The new TSA screening procedure of airflights across the United States have caused a great deal of controversy, action and reaction, and rightly so. Amidst the discourse, there has been very little science and rational thought given to the negative effects of instituting such an invasive policy.  Here are my thoughts as a psychotherapist, crisis intervention specialist, anger management consultant and traveler.

1) Approximately ¼ of the US population has been subjected to some kind of sexual assault.  One of four girls and one of six boys are molested before they achieve the age of 18.  That means TSA will be activating trauma in scores of people by the mere act of unwanted touch, and the feeling of helplessness that goes along with it.  Even one or two people on a plane in a state of PTSD meltdown from unwanted contact can pose a problem to the safety of passengers and the smoothness of a flight.  Do I want to be on a flight with those activated, angry and dissociated people (of which I could be one)?  Not really.  I’ll take my chances with the infrequent shoe and panty “bombers”.

2)  For a couple of decades now we have been teaching our children not to accept unwanted touch, that their private parts are private and that no one has the  right to violate them for any reason.  Pediatricians don’t even touch our children’s genitalia unless they absolutely have to.  There is a good reason for this. We know that children who are empowered to the privacy of their body are much less likely to be molested in childhood and in adulthood.  TSA reverses all this and is actually socializing our children and the American public to submit to unwanted touch all because somebody might have a bomb in their panties.  It would seem that nobody has really considered this public health angle of TSA screenings.  But if I were a pedophile I’d go get me a uniform and a bottle of champagne.

3) I feel for the much maligned TSA officers.  Most of them did not sign on for this.  These women and men have had a very distasteful task foisted upon them.  Some of the public see them as heroes, but many see them as perpetrators.  TSA officers, like the rest of the public, also have abuse histories.  They may have been forced to touch people they didn’t want to in the past, and now they have to touch people’s privates against their wills – triggering to say the least and possibly damaging. Even if they are not themselves triggered, they will have to deal with the very unpleasant consequences of screening those who are? Will they get workmen’s comp when they have a full blown anxiety attack or are punched by travelers in full flashback mode?

4) What about the Americans with Disabilities Act?  After decades of advocacy, passage of laws and raising of consciousness, people in wheelchairs, with prostheses, ostomy bags and other medical paraphernalia are automatically assigned into the category of suspicious passenger.  These unfortunate people, far from being treated with the respect and dignity they deserve, will have to be irradiated, manhandled and groped now, some of them every single flight.  It’s all too easy to say, well, then don’t fly. But what if they need to see a specialist or have a job that requires air travel?  Is it fair to single out one group of people for consistently extra screening – especially those who already have a far more frustrating daily experience than most of us can comprehend. Shame on us!

5) And what about those with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or autism? One does not often see an autistic person on a flight, but they certainly have a right to fly without their illness being aggravated by unwanted sensations that they cannot deal with, and what about their parents who might want to go see Grandma?  What about a paranoid schizophrenic ?  Doesn’t TSA recognize that their procedures are absolutely contraindicated for a significant section of the American public? What are they going to do, throw an autistic person in jail when they freak out at unwanted touch or going into a machine that scares them?  Is this what we have come to as a society?  How does this make us safer?

6) Unless TSA is keeping needless secrets, it seems clear that they have not foiled any major attacks on planes.  You know who has?  Clear eyed, calm, friendly and aware citizens, citizens who were not aggravated, distracted or dissociated when they got on the plane.  Happy, aware, engaged people are the absolute best defense against terrorism that this country has.  I would put my faith in my neighbor any day over a machine or a rubber-gloved groper (what can you really feel with the back of your hands, anyway; has anyone even studied this?).

 7) The TSA has been fond of saying that flying is a “privilege, not a right”.  Who made that up?  That sounds like something a parent pulls out of their a$# when they don’t have a good answer to a kid’s question, along the lines of “this is a family, not a democracy”. Are they going to tell me money doesn’t grow on trees next? How patronizing. Doesn’t the Constitution say that I have a right to pursue “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”? In this modern age, does not the pursuit of happiness include trips to visit relatives, go to sun-drenched beaches or other exotic locations, places that I cannot drive or swim to?  It will be very interesting to see where the courts go with this.  With this edict, they have just broadly impacted the lifestyle of thousands of people, all in the name of mythical and vague terrorist attacks that exist only in potential and not actually in reality.  Yes, 9/11 was horrible, but it happened nine years ago!  No attack has been successful since then!  Really, the choice between potential groping, backscatter radiation or no more airline trips is no choice at all.  Just one more reason to notch up the stress meter.  I ask you, is this really good for our health?  Really?!

After years of working with violent clients, there is one thing I know for sure. The best way to keep people calm, alert, aware and safe is to stay out of their space and to not threaten them.  Getting inside the body bubble is the fastest way to escalate latent violence in people. Any given plane flight is very unlikely to have a dangerous terrorist on board, but thanks to new TSA procedures, it is now very likely there will be one or more people on board who are enraged. Does this make you feel safer? As a behavioral professional, I sure don’t.

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