Dignity at the airport

When I flew home this past
weekend, I got to see the new TSA screening measures in action. The tiny
airport I flew out of didn't have the new backscatter machines, but TSA agents
were selecting passengers to receive the full-body pat-downs. I watched as a very
elderly man was pulled to the side and patted down head to toe, the agent's
hands rubbing all over his chest and touching his rear end and groin. The man's
wife stood by looking helpless.

I was appalled by the intrusive
nature of the pat-down but even more horrified by how unaccommodating the
agents were to the man's age and frailty. He had to hold his arms out to the
side for a significant amount of time. My elementary school teachers used this
as punishment, until the district made them stop because it was cruel and
unusual. Yet this elderly gentleman was forced to do so to the point of
physical strain--I saw him shaking--in the name of national security.

I've seen the YouTube videos
of young children being stripped searched, of sexual assault victims sobbing because
they've been touched in ways that resurface terrifying memories. I've read conflicting
reports as to whether the backscatter machine's radiation is harmful. I have
friends who, when the TSA asks for their cloak, plan to shame the shamers by
giving them their tunic too. I'm having a hard time discerning if I am outraged
or simply heartbroken.