted “is the same as what you get in two minutes in an airplane at 30000 feet” (according to http://news.discovery.com/human/travel-body-scanners-radiation.html) so I personally am not worried about my exposure in that case.
Khloe may have exaggerated, but my concerns are similar to hers. Being patted down in public was horrifying and I hope it never, ever happens to me again.
I personally dont see the big huff over it. We all look the same under our clothes, and we’ve all seen it before. Could it maybe also be a fear of your own body that makes it so bad? Cos we all know this is for a rational purpose. (as insane as it has become, which is sad)
And sexual assault bologne. Really the culture is overly sexualized when a pat down becomes sexual. These people are paid to do it and are in no way doing this for their own sexual purposes/ends. It would be assault if some stranger did this to arouse himself but this is security personell doing this all day– it becomes machinaized like nurses seeing patients all day. You wouldnt claim that to be assualt, would you?
So ok, this isnt to make you heathier, or find out why you are sick but to make you safer and find out who is the extremist freak. So why the gripe….their not in scrubs but in suits.
@ Lucy2 – brilliant!
@Klate.
Precisely. This all seems so amazing to me – all of these people complaining about the added security measures. For the people who died on those planes on 9/11, we should just keep mum and remember their families and hope that these measures are sufficient to prevent another attack.
Oh, and the person who came up with kartrashian is my hero.
What a thoughtless idiot to compare airport pat downs to rape. I find that seriously offensive.
oh please i think this full body scan is such an invasion. you can’t leave the country without some government employee seeing you naked? it’s ridiculous.
She segues from, “I’m going to be touching the crease of your ass.’ to revealing that husband wants the couple to have twins. “He asked me, ‘Can’t we just put two in there?’”
My question is this, when he says ‘in there’ does he mean the crack in her ass? Because God only knows what else she could fit in there.
I am with teehee and k on this one. We’ve got to get over this stuff. This is not a big deal and frankly I think the few people who feel like they are being assaulted are promoting this and influencing the average person. I haven’t flown since the new pat downs were put in place and I think I’m going to stop reading a lot of the comments by those who are making this a big deal because I think the purpose of it is to get everyone on the defensive and scare the crap out of them.
I want everyone on my plane, including me, to be safe so I agree with good and thorough pat downs. Sexual assault is about a lack of consent, no one is being forced to do anything. If you don’t want the pat down take another mode of transportation.
I used to reguarly fly nearly everyday of the week before 9/11. There were weeks when I needed to pass through airport check-in 6-10 a week. I think it would be mentally horrible to be pat down each time. What happens when there is no screening machine? Is a pat down then required?
In reply to, “I doubt there’s anything comparable to [rape]”…
Maybe some extreme forms of torture?
I don’t want people seeing pictures of m. I’m sorry, not naked ones. We were told that they cannot be stored or sent, they can. I’m not comfortable with that. And the new pat downs are horrid.
Now they are saying they may allow Muslim women pat themselves down because it is against their religion to be touched by another. (don’t jump down my throat guy, something I read somewhere)
everyone or no one should get this. Also y all reports, TSA hasn’t caught one terrorist. 99% come from international flights entering the country. the 1% resulted in 9/11.
Nobody messes with Israel and their plane. They profile. Ask you a rapid series of questions. If you fail, you get more screening, if you pass feel free to board. I’m really thinking it may be the way to go.
so she is as stupid as she looks
Molesting us at airports (Muslims exempt, of course); asking us to spy on fellow shoppers in Walmart. Strange days indeed.
While I’m sure it’s an uncomfortable situation (I don’t fly if I can avoid it, for many reasons), it’s nothing like rape. Out of the mouth of someone who obviously has no idea what she’s talking about – why am I not surprised?
Expecting a bs Kartrashian PR apology in 3…2…1…
@ Obvious – Yes! Israel has their shit on lock when it comes to counter-terrorism. Theirs is the example every other country should follow.
