HOW HE SEES IT Airports aren't fun places

By JAY AMBROSE
SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE
Getting on an airplane these days is no small feat, considering that you have to take off your shoes, pass through metal detectors that can ferret out the fillings in your teeth and put up with the occasional sexual assault.
You've likely caught on to the exaggerations here -- metal detectors don't respond to fillings.
It is true, too, that the pat-downs that began in September do not amount to sexual assault, although some women are quoted as saying they have felt deeply offended by them, as is understandable.
These pat-downs came about after the Transportation Security Administration decided that it had to take steps to check for explosives that will not be found by the detectors. Some people, mostly women, have declared themselves hugely embarrassed as security workers have them partially disrobe and feel areas including breasts, buttocks and genitalia, according to a New York Times story.
Backs of the hands are supposed to be used for exploring the most sensitive anatomical locations, women passengers are allowed to request that the inspectors be of the same sex and passengers may also ask that the deed be done out of public view, assuming there is time.
None of which goes far enough.
Private pat-downs
On some occasions, security workers may have good cause to believe a pat-down necessary, but these should be so rare as to hardly come to anyone's attention. The pat-downs should always be in private, though with a witness if the passenger chooses to have one. Passengers who are treated this way should automatically be provided with complaint forms that can be sent to the Transportation Security Administration with no threat of encountering future difficulties as a consequence. This way, if it turned out a security worker was overly zealous in these duties, steps could be taken.