Originally Posted by
14940674
I genuinely understand your misgivings about the TSA questions you on personal matters; however, since the TDC is talking to thousands of people everyday, your answers will not be logged or remembered. What matters is how you answer. Your body language helps the TDC to determine if you are a threat. If you maintain eye contact and exude calm body language you will be through in no time, and you can be sure the government will not have recorded your responses. While on its face this program appears to invade privacy, in reality the intrusion is very small.
But that means that there will be many people selected who truly have nothing to hide.
I fear that I am one of those.
It is considered rude and intrusive in many cultures to make small talk and ask questions of a personal nature. I can grit my teeth and bear it when I am in the US or other countries where such 'small talk' is considered polite, and generally can give out noncommittal responses to strangers who ask such questions.
But for years I never understood why I became so nervous at any checkpoint, be it a border crossing, or simply a ferry ticket purchase booth or a toll booth.
In recent years I have started to come to terms with the collective history that I share with millions of others and now I understand that my fear and nevousness comes from my experiences as a small child crossing 'internal' borders. (The memorial museum at Marienborn is still something I can only take in small doses)
I tend to turn off a switch internally in these types of situations. Now I have to face speaking to someone in another language (often with a very strong regional accent), answering questions which make me uncomfortable in a setting not involving a position of authority, about subjects which are often confidential.
I fear that my response both verbal and physical will make me a target, unintended or not. And I am not alone.