So people are really OK with having their little kids groped and fondled or their naked bodies gawked at by poorly paid government agents? Really? I mean aren’t we meant to protect our kids from this sort of thing? It’s bad enough that we adults are subjected this sort of personal invasion, but they are also subjecting innocent kids to it. Kiddie porn is illegal in all forms, including simple naked photos of kids. But we are letting the government get away with something we universally find disgusting and vile under the guise of “safety.” Study after study has shown that airplanes are no safer with these insane procedures, and we are giving strangers permission to gawk at our naked kids and grope them for NO reason. It is a million different kinds of wrong, and I am continually astonished when people somehow think it’s OK. And does no one remember the TSA agent in Colorado who was caught masturbating to these supposedly “harmless” images that are meant to be immediately deleted? How would you feel if someone were caught doing that to photos of your 5-year-old child?
/rant
ETA I can’t believe I agree with a Kardashian. What has the world come to?
imagine for a rape survivor to fly… getting a pat down like that… Damn the times we live in
re Israel having their defense policies very tight.
Yes they do, but Israel has a national draft. Israel’s population is also less than NYC (10 million). Israel has under 10 mil people the United States approx 310,865,056.
We are a great country – they are a great country not an accurate comparison imo.
I agree with Brittney – this could be a major trigger for a rape survivor. That makes me very uncomfortable about this whole thing, and I wish groups like RAINN were more vocal about this.
A family friend of mine was flying out of Logan Airport in Boston a couple months ago. He told the guy at the metal detector that he had a steel plate in his wrist from when he broke it a couple years ago – the guy grabbed him, took him to a back room, and subjected him to a strip search. He made my friend bend over and spread his ass cheeks! That, to me, is crossing a major line, and is a total violation.
I actually met up with him after he got off the plane, and he was miserable all day. And the dude is almost 70 years old.
I just can’t find any of the above acceptable.
Then Kim should go to the airport, have her TSA rape filmed, leak it onto the internet and make another billion dollars. Am I the only one who daily remembers that this girl is famous for being a PORN STAR? And an amateur at that.
I haven’t flown since the new pat downs were put in place and I think I’m going to stop reading a lot of the comments by those who are making this a big deal because I think the purpose of it is to get everyone on the defensive and scare the crap out of them.
*********
If you haven’t been subject to a pat down, then you don’t know how uncomfortable it is. I have and it’s making me never want to fly again. I don’t think I should have to have someone slide their hand up my inner thighs in order for me to get on a plane to go to work or to go home. The scan is fine, I really don’t care about that, but the smaller airports don’t have scanners and so you get the old enhanced patdown. And yes, it is a HUGE trigger for some people.
its “like” go the fuk away skanks
@Liana that is my point, when I flew for work, it was not only through major USA airports but midsize like Charleston, WV and some smaller one aound the east and west coast. They are patting people down. For those who are mega grequent flyers (as I was) I think I would reach the flip out point of “If one more person grazes my crotch, I gonna lose it.” fairly quickly.
Thank you, Liana, for your well-thought-out response. I’m not just coming from the perspective of a hyper-active SA survivor. It really is uncomfortable. Minus my history, it would still. be. uncomfortable. I’m sorry that I can’t just “get over it” for some of you who would rather I not whine about the invasiveness.
I would much rather zoom through the generic machine and move the f on. At least the machine doesn’t include my face with my body, and doesn’t intrusively touch me in places I don’t feel comfortable being touched by strangers.
Who cares what this giant, stupid pig thinks or says!!!??? ENOUGH OF HER!!!
much ado about nothing, IMO. if people don’t want to be patted down then they can opt for the scanner. BTW, for the people thinking everyone will be drooling over their “naked” image onscreen: get over yourselves. and i love the hoo-ha over the screening thing giving you cancer – OMG!! cancer!!these are probably the same people who live with a cellphone glued to their head and smoking a pack a day. the radiation is a teeny teeny amount, peeps. you get more microwaving your lean cuisine at the office. is it a perfect system? of course not, and it needs alot of fine tuning, but many other countries have had security measures like these for years. i remember going to a movie in cairo and having armed guards searching purses and having people turn their pockets out before entering the theater. this is the world we live in, draconian though it may be.
as for the use of the term “rape”, i am a rape survivor and i find it unimaginable for people to compare being patted down to what happened to me and millions of other women and girls. i can consent to a patdown, but i did not consent to being beaten and raped. shut up, khloe kardashian.
