# "National Opt-Out Day" -- Aw, Fuck! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 17, 2010, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-opt-out-day-aw-fuck/560978 "2010-11-17T15:05:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-opt-out-day-aw-fuck/560978/21 "2010-11-17T16:47:54Z")
> [@Lare](#): > > To those of you who have gone through, what do you do with your wallet, and anything else in your pockets since you can’t wear them through? I usually stuff my wallet in my carry-on so it’s not visible. Everything else in my pockets (including phone) goes in my shoes. If I have to take them off anyway, I might as well make 'em useful. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-opt-out-day-aw-fuck/560978/22 "2010-11-17T17:01:53Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > But they didn’t have 9/11 in Europe. They don’t know what terrorism is like. Don’t have terrorism? \ We have Irish vs Britain blowing up everything in sight, we have Basques peeved at the Spanish and blowing up everything in sight,[we had a bunch of Germans blowing up random stuff, Italians, Muslim, separatists, communists, socialists, every kind of ist you can think of.](http://terrorism.about.com/od/groupsleader1/a/TerroristGroups.htm) I would love to live in a world so free of terrorism…:rolleyes: When I went through Iceland this past summer, I got tagged to be the random searchee. They rolled me into a room, some guy went through my purse swiping for residue, I got wanded for 30 seconds longer than normal and they gave me a spiffy DVD on the tourist aspects of Iceland … [I travel in a wheelchair 100% instead of stressing my body out using crutches as I can’t stand more than a few minutes without excruciating pain., so I am escorted through airports the entire time. I couldn’t find a second to put together a multipart bomb if I tried] The guys in Iceland acted like they were put put at having to have a few people in a room to do the extra attention just to suit the Americans] ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-opt-out-day-aw-fuck/560978/23 "2010-11-17T17:19:12Z")
It sucks, but if the cause is important to you then one day of one year isn’t going to be a big deal compared to a lifetime of ever-increasing erosion of privacy and liberties. Of course it’s easy for me to say because I’m not traveling. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-opt-out-day-aw-fuck/560978/24 "2010-11-17T17:20:43Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I was actually excited when I heard about the backscatter machines. I was willing to let someone look at my genitals, if I can leave my shoes and belt on and my wallet in my pocket. But I’ve heard that you still have to empty your pockets (including handkerchiefs) and take off shoes and belts. So what’s the point? This was one my main issues also. WTF is the point of these high-tech machines if they can’t even differentiate between a belt or a pair of shoes and gun or a bomb? > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > And I’ve heard about the excesses of the TSA for years, mostly through reading Patrick Smith’s Ask the Pilot column in [Salon.com](http://Salon.com). He’s a commercial airline pilot so he goes through the TSA lines multiple times a week. He’s described things like a pilot not being allowed to go through the TSA lines for airline crews just because he was wearing a civilian shirt but was otherwise in uniform. Also, Patrick Smith said that he regularly packed a metal knife and fork in his carry-on luggage to use for in-flight meals, only to have them confiscated by the TSA, even though the knife and fork are the same ones issued by an airline to first-class passengers. And the very idea that you need to be concerned about the pilots in the first place is just ridiculous. These guys don’t need a blunt butter knife or a shoe bomb to bring down the goddamn plane. All they need to do is take off, wait until the plane is a few hundred feet up in the air, and then push its nose into the ground at over 200 miles an hour. Patrick Smith is a great read. I always look forward to his new columns. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-opt-out-day-aw-fuck/560978/25 "2010-11-17T17:25:31Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > But they didn’t have 9/11 in Europe. They don’t know what terrorism is like. Dude, you don’t know what you’re talking about. Go educate yourself. I do think the airport security measures have become obnoxious and will opt for a pat-down if I’m selected for additional screening, but I won’t be traveling for Thanksgiving, so I won’t be in your way. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-opt-out-day-aw-fuck/560978/26 "2010-11-17T17:30:47Z")
Pretty sure **Maus** was talking tongue-in-cheek there. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-opt-out-day-aw-fuck/560978/27 "2010-11-17T17:37:57Z")
I think that was a whoosh. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-opt-out-day-aw-fuck/560978/28 "2010-11-17T17:39:11Z")
I will not be flying this month, but I will certainly opt-out the next time I do. I will do it at least once to see what all the fuss is about. But I am sympathetic towards the protestors and wish them well. Screwing up the busiest flying day of the year is certainly the best way to draw attention to their concern. If I could, I would join them. ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-opt-out-day-aw-fuck/560978/29 "2010-11-17T17:41:16Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > This was one my main issues also. WTF is the point of these high-tech machines if they can’t even differentiate between a belt or a pair of shoes and gun or a bomb? **And the very idea that you need to be concerned about the pilots in the first place is just ridiculous. These guys don’t need a blunt butter knife or a shoe bomb to bring down the goddamn plane. All they need to do is take off, wait until the plane is a few hundred feet up in the air, and then push its nose into the ground at over 200 miles an hour.** > > Patrick Smith is a great read. I always look forward to his new columns. (bolding mine) I think–no I fervently hope–that they are trying to prevent someone who is only dressed as a pilot from getting through security. I disagree with **Cheesesteak** that nothing will come of this. But my long term expectation, what I expect we will see, is that flight crews will end up with something different from the travelling public, perhaps just the metal detectors we’ve all come to know and love. I’m basing this on the their unions getting attention for the increased radiation exposure. The rest of us will probably be told to shut up in the interest of security. (I’m in a pessimistic mood today.) ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-opt-out-day-aw-fuck/560978/30 "2010-11-17T17:42:49Z")
