Article/Picture Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/nov/26/air-transport-theairlineindustry
Background: The TSA stands for Transportation Security Administration, an organization created after the September 11th attacks in order to ensure the safety of the public by securely checking items that board planes. A recent issue with the the body scanners and pat-downs have created much controversy over what is the right form of searching that doesn't affect privacy.
Picture: In this picture, a man is standing with his arms up in front of a scanner while one of the security officers checks his picture in the online screen. The picture in the online screen displays the entire body of the man, which many people object to. Many types of these pictures have popped up on the internet recently in an attempt to criticize the TSA for the use of full body scanners.
Thoughts on the issue: I believe that this issue affects the privacy of travelers greatly and it cannot be ignored. Passengers feel that their rights are violated by going through these screenings and many are upset with how intrusive these checks are. However, it is also true that these scanners and pat-downs are the way of making sure no harmful items board planes. So passengers cannot opt of any security check because that causes problems with the safety of the rest of the passengers. I feel that the best way to solve this issue is to remove the full body scanners and pat-downs completely but install another security machine that doesn't invade privacy as much. There should be a machine that only detects certain dangerous items such as guns or bombs. This way the body is scanned for items but it does not produce an actual image of the body. It would only notify the security checkers of a suspicious item. This way, both sides win!
Questions: - Has there been any improvement in this issue?
- Will the TSA be able to create such a machine?
Any thoughts?
The reader needs to know why the picture is being interpreted as an invasion of privacy; without understanding where the lines regarding TSA policies and privacy have been previously drawn, it is hard to gauge the situation; for example, does the TSA usually have privacy concerns? What other things has TSA been called out on? What concerns might TSA have that the public are not recognizing?
ReplyDeleteEvery story has more than one perspective and we are working to try to uncover as many possible perspectives as possible. But in order to do this, a solid understanding of the common, indisputable facts is necessary.
I would recommend reading over your work and after each sentence asking yourself if a non-familiar reader would be confused or ask "Why?" That will help you find the leaps of understanding that you need to bridge to help your reader understand.
An indicator of effective communication is ease of comprehension!