I don’t care what the difference is between the population of Israel & the US: Israel still has their shit on lock, and it works. Adopt it, and stop being so damn touchy-feely about hurting people’s feel-bads. This hyper-sensitivity to profiling has to stop.
And yes, Israel has their version of the draft: everyone (male & female alike) serves in the military for at least 2 years. So what? They obviously take security seriously; so should we.
They should would have a lot to search,it would take hours… she could hide anything in her mouth alone
She should just be grateful that someone is touching her(him). Obnoxious twat.
Of course she doesn’t want to get patted down, they will discover that she’s really a man.
These bimbos are so full of crap its unbelievable! And whose opinion is swayed by what these twats say, honestly? It only goes to show their low mental abilities to think on their own.
and for the TSA pat downs, really CB, your still embarrassed to admit to another person when you’re on your period? I think once you’re over 20 period-shame should have been long gone. So what if someone can tell its your time of the month? Big deal.
And for the invasive pat downs, I haven’t been on a plane in about 11years but I still travel alot. You know how? By train and car!! There are still other means of transportation available if you really hate the pat downs that bad. Some my say, ‘OH my life is too busy for a 20 hour car ride.’ Then slow the fuck down, stop trying to do so much.
And for those crying bout radiation, I havent forgotten about you, radiation isnt a one-time-blast and Boom! you have cancer kinda thing. Its the result of repeated exposure that accumulates to form a cancer. Like repeated use of microwaves, or even your darling super useful cell phones. Why dosent the American public trash cell phones permanently if they’re so damn concerned about radiation? Because they are stupid.
And my last gear to grind, STOP referring to TSA agents as rapist, child molesters, low-paid thugs, and the like. These are real human beings being beat down say after day from their job. It pisses me off to no extent to see some jackass with a superior-than-thou complex beat down a person just doing their job. Are any of you aware since the new screenings went into affect, the high turnover rate for agents? No one wants their job anymore. And for those saying ‘just quit’, how about you just quit your job? If you aint already unemployed? These people got cars to gas, kids to feed, and mortgages to pay, the same as the rest of us. So show some compassion for your fellow fucking humans.
End of my rant. Wallow in my distaste.
Its not airport securitys fault she is so damn fat they have to check her ass for contraband (she could fit a house in that thing)!
Her husband, who is already a father of 2 children, that HE NEVER SEES wants 2 more kids? Sounds like a great idea because he is such a stand up father to the 2 children he already has =(
They are both PATHETIC!
Way to casually throw around the word rape Chloe. Is this family seriously this stupid??
Holy crap. What has happened to this country? As respectfully as possible, please reevaluate your perspective on this.
The right to privacy is in our Constitution. A full body scan or intrusive pat down in order to board a plane is an absolute violation of our Constitutional right to privacy. If I am not granted the right to privacy of my own body, then there simply is NO right to privacy. Your imagined safety is not worth much to me if my body is violated in the process.
America is a rebellious country. We started off as such and it’s a dear quality to me. Do you think Hilary Clinton submits to this sort of violation? Hell no. She is an American citizen, and should be subjected to the same treatment as the rest of us. When this country truly fails to be for the people and by the people, it’s not the fault of the TSA. The failure is squarely on our own shoulders for falling in line.
Rape is a sexual assault, period. The lack of penetration would not negate a woman’s right to refuse sexual advances or intimate touching. A government agent probing between my legs or breasts without my consent is a form of sexual assault. I do not consent. The screening we had prior to this nonsense was invasive enough.
bellaluna: I agree with you on Israel. They’ve got it right. As for the pat downs…..it’s inappropriate and invasive and doesn’t stop anyone from blowing up a plane if they are so inclined. This is propaganda bullshit put out by the airlines to make people think they are being protected and the airlines are taking care of you. It’s a fucking joke. There was a program on Canadian tv about this very issue and seriously this pat down scanner crap is just that…crap.
gosh…ya’all so sensitive about every damn thing.
What a dipsh!t…This isn’t “mandatory” for all Americans to do – just those who choose to fly. No one’s making you fly. Here’s some rocket science for you – see if you can follow me on this one…Don’t like it? DON’T FLY!!! Drive your SUV, take a cab, the bus, a train, your scooter, walk for all I care – just stay the heck away from the airport if you’re too modest/insecure/bada$$ for your own good.