Don’t worry. This spirit of revolt will last only as long as it takes for some fucknut to get through security with some plastique glued to his taint, and then we’ll all be meekly queuing up for the colonoscope. ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-opt-out-day-aw-fuck/560978/31 "2010-11-17T17:46:22Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Don’t worry. This spirit of revolt will last only as long as it takes for some fucknut to get through security with some plastique glued to his taint, and then we’ll all be meekly queuing up for the colonoscope. Oh please. Only a sigmoidoscope will be necessary. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-opt-out-day-aw-fuck/560978/32 "2010-11-17T18:03:28Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Pretty sure **Maus** was talking tongue-in-cheek there. > [@Zsofia](#): > > I think that was a whoosh. If that’s the case, I apologize. I recognize **Maus** ’s name, but I’m not really familiar with him(?). I’ve heard other people say the same thing quite seriously, and reacted to it as such. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-opt-out-day-aw-fuck/560978/33 "2010-11-17T18:05:59Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Well, the obvious problem is that they are going to cost time and millions of dollars and basically do jack shit. And that’s a perfectly apt example of a good argument against the scanners, unlike the OMGRADIATION and OMGNUDEPICTURES arguments I’ve been seeing. ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-opt-out-day-aw-fuck/560978/34 "2010-11-17T18:09:22Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > And that’s a perfectly apt example of a good argument against the scanners, unlike the OMGRADIATION and OMGNUDEPICTURES arguments I’ve been seeing. Personally speaking, I would prefer to be subjected to as little additional radiation as possible. As to nude pictures, I would be happy to have them put a little slot on the machine so I can put in a quarter and display my picture to anyone who cares to see it. 🙂 I expect that, now that the money is invested in them, there’s no chance they will go away. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-opt-out-day-aw-fuck/560978/35 "2010-11-17T18:10:43Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Don’t worry. This spirit of revolt will last only as long as it takes for some fucknut to get through security with some plastique glued to his taint, and then we’ll all be meekly queuing up for the colonoscope. Probably true. For some reason people are actually afraid of terrorists. Frankly, why is a mystery to me. I would rather take my chances. If forced to endure a security regime, I would prefer one that works. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-opt-out-day-aw-fuck/560978/36 "2010-11-17T18:20:48Z")
National Opt-Out {of WBI} Day is intended to rein in stuff like [full-body pat-downs of 3 year old girls](http://www.newser.com/story/105351/tsa-pats-down-3-year-old.html). @ **Lightnin’** : What is your objection to the OMGNUDEPICTURES argument? What is your opinion on government personnel taking naked photos of your body? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-opt-out-day-aw-fuck/560978/37 "2010-11-17T18:20:54Z")
[This Burger King placemat](http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/burger_king_veg_city_airport) looks more and more prophetic all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-opt-out-day-aw-fuck/560978/38 "2010-11-17T18:31:50Z")
As Patrick Smith has said, and what I’ve been saying for nine years now. We are safer since 9/11, not because of the security theater (Yes - that was sarcasm.), but because the 9/11 highjackers changed the paradigm. It used to be common knowledge that if you cooperated with highjackers, you would get out alive. Not anymore. By removing the guarantee of safety, they removed any reason you had for not fighting back. As a passenger on a highjacked flight, you have a better chance of survival if you resist, then if you cooperate. They know that, too. That’s why you see them trying to blow up airplanes now. Unfortunately for us, the security “experts” are always looking for the last bomb. We need to stop looking for bombs, and start looking for bombers. We won’t though, because that’s harder. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-opt-out-day-aw-fuck/560978/39 "2010-11-17T18:38:04Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > I usually stuff my wallet in my carry-on so it’s not visible. Everything else in my pockets (including phone) goes in my shoes. I have had TSA tell me not to put anything in my shoes. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I was actually excited when I heard about the backscatter machines. I was willing to let someone look at my genitals… Me too; that’s why I am going to start wearing one of these (mild NSFW):[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cUwgSvvvak](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cUwgSvvvak) ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-opt-out-day-aw-fuck/560978/40 "2010-11-17T18:46:07Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > Unfortunately for us, the security “experts” are always looking for the last bomb. Maybe so, but what do you think would happen if they _weren’t_ looking for it, and everybody inclined to blow up a plane knew it? > [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > We need to stop looking for bombs, and start looking for bombers. We won’t though, because that’s harder. How do you know they aren’t doing that as well? The two are not mutually exclusive. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-opt-out-day-aw-fuck/560978.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-opt-out-day-aw-fuck/560978.md?page=3)