Why the scanners are wrong

Throughout Australia, people are making personal decisions about full-body airport scanners. If you are against them (or for them), you can have your say by writing to the man responsible for the decision. Here Kathy Lund’s point of view.

To Mr Albanese (Transport Minister)

I am sure I am one of many who are outraged at the decision to introduce body scanners to our Australian airports. I can’t express enough how disgusted I am at hearing this news. Having voted your party in at the last election I am full of regrets now & you certainly have lost my vote on this one.

Your decision is based on nothing but lies & deceit. It has been stated many times that the underwear bomber would not have been detected with a body scanner. That there are better ways to detect terrorists using smart technology, dogs, personal profiling & training of our security personnel. Must we suffer this humiliating & dehumanizing indecent assault on our privacy & right to good health? The terrorists will be laughing at us & developing new ways to out smart your systems.

What’s next? Internal searches for all passengers as these scanners don’t detect internal devices, and that’s where they have (even as we speak) started hiding bombs? Perhaps as has been suggested in the UK we could put these devices on cameras in streets or use them at sporting venues to detect criminals?

Don’t say its not possible once they have been implemented in airports. Why don’t we all wear hospital gowns on the plane, pass through a room where we remove the gown & let the security personnel look at us & take pictures!! How would you go getting that implemented in airports, there would be an out-cry & yet this is what you are proposing to do under the guise of, “what they don’t know wont hurt them”.

It is an affront to our privacy & our health!! Is your government being led by the nose by corporate giants ? I think so in an attempt to up-sell on their part. They make mega dollars & we lose our right to privacy on some trumped up attempt to bomb a plane.

And don’t forget we are a multicultural nation, have you considered the implications on religious grounds? What about the children? Can they be viewed as well by these scanners? What ever happened to protecting our children from child pornography, not enhancing the sick world of pornographers. Would you want your children or wife or mother going through this all in the name of security?

Security personnel have already attempted to use this technology for their own purpose when recently a US Congressman was directed to the scanner – even though it was optional – knowing full well who he was. (He was in favor of not running out the body scanners). Security staff admitted they knew full well who he was when he identified himself…proving that this type of system can easily be used & manipulated for personal gain whatever agenda the operator has.

I’m wondering who will be the terrorist, the person with the bomb or the people looking at us naked & doing who knows what with our images & giving us a nice dose of radiation at the same time? Even small doses of radiation build up over time & damage our DNA. And who knows what are the implications for the health of our younger generations, who will no doubt end up with higher doses over years of exposure.

This is not the way to go lose our freedom & rights, it makes you the government no better than the terrorists, you know. It’s not right. Let’s be smart in this country – don’t follow like lambs to the slaughter!!

Oh, & by the way, I wont get used to the idea as time goes on: I’m sure that’s a theory your government is planning on. If you were truthful to the public & told them all the details, I’m sure they would not get used to it either.

I love to travel but, when this type of propaganda is rolled out, I say boycott these airports & tell our government they have gone too far.

Mr Albanese, your government goes too far!!!

Regards
Kathryn Lund
Minlaton, SA