Screeners see thousands of people each and every day – you think they give two craps about you?!?! You think with your muffin top or pea shooter that you are in any way memorable to them?!?! As far as I’m concerned, a TSA screener could stand me up on a podium in front of the entire airport and do whatever the heck he/she wanted just so long as everything is being done to prevent some nutjob from blowing my family to smithereens because of an explosive he has shoved up his hoo-hole.
And for all the whiners moaning about
their “civil rights” being violated –
nothing is ever right or good enough for you people – you better believe the MOMENT another terrorist attack happens – because of course it will – you’re going to be the ones shaking your tiny fists to the sky about how the government didn’t protect us or do enough. Is this a fail-safe? Of course not. Can/will somebody figure out how to “sneak” past it? Ummm…pretty sure. Is it something MORE than is being done currently? Duh!
Lindsay, you’re right, I believe Hillary said “heck no” when asked if she would comply with either a pat down or scan. This will not keep any of us safer.
Osama Bin Laden and his cronies are probably sitting in a cave somewhere laughing their asses off at the chaos they have created in American airports.
@Ivy: I resent being treated like stupid sheep.
This increased airport security stuff has little to nothing to do with finding terrorists. If our govt. wanted to find terrorists, they’d copy the experts: Tel Aviv Airport Security, who do not use invasive techniques. This is about generating fear and getting loads of money for investors in the machines, like M. Chertoff. It’s such bullshit. And if you protest one bit, you can write off your ticket, your entire trip, as well as future flights, etc. They’ve got us by the balls quite literally, no?
Skibunny – let me say this slower so you can understand…NO.ONE.IS.FORCING.YOU.TO.FLY…so get over your over-inflated, santimonious ego. Need me to dumb it down even more for ya? Let me know if you don’t understand those big words.
I do believe I said, in my ever so whiny post, the screening prior to this nonsense was invasive enough. The nuclear power plants around the country are relatively unguarded and pose a much higher threat to domestic safety in terms of destruction and casualties.
Ivy, you seem unable to converse with other adults on an adult level. Grown folks are able to discuss without throwing temper tantrums. Possibly you need a juice box and a nap.
@ Trillion, I agree with you. These rapiscan companies are this admins halliburton.
We have to fly when we go to Italy every year, and my husband has to fly for work, but for family trips, we’ve been taking the train, or driving. Last year, we flew to Seattle, and the idiots (I would call them goons, for the way they use their authority, but frankly, most of them seem completely incompetent), put my young son in a glass/acrylic bomb box becuz of his leg braces. I had offered to take them off and let them be xrayed, but they wouldn’t even let me near my own kid, and tortured and terrified him (and us) for half a freaking hour over very common plastic braces with tiny metal rivets on them. I was furious, but kept my temper. I think they were using him as a training exercise, judging from the number of agents that were called over, I really don’t think they thought my small, skinny, blonde haired, blue eyed son was a terrorist threat.
Anyway, I hate the bloody tsa, they are worthless as they operate now, and I hope some class action lawsuits come out of this, so we can get change, which is desperately needed.
I completely agree with her. I’ve been assaulted and experiencing airport “security” is extremely traumatic. I refuse to fly again at this point. It’s a horrifying invasion of privacy, and minimizing the experience is NOT helpful.
Please keep in mind the TSA agents are required to do these searches in exactly this manner and are absorbing the anger from the public on a daily basis. The constant confrontations must be exhausting and mentality debilitating on them.
The hostility should be directed at those writing the policies here.
@skibunny, I agree with you.
@Ivy: you’re pretty much alone on this thread with your “sheep-like” attitude. Stop being so insulting and obnoxious. And yes sometimes work forces you to fly. Im not American so thankfully I dont have to put up with being groped in public.
SB – maybe you should go back and look at the posts in their entirety. I hardly think I’m “alone” on this thread, but couldn’t care less what you think. The mom whose child was unreasonably searched, I get. People like you who are difficult and argumentative just for the sake of being a jerk is a whole other story.
Anyone who trots out the same tired argument comparing a teensy country with just 5.5 million airline passengers a year against a country with more than 800 million airline passengers a year is immediately discredited in my book.
