by Ray Fauteux

Created on: November 24, 2010   Last Updated: November 27, 2010

First of all, it seems that not enough people are looking at the many advantages of a full-body airport security scan.

Most importantly of all is the terrorist understanding of the fixation Westerner's have with certain areas of the body and how these area's have been considered "off limits" for so long.

PUT IT WHERE THEY LEAST EXPECT IT

So why not hide items in these areas? If you are a terrorist and know they will never touch you anywhere near your genitals, dangerous items that can be configured to fool the standard metal detector can easily be smuggled on board an airliner.

So in effect, by adopting the body scanner the air traveling public should feel much more secure about climbing aboard their plane. The scanner eliminates all the guess work and is really not possible to fool it as is the case with a metal detector.

Also, another benefit to the full-body scanners is its speed and if  everyone were opting for the body-scan, the waiting time in security lines would be far less.


REFUSING A BODY SCAN

At present there is still a choice between a body-scan and a physical pat-down. If a flier refuses the body-scan, than they must submit to a more enhanced pat-down.

In keeping with the new security policy of eliminating every possible hiding place, the pat-down has taken on a whole new dimension.

It is no longer down the arms, waist, and outside of the legs. The pat-down now includes the inside of the legs right up to the genital area, and in the case of women, the breast area.

To be sure, this would seem logical if a thorough body search is to be conducted, or why bother at all? If a terrorist knows there will always be a hiding place somewhere on the body, one day they will use that place to cause mayhem.

Which leaves a logical question. Will body cavity searches be next, because you just know that one day it will happen when a terrorist takes it to the next level and will hide something dangerous "inside" his body.

BODY SCAN NO LONGER AN OPTION

At that point in time, I would suspect that if a person really wants to fly, they will have to submit to a full-body scan or stay home. There will be no in-between.

In other words, this most current inconvenience could be the easy part right now, and could get even worse one day down the road.

NEW TECHNOLOGY A GODSEND

There is however hope on the horizon. Apparently there is a new soft-ware currently being tested that will show all body scan images as "stick-figures" while at the same time scanning for anything dangerous.

So in other words, regardless if you happen to be male or female, you will still appear as a stick figure on the viewing screen.

UNCLEAR GUIDELINES

Most of the public does not seem to realize they can request a body pat-down in privacy if they do not want to endure the process in front of other passengers or agents.

Also, many travelers are not aware that the person viewing the body-scan images never actually sees the person who is being scanned.

If passengers were made more aware of these two regulations, it might make the process much less difficult for the shy among us.

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