After reading the articles from the text concerning the backscatter X-ray machines it got me thinking if this is really a good idea or an invasion of privacy. In his essay X-ray Tests Both Security, Privacy, Thomas Frank gives information from a 2003 report by the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements about how many backscatter scans a person would have to get a year, 2,500 scans, before reaching the maximum limit that a person can be exposed to radiation. However, I think that even though it would take that many times for a person to have serious consequences it’s still not good to be exposed to radiation. People are flying places all day, all over the world and sometimes a good portion of the week for their jobs and all that radiation is bound to affect each person in different ways. Even if this is a better way to detect weapons, I think that to a certain extent that it’s an invasion of privacy. Joe Sharkey, in his article, tells the reader that the body image is detailed. Most of the time when people hear of having an X-ray, only their bones are seen, not a detailed image of what they have underneath. I can see where the other side of this argument is coming from with it possibly being a better way to detect weapons and keep people safer, but I wouldn’t want a stranger to see what I look like underneath. Mainly what it all comes down to is what people’s values are. Is it worth being exposed through an X-ray machine to have a secure flight? People who fly will have make that choice.
