Opt-out day founders want dignity for flyers
Jim Babb, co-founder of next week's National Opt-Out Day campaign, sums up his view of government involvement, and intrusive airport screening, with a single quip.
"They've been sticking their hands in our pockets, now they're sticking them down our pants."
The latter reference is to Transportation Security Administration pat-downs, one way to screen airline passengers for security purposes. While Babb decries this "granny groping," he's no fan of full-body image scanning, either. Both, he believes, invade personal privacy for no real gain.
So, Babb and his partner in protest George Donnelly are urging passengers who must fly next Wednesday to reject body scans, forcing TSA employees to pat them down. The result, they suspect, would be chaos at understaffed security checkpoints and a pointed message delivered to agency officials, politicians and the airline industry.
"If enough people do it," Babb said in an interview with the AJC Friday, "it will bog down their baloney security."
Babb and Donnelly themselves aren't planning to cause commotion at an airport the day before Thanksgiving. They will avoid flying altogether, a message made clear in their website, WeWontFly.com.
"Avoiding flying is the best choice," said Babb. "We're saying we wont fly if you're going to abuse us."
But, for those who must fly, "consider opting out of radiation."
Babb, 42, described himself as an advertising consultant from Pennsylvania, someone who is "nonpolitical" but philosophically Libertarian. He's not really into politics because, he said, it's "ineffective."
He said that Donnelly, a 30-ish website developer from Pennsylvania who posts a blog espousing his views, thinks similarly.
"We're both rabble-rousers," Babb explained. "Any time there's an angry mob standing up for individual rights, I like to be at least tangentially involved."
Donnelly described himself on his blog as an "anarchist," but Babb downplayed the label.
"To be an anarchist means you reject the idea of a ruler telling you what to do. He's not the kind of person who throws Molotov cocktails. We believe non-violence is crucial."
Babb dismissed the idea that current airport screening eliminates terrorist threats. He said he doesn't have a security solution but, "Even though I can't build a bridge I can tell you when one's collapsing."
His recommendation: "Look at security measures that make sense and don't violate rights. I can't believe there are not a million ways to be safer without taking nude pictures of kids."
He's hopeful that his effort, along with public opposition to full body scans and searches, will change security measures.
"I predict some half-measures [will be taken] quickly," he said. "Waving children, pilots and crews [through security]. We're getting a lot of response. We think the problem will be solved. And we won't stop until people can travel with dignity."