By the way, just loved your comment amendment with the addition of that “sheep-like” part. You are one super K-L-A-S-S-Y cupcake. And even better, you’re not an American. I could care less whether or not you’re from the United States, but find your righteous indignation concerning something that doesn’t even effect you plain hysterical! Thanks for the chuckle, pal.
Baaaa…
What scares me about this whole thing is just how far this will go to promote the idea of safety. Pat down and body scans to get on an airplanes. Will there then a ban on even owning a firearm (except for military or law enforcement), then a ban on owning knives (even ones used to cook because they’re still pointy!), then one on what kind of vehicle you are allowed to buy? It will end up trapping people indoors so nothing happens to us to make sure we all stay “safe”.
There has to be limits on what is considered acceptable security for the safety of the people. Soon, we will be wrapped up in so much red tape we won’t be able to walk around in our own houses naked, with blinds drawn without getting penalized. When do we say “Stop!”? Or is it already too late?
For those saying that children are made to go through the body scans or pat downs, they can’t on anyone under 12. I saw that on the new btw
Ivy, you sure seem to have anger issues. I think Linsay’s right, go have a juicebox and a nap.
I’ve heard a couple of women describe their “enhanced patdowns” btw. They were furious, and very upset. I don’t know anyone who thinks the rapiscans or patdowns are necessary. I hope there will be a groundswell of anger over this stripping of American’s rights and that we will get some serious and effective change. However, with both major parties being owned by corporations, its not too hopeful.
A couple of other ridiculous incidents: my tiny gray haired mama is on a tsa security list, becuz when a friend of hers bought her an airline ticket, she misspelled her name, now mom has to bring all her ids (passport, birth cert) for any flight, and has been groped more than once. Also, a photog in my husbands div. got married in Vegas recently. They had a few friends there who gave them gifts, which they didn’t open. He stuck the gifts in a carryon for their flight home. When they got home & opened the gifts, he was stunned to see that one of the gifts was a set of beautiful kitchen knives. They had gone right thru the xray machine at security.
I don’t believe for one minute, and Ivy will never convince me otherwise (sorry girl!) that our current method of airline security is working. Its an obnoxious charade, with lots of money to be made for private corps.
Carrie Fisher told us that her mom, Debbie Reynolds was patted down. How is that keeping us safe in the skies? A tiny old lady, whose face is recognizable to half the world. Ridiculous. Its a waste of taxpayers time and money.
Gosh, that Khloe is really tall. I’ve stood next to all of those girls, and I towered over Kim & the other one, but Khloe towered over me. I’m 5’8″.
I’m noticing a trend – the majority of people saying that those of us who “find the patdowns invasive are whiny babies” have never been patted down. And no, sometimes you have no option. Not every airport has the full body scans installed at this time. I have to fly for work. I have no choice. I don’t have the luxury of spending several days in a car or train when I get called to work a set in another state. The last time I flew home, I did the scanner. No problem. The woman who sat next to me on the plane cried for almost half the flight because she ended up having to have the patdown because of a prosthesis that showed up strange on the scanner. She was a rape survivor and it was a trigger for her. I was sexually assaulted when I was younger and when I had to have the patdown due to a faulty scanner, it wasn’t a trigger for me, just invasive and uncomfortable. The point is that different people respond to something invasive in different ways. My husband is blessed with long hair and tats and seems to always get the patdown. He doesn’t care. It doesn’t bother him. When I had to go through it, it bothered me, but I dealt with it. The TSA agents DO need to be trained in a little more sensitivity, especially at this point in time.
I think that some people should stop telling people how to feel or react. Until you go through it, you really can’t tell anyone else what it is like. And everyone will have a different reaction.
How are the pat downs keeping us safe? Has there been a rash of bombs being hidden in ass cracks that I’m not aware of? What is next body cavity searches?
How do they handle kids? An ‘enhanced’ patdown would be a huge trigger for me. An even bigger trigger would be if I had to watch my kid go through a screener or get an enhanced pat down. I would seriously lose my shit if anyone touched my child. After reading about the body scans and pat downs I won’t be flying with the kids anywhere. That sucks b/c I was looking into taking them to Disneyland, but I’m not risking putting my kids in a situation where someone can take nake images of them or grope on them. Supposedly kids under 12 are exempt from the pat down but not the scanner.
