John Schinnerer
1 min readJun 15, 2022

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I don't fly that often (not at all last couple of years), but my little bit of culture jamming since the inception of the TSA is generally to arrive plenty early (in case of crowded security lines), and always "opt out" of the body scanners. They cannot legally refuse an opt-out, and are then required to take me aside and do the pat-down and the whole spiel that goes with it. Almost all the agents I've encountered are at least a bit uncomfortable doing the pat-down (some much more than others). I figure I'm helping them get more comfortable, and get more practice, in case they ever pat down someone actually carrying dangerous items. And, they have to bring my carry-on bins/bags over to the separate pat-down space for me. It's much more relaxed in that little zone, regrouping when they're done, than being in the cattle chute and bag/bin-scramble coming out of the regular scanner line.

Plus, the hands-on-head spread-your-feet body scanner is an indignity that no human ought to subject another to. As I see it anyhow. Some might think the pat-down is a greater indignity. I'd say either is an indignity, when one is forced to submit by arbitrary authority. By choosing the pat-down myself, when my choice cannot legally be refused, I create a reversal of who's "in charge." Therin lies the culture jam.

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John Schinnerer
John Schinnerer

Written by John Schinnerer

A generalist in a hyper-specialized society. "How we do what we do is who we are becoming." - Humberto Maturana

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