Context first: The overall purpose of the word "resistance" is to preclude use of anatomical terms for genitals. At times, the rehearsed pre-frisk explanation includes phrases such as: "I'm am going to run my hand up the inside of your thighs until I meet resistance at your torso." That, of course, is a physical impossibility. Notice that the clerk never uses the term "resistance" other than as a substitute for genital names. The clerk never says, "I'm going to run my hands along your arm until I meet resistance."

The use of the term "resistance" serves two purposes, both designed to socialize a clinical and detached definition for the physical act of frisking/groping, etc, at any number of transportation venues. The first purpose is to desensitize the victim over a period of time. The second, and drastically more important, purpose is to desensitize the clerks themselves. There have been media coverage revealing that some clerks are really having a hard time with groping, yes, the genitals of their fellow citizens.

Lately, has anyone else noticed that the minute you ask any question about "resistance" or, worse yet, use a genital name in a question to a clerk, that you are immediately swarmed upon by numerous levels of management? You are immediately asked two questions:

1. Do you want a private screening?
2. Do you intend to complete the screening process?

I suspect that, very soon, utterance of words such as "penis," "testicles," "vagina," or "breasts" at a checkpoint will be tantamount to saying the word "bomb."

QUESTION 3: What legal and psychological reviews did the TSA perform before proscribing the use of the term "resistance" in written and oral discussions about the "pat down?" What counseling resources are available for screening clerks who experience emotional problems resulting from performing "pat-downs" of passengers?