In the wake of the failed Christmas day bombing attempt by a Nigerian man, there has been a renewed called for the expanded use of full body scanners at international airports. The Dutch have already announced they will use these scanners for all U.S. bound flights. And Nigerian officials have made a similar announcement. These millimeter-wave and backscatter X-ray scanners essentially strip away clothing to reveal things that may be hidden underneath. Privacy advocates have likened their use to virtual strip searching and have strongly resisted their deployment in the United States.
I think it’s high time for Americans to get over their problems with the nude human body. Not a single one of us came into this world with a stitch of clothing on. Do I really need to care that some TSA staffer I don’t know will see me naked in some scanner? No I don’t! Department store changing rooms have been monitored for years to prevent the far less than fatal crime of shoplifting.
There’s nothing shameful or offensive about the naked body. But I do take offense at the twisted, charred, and often naked, corpses in the aftermath of a successful airliner bombing.