I don’t know what I would choose. I am severely clausterphonic (sp?) so I think I’d freak in a scanner. But on the other hand an enhanced patdown would potentially be a trigger and I tend to “fight back” when triggered. Plus I have a chronic pain condition so even the slightest touch can be extremely painful.
This is such a huge violation of a person’s rights. I don’t see how they can get away with it.
Rape is too serious of a word to use. People throw it around too quickly. I haven’t flown yet but those patdowns look like assault. Based on watching “Cops” even criminals don’t get such a personal patdown.
Also, kids over 12 are still kids. Who gets to decide this arbitrary number? Who would want to watch their teenage daughter or son get groped?
@Lindsay (#42) – Your opinion and explanation exactly express how I was trying to word it.
I can’t believe how outright rude some people are being over the opinion that someone shouldn’t have to be molested in order to fly. We DO have rights, and ‘Shut the fuck up, or get out of the airport’ isn’t the way this country works. It’s an immature argument akin to putting your fingers in your ears and chanting “I CANT HEAR YOU!!! LALALALA” because you’re unwilling to hear anyone’s opinion but your own.
And while I think using ‘like being raped‘ wasn’t a great idea, I do think ‘sexually assaulted’ is an acceptable fit. You *are* being forced to accept their molestation, or simply not get where you’re trying to go. Many people’s *JOBS* depend on being able to travel in a certain amount of time. If they had to take a car or bus, they’d certainly lose said jobs. It’s just ridiculous that no one gets a choice. You go decide to be touched in private areas, or go through the Porn-o-scope (which means you *still* might have to be patted down.)
if people don’t want to be patted down then go through the scanner – problem solved. and it isn’t a “porn-o-scope” – nobody gives a shit about your image on screen. and the people showing up to airports in their underwear are monumentally stupid. you don’t want to be patted down but you’re ok with hundreds of people seeing you in your underwear? mmmmkay. i’ve been patted down and i’ve been raped; one was merely unpleasant and one made me want to commit suicide -guess which was which? although having said that i do NOT think patdowns or screenings are very helpful in fighting terrorism. i think luggage searches should be more thorough and i think the metal detecting wand should be used more often, like every 10th person or so in line.
she’s right
our civil liberties are being incrementally squandered away~~~~
I used to fly to Seattle & Vancouver BC a lot & after they banned toiletries, I started packing mini Aveda Shamps & Conds in my checked bag. 9 x of 10, my bags were opened, searched & my Aveda and other brand name toiletries were stolen! I was furious but afraid if I reported it or complained, I’d be put on a list like my Mom.
I agree with original kate though about better luggage screening and more metal detector wands, but that won’t detect modern explosives, so I think they should use chemical detectors or dogs, and psychological profiling.
@ Aries_Mira – If it ever comes to the point where the gov’t tries to eliminate our right to bear arms, it’s time to stock up on amo. ‘Nuff said.
(Watch “Surrogates” – it’s an eye opener, even though the movie sucks.)
@Original Kate, not every airport has the scanners yet. LAX has one, but Burbank which is closer and I fly out of normally does not. That means any time I fly out of Burbank, I’m subjected to the enhanced pat downs.
I’m not comfortable with the scanner anyways. It’s a personal thing.
And I read somewhere that TSA has never thwarted a terrorist attack-but they have confiscated unknown tubes of toothpaste!
@Original Kate- I “give a shit” (As you so eloquently put it) about my image on the full body scanner, which *is* nude (exposed breasts and genitalia), and shouldn’t be forced to be naked in front of someone just to get on a plane. They even tried to claim said images can’t be saved, but there’s evidence that isn’t truthful. You also have to consider that there have been reports of complaints regarding the employees monitoring scans acting like idiot 14 year olds, making comments about women’s breasts, or giving the person monitoring the scanner’s image output a ‘heads up’ that a ‘cutie’ was heading their way. That would count as ‘sexual harassment’ anywhere else in this country.
