In our first year, We Won’t Fly enjoyed some unexpected success. Our campaign to demand dignified air travel with a boycott received worldwide media attention.
We can be proud of our efforts to expose the health and privacy dangers of commercial air travel. Evidently, our message resonates with a large segment of the population.
The US Travel Association discovered in a survey that two-out-of-five travelers are saying they will skip the plane and invasive checkpoints in favor of more dignified methods of transportation.
The association’s CEO, Roger Dow, told US News & World Report “Our research shows that reducing hassle without compromising security will encourage more Americans to fly — as many as two to three additional trips a year — leading to an additional $85 billion in spending.”
That’s a lot of money.
The TSA’s scope and grope operation is keeping foreign visitor’s away too. Tourism leaders have said “the decline in foreign visitors during the past decade was costing the American travel industry $859 billion!”
These are huge losses!
While the TSA boycott is having an effect, our opponents are doubling down. Congress just awarded the TSA even MORE money that they asked for. Their perverted operation is expanding rapidly on to highways and trains. Congress is likely to increase the TSA’s dole by $153,000,000. In 2012, the TSA will consume $7,800,000,000 in tax plunder.
We need to step up our action. The boycott is a great start and must continue, but we need more.
Here is my wish list for 2012.
Disobedience
They expect our total cooperation, in exchange for a “privilege” to travel. We will NOT comply. We will never consent to warrantless searches. We will not speak to “Behavior Detection Officers.” They demand obedience, so we give them disobedience. We will not cooperate with a “VIPR” team on any road, train or subway.
Political (in)Action
Congress and the state legislatures are voting away our freedoms every day. We don’t have to help them. We will never support any candidate who votes to fund the TSA. No compromises. No exceptions. Tough sounding talk is irrelevant. If they vote away our freedom, withhold all support. It’s better to not vote at all, than to enable a corrupt system. Your vote for a TSA supporter is your consent.
Starve the beast
A tax revolt is certainly warranted, however this tactic comes with obvious risks. At a minimum, make sure your tax payments are minimized using all means available.
Expand Boycott: We Won’t Fly 2012
A year long boycott of TSA infested air travel.
Can you do without commercial air travel for one year? It might mean some long drives or train rides. Perhaps your company can choose to have a virtual company meeting this year, using video conferencing technology instead of airplanes. Would you be willing to skip a trip to Disney this year to keep your kids safe from blue shirted predators?
While many have chosen to avoid all unnecessary commercial air travel, we are asking folks to avoid ALL TSA encounters for one year and then reevaluate.
Rewarding Entrepreneurs
Hundreds of billions of dollars are on the table for the creative entrepreneurs that can provide TSA free travel options. We need to encourage companies like Socialflights.com that are making private air travel possible.
Airport Demonstrations
Local airport demonstrations are a great way to expand awareness. If you need help organizing something, just ask. The creativity of our movement is unlimited. We’ve seen some great sidewalk theater and even anti-TSA cookie give aways. Use your imagination.
In-airport Advertising
This is where we can reach the traveling public as well as send a strong message to airport administrators, airline executives, politicians and the traveling public.
Rolling Letter and Phone Campaigns
Concentrating consumer action at specific companies is a proven method of generating change. We need the big travel industry companies on our side. Each month, we will target a different travel industry company, starting with the most egregious TSA collaborators.
Offer your own solutions.
What tactics can you suggest? All suggestions are welcome. The TSA has virtually unlimited resources and a government imposed monopoly. They use violence, deceit and intimidation to impose their will. We have principle, truth and creativity on our side. They are bureaucratic and centralized, we are diverse and decentralized. How can we leverage these strengths to break their monopoly?
James Babb is a Co-founder of We Won’t Fly.
