Bikini Baristas vs the TSA
It seems that the good people in Bellevue have gotten upset because Knotty Bodies, a bikini barista stand, has been opened. And it has been opened not too far from a water park for children! *gasp!* Oh noes, the childrens might see some woman wearing a bikini! The horror! (Never mind the fact that the owner of the stand ensured there was no back window- the side of the stand facing the park.)
I mean seriously- children have already seen women in bikinis- at the pool, at the beach, beer commercials on tv, MTV (which is a helluva lot worse than just seeing scantily clad women). And said tots are savvy enough to find this stuff (and more!) on teh intarwebs if they are so inclined. Please, people, stop yammering about this stuff and educate your children already. Skin is skin!
But in the meantime what should really get people upset seems to be just barely registering a blip on the radar, maybe because it is in the name of "SECURITY" (You will respect mah ahthoritay!). And that is the announced installation of five (5!) whole body imagers at SEATAC airport. These are the imagers that allow the TSA to conduct a digital strip search of whomever is in the imager. Yup, they can see your entire body, sans clothing, in glorious digital black and white (with your face conveniently blurred for your privacy!).
So now we get to be treated even more like criminals before boarding the airplane to go somewhere, anywhere, other than here. "Excuse me sir/ma'am? But before you can proceed to the terminal we need you to step into this box over here so we can ogle your Knotty Body. Don't worry, it is in the name of security. We have blurred your face and there is no way these images can be recorded and/or downloaded to the internet. Trust us."
Gee, if you really want to see me naked I can just strip down for you right here. Lets save all the hassle of me going through the box, you can see it all right here- and trust me, it ain't Memorex!
Of course most people probably aren't going to be this willing to have their bodies exposed, even though the TSA claims that most people prefer this method to being patted down (yet another indignity having to be tolerated in the name of security). Hmmmm... you can humiliate me by fondling my body or you can put me in a box that shoots x-rays at me and exposes my entire body to whomever is behind the curtain? (Maybe I should get paid for the peepshow!)
And let's not forget the cultural/religious implications here as well. How many different cultures/religions have some sort of taboo on seeing their body in anything less than full clothing. (Specifically thinking of Muslims here, but they are the terrorist enemy so who cares what they think, right?) How many non-English speakers are not going to understand? And what about children? Please tell me that some child pornographer isn't sitting behind the screen to see my childrens' bits.
Come to think of it, I will more than likely protest, and rather loudly, at the suggestion that my children be scanned. I mean, seriously, where does this all end?
In the name of security we will do a strip search on you- against you will. Just think of all the terrorists we can stop with this neat-o technology! And we are constantly adding more cameras to your cities' streets with facial recognition software. We know where you go and what you do. What you buy and who you screw.
Welcome to the new world order where baristas cannot show a little skin but we can peer at you naked against your will. Welcome to the world of Big Brother.
Links:
Bellevue Bikini Baristas:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/bellevueblog/2010339374_bikinibaristasstirringthingsupincrossroads.html
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/412631_baristas25.html
Whole Body Imagers:
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/412606_naked24.html
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=179598280013
http://privacycoalition.org/stopwholebodyimaging/
http://epic.org/privacy/airtravel/backscatter/ (This one includes locations of these machines)
http://www.tsa.gov/approach/tech/imaging_technology.shtm (as does this one)
I mean seriously- children have already seen women in bikinis- at the pool, at the beach, beer commercials on tv, MTV (which is a helluva lot worse than just seeing scantily clad women). And said tots are savvy enough to find this stuff (and more!) on teh intarwebs if they are so inclined. Please, people, stop yammering about this stuff and educate your children already. Skin is skin!
But in the meantime what should really get people upset seems to be just barely registering a blip on the radar, maybe because it is in the name of "SECURITY" (You will respect mah ahthoritay!). And that is the announced installation of five (5!) whole body imagers at SEATAC airport. These are the imagers that allow the TSA to conduct a digital strip search of whomever is in the imager. Yup, they can see your entire body, sans clothing, in glorious digital black and white (with your face conveniently blurred for your privacy!).
So now we get to be treated even more like criminals before boarding the airplane to go somewhere, anywhere, other than here. "Excuse me sir/ma'am? But before you can proceed to the terminal we need you to step into this box over here so we can ogle your Knotty Body. Don't worry, it is in the name of security. We have blurred your face and there is no way these images can be recorded and/or downloaded to the internet. Trust us."
Gee, if you really want to see me naked I can just strip down for you right here. Lets save all the hassle of me going through the box, you can see it all right here- and trust me, it ain't Memorex!
Of course most people probably aren't going to be this willing to have their bodies exposed, even though the TSA claims that most people prefer this method to being patted down (yet another indignity having to be tolerated in the name of security). Hmmmm... you can humiliate me by fondling my body or you can put me in a box that shoots x-rays at me and exposes my entire body to whomever is behind the curtain? (Maybe I should get paid for the peepshow!)
And let's not forget the cultural/religious implications here as well. How many different cultures/religions have some sort of taboo on seeing their body in anything less than full clothing. (Specifically thinking of Muslims here, but they are the terrorist enemy so who cares what they think, right?) How many non-English speakers are not going to understand? And what about children? Please tell me that some child pornographer isn't sitting behind the screen to see my childrens' bits.
Come to think of it, I will more than likely protest, and rather loudly, at the suggestion that my children be scanned. I mean, seriously, where does this all end?
In the name of security we will do a strip search on you- against you will. Just think of all the terrorists we can stop with this neat-o technology! And we are constantly adding more cameras to your cities' streets with facial recognition software. We know where you go and what you do. What you buy and who you screw.
Welcome to the new world order where baristas cannot show a little skin but we can peer at you naked against your will. Welcome to the world of Big Brother.
Links:
Bellevue Bikini Baristas:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/bellevueblog/2010339374_bikinibaristasstirringthingsupincrossroads.html
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/412631_baristas25.html
Whole Body Imagers:
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/412606_naked24.html
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=179598280013
http://privacycoalition.org/stopwholebodyimaging/
http://epic.org/privacy/airtravel/backscatter/ (This one includes locations of these machines)
http://www.tsa.gov/approach/tech/imaging_technology.shtm (as does this one)