I agree with you a lot about creepy undertones. A lot.
I will almost certain opt-out of the scanners. I'm not hugely concerned about naked pictures of me - oh, I think they're inappropriate especially as a standard part of screening - but on a personal level, meh. But if the enhanced pat downs are being used to shame and intimidate people into using the scanners, the choice seems obvious.
I'm not personally a huge fan of "shame the screener" - as in, I'm unlikely to do it myself, though I'm not going to try to convince other people not to - up until the point where I feel the person is deliberate trying to shame or intimidate me. (As opposed to doing their best to deal with a bad situation with some dignity.)
And I do think the alleged safety of the scanners is rather spurious. They may well be safe, but we know a lot less than the people marketing the devices claim. (Especially considering all the incidents of various x-ray devices being miscallibrated recently. I don't think the VA is that likely to be substantially more negligent, I think they're organized in such a way where such things are more likely to be uncovered and reported.) And I am at greater risk for breast cancer already. (Not a BRCA-1 or BRCA-2 carrier most likely - you might notice I still have breasts - but my mom had breast cancer and it's the sort of thing I keep an eye on.)
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I will almost certain opt-out of the scanners. I'm not hugely concerned about naked pictures of me - oh, I think they're inappropriate especially as a standard part of screening - but on a personal level, meh. But if the enhanced pat downs are being used to shame and intimidate people into using the scanners, the choice seems obvious.
I'm not personally a huge fan of "shame the screener" - as in, I'm unlikely to do it myself, though I'm not going to try to convince other people not to - up until the point where I feel the person is deliberate trying to shame or intimidate me. (As opposed to doing their best to deal with a bad situation with some dignity.)
And I do think the alleged safety of the scanners is rather spurious. They may well be safe, but we know a lot less than the people marketing the devices claim. (Especially considering all the incidents of various x-ray devices being miscallibrated recently. I don't think the VA is that likely to be substantially more negligent, I think they're organized in such a way where such things are more likely to be uncovered and reported.) And I am at greater risk for breast cancer already. (Not a BRCA-1 or BRCA-2 carrier most likely - you might notice I still have breasts - but my mom had breast cancer and it's the sort of thing I keep an eye on.)