Even if I opted to go through the scan (where it’s available, not everywhere as pointed out by Obvious@ #70), they often have to take people aside for a pat down because they can’t see well enough to clear you, or because something sets off the metal detector, such as medical pins and plates. Women wearing menstrual pads or anyone wearing an ‘adult diaper’ often have to have the pat down (and that includes very violating touches and visual views to said areas to check inside). There are countless elderly who have been mistreated and humiliated.
I just refuse to accept it and move on. There’s nothing wrong with making sure you know your rights before going into that situation.
guess i’m in the minority in that i am much more worried about my civil liberties being encroached upon by things like the patriot act than a voluntary pat-down/screening at an airport. don’t get me wrong; i’m not FOR them, i just think there are greater injustices in the world than that. oh well.
if people don’t want to be patted down then go through the scanner – problem solved. and it isn’t a “porn-o-scope” – nobody gives a shit about your image on screen.
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Not every airport has a scanner.
The problem is that TSA has not really provided information as to why the extra measures are now being instituted. I fly a lot and want to make sure I am as secure as possible BUT this is a real slippery slope. Either way you are giving away a lot (i.e. pat down or intrusive scan) and the TSA/Govt should give a little more information as to why this extreme position is needed right now.
wow……..the tension here. Going back and forth about rape and scanners and pat downs….. Such sensitive people. I see khloe has been forgotten in all of this…..bless her heart.
The right to privacy is in our Constitution. A full body scan or intrusive pat down in order to board a plane is an absolute violation of our Constitutional right to privacy.
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THANK YOU!!! People would do well to remember the words of Benjamin Franklin who said, those who would trade essential liberty for temporary security deserve NEITHER. WTF has happened to this country? They instill a bit of fear and everyone is willing to hand over their Constitutional rights. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Since 9/11, we are now subject to unreasonable search and seizure, search without warrant, phone tapping, GPS tracking, suspension of habeas corpus, etc. All with NO evidence or judge’s signature required. But everyone bends over and takes it out of fear. There are no patriots left, just sheep. The founding fathers (and mothers) are turning over in their graves.
Not every airport has a scanner.
@ liana: no, but about 70 have them now (most major hubs) and more will get them next year. the images cannot be stored or printed and the machines are not networked. once you move on the image is gone. the next time i fly i will opt for that instead of a patdown IF i am pulled put of line. most people will not be asked to do either one. meh – i just don’t think it’s that big a deal.
The TSA hasn’t provided info as to why the extra measures are being taken? Where is this fortress of solitude that is apparently under such a news blackout that you didn’t hear a little story involving underwear, explosives and sparks? Oh yeah, and it was on a plane.
And to read things like “the TSA hasn’t stopped one terrorist” and comparing pat-downs to rape is infuriating because once again even after the horrific events of 9/11 people aren’t willing to be inconvienenced so it never happens again.
I don’t want someone to relive a violation like a sexual assault. I also don’t want anyone having to see jets plow into buildings, running for cover while seeing landing gear strike and kill people. Bodies landing in front of them and weeks of smelling burning debris and human remains. I NEVER want to see that again. Nor do I want anyone else to. God help us that this is what we, the Human Race, are capable of doing to each other.
Ah, yes, I’ve been waiting for some hypocrite to complain about the Patriot Act while defending “voluntary” TSA groping. It’s all the same government bull$hit violating our rights. Open your eyes! And while I’m not a raving fan of the Patriot Act by any stretch of the imagination, at least it’s actually STOPPED terrorist plots. Why the hell do you think Obama *promised* to get rid of warrantless wiretaps and then DIDN’T after he became president (making a liar of himself)? Maybe because when he got into office he found out all the $hit us common folk don’t know about the info being obtained through wiretaps. I think terrorists are looking for easier targets than planes now, and TSA gropes aren’t going to stop someone from blowing up a mall or a stadium. Either way, for all of you so willing to just roll over and take it when TSA wants to jam their hand up your ass crack, remember what good ole Ben Franklin said: Those who would sacrifice liberty for safety deserve neither.” (paraphrase)
Total misuse of the word “rape” on Khloe’s part.
I wonder what the TSA makes of Nuvarings? Can they see them in the scanner and do they know what they are, or will users be forced to remove them for security inspection? Scary thought. I don’t mind telling people I use the ring, but I really don’t want to have to personally show them!