For Immediate Release
Contacts
Amardeep Singh
Program Director
amar@sikhcoalition.org
(212) 655-3095, Ext 83
Rajdeep Singh
Director of Law and Policy
rajdeep@sikhcoalition.org
(202) 747-4944
Latest Profiling Scandal Makes Clear Need for TSA Racial Profiling Audit
“Mexicutioners” Allegedly Targeted Mexicans at Honolulu Airport
November 24, 2011 (Washington, DC) – The Sikh Coalition, the largest Sikh civil rights organization in the United States, today renews its call for an independent audit of the civil rights impact of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening policies on racial and religious minorities. The need for an audit is underscored by recent news reports that unrestrained Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers intentionally targeted Mexican travelers for extra scrutiny at the Honolulu International Airport.
According to a disturbing news report broken by KITV-ABC in Honolulu this month, a group of TSA screeners called the “Mexicutioners” by their colleagues deliberately subjected Mexican air travelers to additional questioning and stops at Honolulu International Airport. The allegations follow a June 2011 report in the New Jersey Star-Ledger detailing how TSA officers deliberately subjected Mexican and Dominican travelers to extra scrutiny.
“Given the experience of Sikhs at the airport, we are not surprised by TSA’s latest failure to guard against profiling,” said Amardeep Singh, Program Director of the Sikh Coalition. “For too long the TSA has kept a very long leash for its screeners, telling them not to profile, but taking no effective measures to stop it. The time for double talk has to come to an end. Instead of saying profiling is wrong, the TSA needs to take effective action to stop it. Random, independent audits of its screening practices with the results reported publically is the right place to start.”
Since 2007, Sikh travelers have reported that they are selected for ‘random’ secondary screening 100 percent of time at some American airports, even after clearing advanced imaging technology machines without incident. Responding to profiling concerns, the Sikh Coalition and several major civil rights organizations issued a joint letter to TSA in April 2008 urging the agency to adopt stronger internal controls against racial and religious profiling, but TSA failed to do so.
Jacob recently wrote in via our contact form with this gem of insightful analysis. When will more pilots and other insiders break the silence to share their critically needed knowledge on this issue?
To whom this may concern. I thought you might like to hear a little inside truth about what really goes on at airports. I am the CEO of Starlight Airways, and also a commercial pilot for many years. I know for a fact that the TSA does NOTHING to protect our skies.
For example, there is something called BBJ or Boeing Business Jets. What this is, is a fractional ownership program set up through Boeing, and other companies that enable people to rent a large aircraft, such as 767 737 757 etc, for personal travel. The cost of these planes range from 1500 to 9000 per flight hour, and will be waiting for you at any airport of your choosing.
At all international airports there is something called FBOs. These are places for private aircraft to land, and take off of without having to go through the hassle of the terminal. I used to fly, and still fly into these places on occasion, and I can tell you that you can walk straight from your car to the plane without going through even a simple metal detector. There is no TSA around, no pat downs, no full body scanners, NOTHING.
Now, what does this matter you may ask. Well 911 was a sad day for all of us, but despite what most people think, most of the damage was caused by the fuel in the tanks of those aircraft’s. Most of the deaths was due to this reason. Yes people died on the planes, but for the most part, it was due to the fuel. Now, the adv cost of a first class ticket is around 3000 dollars, and you have to be basically violated, and raped to board. Or you can go to any search engine, and type in BBJ aircraft for rent, and not have anything done to you, and get the SAME plane type that was used on 911.
The TSA is a smoke screen, if the terrorist really wanted to cause another 911 to happen, they would not attack the airlines, they would use this method most likely. It cost about the same, and they will never have to worry about being caught. I was taking a jump seat back home, and had to go through the TSA crap, and while I was telling another passenger this information, a TSA agent came up to me, and told me that I needed to keep my mouth shut. I was in my pilots uniform, and they threaten me, and told me that they would have my license pulled, if I let this information out. I told them to go to hell, and gave them the number to the FAA. Of course they never did anything, but the point is, they are worthless. They do nothing to protect us. It is like having a bunch of monkeys running the security. Please put this information out there, as I think it would do people good to know what is really going on. Thank you
Daniel recently wrote in:
I recently applied for both the NEXUS as well as the Trusted Traveler programs and had my background checked and cleared within a few weeks. This was followed by an in-person interview with a Canadian official at the Niagra Falls, Whirlpool St border crossing. The interview went well, and the Canadian officer told me I would receive my NEXUS card within a couple of weeks. I even received a briefing on the use of the card from a young lady who stared at me the whole time like I was a Bin Laden look-alike or a mass murderer just released from jail after serving a 45 year sentence.
