The Holiday Guide to the 'Touch My Junk' Backlash

(Nov. 16) -- This holiday season, take a stand and add a "pat-down" to your travel plans.

That's if you want to send a message to the Transportation Security Administration, which has been the subject of a new level of scorn since debuting its revealing full-body scanners and cozy new manual searching techniques this fall. Now, critics of the government agency, led by a savvy blogger, say they've had enough and have designated the day before Thanksgiving -- also known as the busiest travel day of the year -- as National Opt-Out Day.

On Nov. 24, supporters of National Opt-Out Day are asking fliers to exercise their right to refuse to enter the body scanners and ask for a public pat-down instead, in full view of travelers at the security check point, because "every citizen must see for themselves how the TSA treats law-abiding citizens," the unnamed blogger writes.

The uprising began with a single warning in terminal 2 of the San Diego airport: "If you touch my junk, I'll have you arrested," John Tyner of Oceanside, Calif., warned a TSA agent on Saturday after refusing to enter the airport's full-body scanner and opting for a full-body pat-down instead.

Tyner, who filmed and blogged the entire encounter, eventually chose to abandon his travel plans rather than submit to the pat-down, and has become a kind of folk hero to those who say the TSA's increasingly invasive security checks have gone too far.

At least one TSA official has spoken out pre-emptively against National Opt Out Day. In criticism of the event that may actually do more to encourage the rogue fliers than stop them, Michael Aguilar, the TSA's federal security director in San Diego, told Fox5 the protest would be "irresponsible." Aguilar said the TSA's mission would not be stopped by the protesters or by anyone else.

"We have a commitment to public safety and a commitment to our mission to protect the freedom of movement of passengers,'' Aguilar said. "We're not going to allow anyone or any group to detract from our mission."

Will you scan or take a stand? AOL News has compiled a helpful list of Q&As to help you decide if the uprising is for you. Here's your holiday guide to the TSA backlash:

What are my options at the security checkpoint?
Travelers flying through airports with the full-body scanners can choose to enter the machines or can ask for a pat-down instead, a procedure the TSA warns on its website "may include sensitive areas of the body."

Why opt out?
TSA critics say the body scans are too revealing and complain that the new pat-down technique -- which includes an open-palmed slide up the traveler's inner thigh -- is far too invasive. And some have expressed concerns that the backscatter X-ray technology and millimeter-wave technology in the machines could be harmful if used frequently.

The TSA is citing a CBS poll today that found that four in five Americans support the full-body scanners. The agency counters that the scans are safe and aren't seen by agents working directly with travelers. And they've promised the images will never be made public.

However, the discovery of 100 body-scan photos accidentally leaked from an Orlando, Fla., courthouse, where they were taken, didn't help the TSA's case, the technology site Gizmodo reported today. The TSA didn't take the images, but critics of the agency say the same breach could happen in airports across the country.

But will Opt-Out Day ruin my Thanksgiving plans?
No more than the TSA's invasive, groin-grazing pat-downs will, some prominent bloggers say. Common sense dictates that if scores of fed-up travelers choose to opt out and ask for pat-downs, long waits will ensue at security checkpoints (as if flying during the holidays wasn't bad enough). But some say that's a price travelers should be willing to pay to preserve their dignity.

At The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg has been particularly indignant about the new procedures and says it's his official position that "every day is opt-out day:"

There's no need to wait until November 24th. But come November 24th, here's an idea you might try to make the day extra-special. It's a one-word idea: Kilts. Think about it -- if you're a male, and you want to bollix-up the nonsensical airport security-industrial complex, one way to do so would be to wear a kilt. If nothing else, this will cause TSA employees to throw up their hands in disgust. If you want to go the extra extra mile, I suggest commando-style kilt-wearing.

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What would Napolitano do?
The TSA is defending its procedures, and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has said the scanners are safe and preserve travelers' privacy. But in a news conference Monday, Napolitano addressed the backlash. "If there are adjustments we need to make to these procedures as we move forward, we have an open ear; we will listen," she told reporters at Washington D.C.'s Ronald Reagan airport.

What will happen to me if I join the insurgency?
It depends, but John Tyner, at least, may pay dearly for spurning the TSA -- to the tune of $11,000. The TSA is probing his filmed encounter with the TSA in San Diego and may decide to sue him.