Kourtney looks like a dude to me. Like he could be a linebacker.
Those quick pat downs/body scans dont bother me because I have nothing to hide.
In India, it is not uncommon to go thru so much more security than here in the USA. You might have to go thru 2 pat downs in some airports. But I am happy to promote greater security whether I am at home in the US or in another country.
The people who dont want to cooperate should just take the bus, train or drive.
They dont HAVE to fly! They should also not become a huge inconvenience to all those who DO want to fly and DO wish to cooperate with security procedures.
yes, i would rather explode mid-flight from a bomb! the odds are much less likely
Those quick pat downs/body scans dont bother me because I have nothing to hide.
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The patdowns aren’t quick.
As for the repeated “you don’t HAVE to fly” comments – yes. Some of us do. Some of us get a phone call saying “can you be in Omaha by tomorrow?” and it’s impossible to drive there in a day. So I would lose an opportunity to work if I don’t fly.
I’m not refusing scanning or patdowns, so I’m not holding anyone up from flying. I just don’t have to like it and I can think that it’s a violation and that’s OK for me to think that way. Do I think it’s akin to “rape?” No, because generally, it’s not done forcibly. But it is an awful lot like government sanctioned harassment.
Give me a f-cking break! Some agent sticking his hands inside the panties of an old woman or young girl or breaking an old man’s colostomy bag does NOTHING TO KEEP YOU SAFE. Wake up people and stop swallowing the government/media bullshit. It is actually terrifying how well propoganda works on the weak mind.
I personally believe pat downs and scans are a violation of your privacy, and it’s not voluntary. as many pointed out, you may have to take a plane for work. Also I doubt they are doing much to increase security. Here’s an example: If a man is planning to rob a bank through the front door, but a week before he goes, the bank is on the news and internet and everywhere else talking about how they are increasing security by adding guards at the front door, do you think that man is going to rob the bank at the front door and get caught? no, he’s going to us an alternative method. This is what terrorists will do as well. They are not so committed to using planes to blow us up that they are going to go through these pat downs and get caught – instead of doing that they,will find another way to attack us.
This has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with control. Why are they considering letting muslim women skip the pat downs and scans, if you’re really concerned with safety,the EVERYONE has to be subjected. Government is reaching to far. Obvious is right, lets remember the many stern warnings we got from the founders.
if this were truly about safety, muslim women would not be allowed to pat themselves down.
this is about money.. and possibly about teaching us Americans to let go of our civil rights and civil liberties.
Do we own our own bodies, or does the government own our bodies?
The problem is that not all countries implement the same security measures. Haven’t the threats come from outside the US? And what about the employess of the airlines. Do they have to go through the same security measures every time they go to work?
I wonder if north americans are becoming apathetic and eventually a more socialist society.
These scanners cost a ton of money and do nothing in the way of security. What happens in the US usually spills over into Canada. I’m sure I’ll have to put up with the bs the next time I fly.
Oh and who exactly is Kloe Kardashian? Lol
Oh–and before anyone tries to straw man me to death, I did not say all sexual assault is rape; only that rape is a form of sexual assault and as many DO consider this sexual assault, the “comparison” is not entirely inappropriate, per se. Like say, comparing being photographed without your consent would be.
I do think this choice to use the machines and start more ‘strict’ security measures was a decision made purely for the sake of giving the country a false sense of ‘security’.
The economy was (and still is in a lot of places) in such a horrible state, and people were upset over the fact that not enough was being done to properly run the country and solve it’s problems. I could be completely wrong, but I think a lot of the ‘security’ measures were meant to make this administration look better, and not really to serve as a better defense against terrorism.
I’m not the most educated on government, but this is just my opinion based on what little I do know. The government, this administration, really needed to look as though it was doing it’s job. So it’s using a very noticeable tactic to create that image, & create a sense of security.
I agree that it may also very well be another step to convince people to accept infringement on their rights, little by little, to move toward the ideas of socialism.
Khloe has really been about rape lately hasn’t she? The other night on Conan she said that she felt raped by seeing him in his hilarious jeggings. I’m actually surprised people didn’t comment on that more.