A couple of weeks later, I get a message that my application was denied by Canada because I am not a ‘genuine visitor.’ What the hell is a genuine visitor? My Trusted Traveler application was also denied without any reason given.
Now they have my $50 as well as my fingerprints while I have nothing. To add insult to injury, I was detained for a full hour on the way back from Canada. I was physically pushed, bullied, asked various inappropriate questions, and the trunk of my car was wrecked.
Some security operation… I suggest that nobody apply for any of the trusted border crossing or traveler programs, as it is extremely difficult to be approved. I didn’t see a single car at the NEXUS gate when I was there, while the regular gates were backed up with long lines. I guess most travelers must be terror suspects.
Has anyone else had a similar experience?
Dear TSA at Cleveland Airport: When a “male opt-out” trainee “accidentally looks away” as his supervisor is “searching the groin area” of ME… and directs the supervisor to “check the groin area again” please don’t act all surprised, like you did 20 minutes ago, when I complain to the area supervisor about having my genitals fondled twice for one “inspection”. As I will continue to say: I am not and never will be the person you are looking for. I am an American citizen, trying only to go to work, to my family, or to my home. ~ Jim Y.
It’s just another day in the cattle car business, I see. Sorry to hear about this indignity, Jim.
On July 17, 2011, while traveling through Ft. Lauderdale International Airport, I was the victim of government sanctioned sexual assault, otherwise known as “Molested by the TSA.” Because I declined to go through a machine that captures and SAVES very private imaging of my entire body, along with emitting a degree of radiation that has not been studied enough to be able to truly be labeled safe, I was told I would be subject to a “pat down.” What happened next was unbelievable. I was pulled to the side and a female TSA agent began to pat me down. After she massaged my back and my arms, she slid her hand in between my buttocks, then down through my legs. I thought that would be the end of the violation, but then, she asked me to spread my legs open, even further, and proceeded to reach all the way up into my inner thigh, then she touched my vagina. FOUR TIMES. Two on each thigh from the back, and then two on each thigh from the front. My first reaction was to cry, while her hands were sliding all over my body, in front of other passengers, but I didn’t, instead, I engaged her. As her fingers were drawing circles around my breasts, I looked into her eyes and asked her if she felt that this was a violation of my civil liberties, or if she felt, as a human being doing this to another human being, that this was wrong. She did not respond, so I continued, telling her I understood she was simply doing her job and that I knew it was not her choice. She finished touching me and I continued speaking with her, and I asked her, “ Do you think this is right?” This woman looked into my eyes and she said, “No, I don’t, but what can I do? It’s not a good time to be out of a job.” She was kind and embarrassed and clearly caught between a rock and a hard place. But it made me feel better to know that even the TSA has a problem with the level of molestation that the US Government is sanctioning on its own citizens. I didn’t stop feeling like someone’s hands were in my panties until a few hours later. I am so angry that this is going on. I’m angry because our government failed to act when Bin Laden bombed the African Embassy’s in 1998, when this entire mess started and when they had an opportunity to act. I was an intern at the Defense Intelligence Agency, working in the Pentagon at that time. There was an air of blasé about the entire thing that as a 21-year-old, I didn’t understand, but now, I most certainly do. I've put my story on a site I created, www.molestedbytsa.com and recently found your site. Please put me on your contact list! I want to stop this!Elizabeth
I can’t imagine how Elizabeth feels. But I do know how John Pistole, Janet Napolitano, Barack Obama and 535 members of congress should feel: they should feel utter shame and contempt for their own inability or unwillingness to stop this unspeakable violation.
