John Tyner / Don't Touch My Junk / TSA Gate Rape
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Origin
On November 13th 2010 John Tyner, a blogger from California, secretly filmed himself going through security at San Diego International Airport. When Tyner refused to walk through a full body scanner a TSA agent told him they would need to pat him down, to which he replied:
If you touch my junk I'm gonna have you arrested
Two hours later he posted an account of his experience (which can be read in full here) onto his blog jonnyedge.blogspot.com.
Spread
At the time John Tyner made his video Thanksgiving 2010 was fast approaching, and with it came an the annual rise in travelers passing through America's airports. As a result, it would be fair to say the TSA's newly invasive search procedures were already a hot talking point both online and in the mainstream media and John Tyner's video only further provoked the debate. Either way, by November 17th the video had gone viral, and Tyner had become a spokesperson for a rising number of people calling for more "passenger privacy" at airport security.
Parodies
- - On November 28th, Harry Shearer recorded a song called "Touch My Junk". Listen here.
- - Disgusted TSA Agents Also Calling For End To Body Scanning, Thorough Pat-Downs.
(From The Onion, November 29th, 2010)
- YouTube Parodies
- Pedobear Crossover
Related
National Opt Out Day
As the number of people opposed to the TSA rose (spurred on by John Tyner, no doubt) November 24th was declared National Opt Out Day.
Gate Rape
On the same day John Tyner's video was going viral, an Urban Dictionary user named Thomas Coppola created an entry called Gate Rape. Although it describes the TSA conduct Mr.Tyner was trying to avoid, it is unclear who exactly coined the phrase, or if it was a response to the "don't touch my junk" phenomenon.
Urban Dictionary 2010 Word Of The Year
On Wednesday December 15th 2010 Gate Rape was announced as the Urban Dictionary 2010 Word Of The Year, mainly thanks to a Reddit based campaign of support.
Saturday Night Live TSA Parody
On Saturday November 20th, Saturday Night Live Parodied the TSA's controversial techniques.
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