Christopher, you mention of “child abuse” during airport searches reminds me of an e-mail interchange this morning. A lady in France is going to have to travel to the U.S. soon and make several domestic connections. She will be with her husband and two children, one being two years old and the other with Downs Syndrome. Air travel is a necessity for them. What, she asked me, can they do in view of the searches they will be forced to undergo? Among several comments to her, I suggested that she communicate in advance with the airport authorities that in no circumstances would she consent to a patdown for her family, and that she did not regard buying a ticket or traveling as any kind of a contract permitting such acts. I mentioned, as have you, “the psychological damage that can be done. That can be significant and long-lasting. One doesn’t forget such experiences. You could write in your letter to the authorities exactly that — that you won’t be touched because of the possible psychological damage to you and your family. In fact, if you could get a doctor to attest to that possibility and include that, even better.”
I think that this might be a viable way to get exceptions, and exceptions help to break down the iron uniformity of the bureaucratic rules. Writing letters carries some risk, I pointed out to her. Then she wondered what concerted action might be taken. My thought there was this: “Some people have to sacrifice their time for this cause. They have to set up a web site. They have to get petitions going. They have to do what the Egyptians did in Tahir Square.”
6:48 pm on April 14, 2011