It’s not a good time to be out of a job? Maybe. But it’s never a good time to be paid to violate people. Years from now, these TSA employees may come to the realization of how wrong their actions are. They may be called to answer for their crimes. Or support groups for their victims may call them to task. Hurting other people hurts you too, TSA employees. Stop hurting yourselves and others.
This video is almost a year old now, but I don’t remember seeing it before. How incredibly pathetic of these TSA employees to refuse such a simple and reasonable request.
Here is a full article describing the events. Not only did these TSA employees acted like little children but they also violated their own rules and one agent hid his name from the videographer.
I don’t think John Pistole is even in charge of his employees anymore. The words that come out of his mouth have no relationship to what actually happens in US airports. The TSA is a rogue agency and needs to be abolished. End the war on air travelers now!
I flew out of ONT on Friday, July 8. I was shoved by one screener, and had two different clerks attempt to go through my bags when I wasn't looking. The female supervisor never told me she was going to touch my breasts, even when I told her that I had been raped in college and that being touched against my will was traumatic for me. She dug her thumbs so hard into my knees that it left me with a deep tissue bruise on my left knee for five days, and another bruise on my left arm where she forcibly pulled me towards the screening mat. She kept digging her thumbs into my knees because I was shaking. She never said that she would touch my breasts, and said "Just let me finish the pat down"; unfortunately, when I was raped in college, my rapist said "Just shut up and let me finish." I began having flashbacks and a massive anxiety attack because she never said that she was going to be touching me breasts, and she said almost the same thing as my rapist right as she was touching my breasts ... just like he had touched my breasts when he raped me. The screener threatened me with arrest and talked to another clerk about how they should have had me arrested from the start. She threatened to not let me get on the plane and that at other airports "they wouldn't be as understanding as I am right now." She lied to the cop and said that I "used abusive language and interfered with the screening process" and in that moment I knew if I told the cop that she had been causing me physical distress and discomfort and had been threatening me, I wouldn't be allowed on my flight. Mercifully, the officer's presence reduced the violent behavior towards my body and she stop digging her thumbs into my legs and arms. The supervisor refused to give me any paperwork to complain, even though I had requested it from the beginning. In sum, I was shoved, pulled, pinched, threatened, and abused. I still have bruises, flashbacks, and panic attacks from this experience. I'm afraid of retaliation and I'm afraid of having to fly again. I was completely brutalized and abused.Anonymous
This account makes me feel terrible. I can not imagine how horrible this must have been. When are you going to get your employees under control, John Pistole?
But other passengers aren’t so enthusiastic. “This will simply make the average American air traveler a second-class citizen,” says Jeff Buske, a Las Vegas entrepreneur and activist who invented privacy- and radiation-protective undergarments. “Or, if you will, an un-trusted citizen.” Buske thinks that the program’s probable annual fee would be burdensome to the average traveler. Although it has no annual fee for now, Global Entry charges a $100 nonrefundable application fee, and the TSA program is expected to cost about the same. This would mean that only frequent business travelers and wealthy vacationers could afford the fast lane, something Buske considers unfair.Christopher Elliott: Can you trust the new trusted-traveler program?
Elliott’s article is worth a read. But Trusted Traveler is even worse than just another government rip-off or privacy invasion. It’s an internal passport. It’s more of this “Papers, please.” police state oppression that is pouring out of Washington. Security is important, but not at the cost of our basic human dignity and liberty.
Please head on over to the Yukari Miyamae Facebook page, give it a like and a message of support. It’s very easy to frame people these days and the presumption of innocence has been turned upside down. It is important that we support each other as we face this soulless machine. Above is an interview with Yukari, who is accused of groping a TSA employee in Phoenix.
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