Now you’re probably thinking, “Then how do I get through security?” Easily. Request a pat-down. It seems there are times you’ll do the body scanner and they’ll still pat you down anyway. Might as well save the radiation and proactively request a pat-down. I see this guy wasn’t as lucky.
As you may already know, I hate flying. I guess the freedom of the road is more appealing to me and being treated like cattle isn’t my kind of thing. I’m also not a fan of excess radiation. I know the radiation itself is minimal, but who really knows. When I’m in a rush, I’ll go through the body scanner. I just know I’ve got a pat-down after the body scanner so I should have been proactive and just requested one. Pat-downs aren’t really advertised, but you can ask for them and I’ve never not had the TSA deny this request. If you’re going to opt for a pat-down, don’t be a “I know my rights” sort of jackass about it. Just respectfully request one prior to going to the body scanner and then they’ll find someone to do the pat-down. Pat-downs are definitely more time consuming than going through the body scanner. I know I’ve had to wait a while for someone for 5-10 minutes. If I would have went through the body scanner, it would have only been a minute or two. I guess that’s one thing to keep in mind is it takes much longer to get a pat-down. The pat-down itself can be uncomfortable (I guess most of the discomfort comes from other travelers looking at you like you’re a criminal), but it’s just as uncomfortable for the TSA agent. My recommendation is to let them do their job. They are very professional, from my experience. I have yet to find one that has been unprofessional (then again, I’m not exactly a frequent flier). You can skip the body scanner by going through a pat-down. It’s actually a lot simpler than most people think, but it can take a lot more time. Just don’t be a jackass and things will go smoothly as you save yourself a dose of radiation.