John Tyner, 31, doesn't like to be groped by strangers, and he's now an Internet phenomenon because of it.
Tyner was at an airport in San Diego prepared to go to South Dakota to meet his father-in-law for some pheasant shooting, when he decided to take a stand. He refused the airport's very graphic full-body scan and he then refused the alternative, a very close and personal pat down, where a screener examines the subject's entire body, open-palmed. Tyner warned the agent, "If you touch my junk, I'll have you arrested."
He has suddenly become a folk hero--he had his cellphone on while it was going through the electronic screener, videotaping the incident, which has since gone viral on the Internet.
It's a funny story, but, really, what do we do about personal privacy in scary times like these when terrorists do use their underwear to hide explosives and body cavities to hide other contraband, some potentially dangerous. At what point are our personal liberties stretched to the limit?
The body scans are one thing, and some opt out and are moved on to the body search; but these full body pat-downs are extremely invasive, and for many traumatic.
And to what extent will these pat down go? Currently, any child over the age of 13 is subject to such a serious breech of personal space. If it is disturbing to an adult, it seems criminal for a child to have to undergo one. If nothing else, the law must be changed to raise the age for children to be subjected to a full-body inspection.
The point of these inspections is specifically to feel a person's groin area, genitals and backside, crevices and all. All areas formerly verboten, and that's just why the bad guys are using these body parts for their evil doings.
As with JetBlue Flight Attendant Steve Slater, who lost control when confronted with obnoxious passengers, and in doing so winning the hearts of overstressed folks all over the world, Tyner, too, has become an instant iconic figure of sorts. There is just so much invasion of privacy one can take.
What's the alternative? I certainly don't have the answer, but I can guarantee that those who made this pat-down law and who enforce the graphic scans and body pat-downs, like TSA administrator John Pistole, do not have to endure these humiliations themselves.
Tyler's complaint is that these new intimate searches are not even necessarily corresponding to better airport security. He was OK with the metal detector and basic pat-down, but balked when he learned it would involve a "groin check."
Let's see how deep "just don't touch my junk" resonates with the public.