Being felt up at the airport

[guywithashovel]

I flew to Vancouver, Washington yesterday, so here is the update I promised.

I never got a pat down. I just ran through the scanner, ran my stuff through the scanner, and that was it. I was bracing myself to be felt up.

I'll be here through Thanksgiving and will fly back on Saturday. Let's see what happens then.

We were sitting around the breakfast table this morning talking about this, and my uncle thinks the government has probably gotten a tip about a potential terrorist threat that they aren't telling us about.

Oh, during my layover in Denver, we saw an old lady in a wheelchair being asked to get up so they could pat her down. She thought it was hilarious.

[MaggieTheCat]

Yeah, if I have to go somewhere, I'm taking the train.

Have you actually looked at train fare in the US? A friend of mine, who lives here in Texas but is from Oregon, looked at train tickets to go back home a couple of months ago. They were over $1000, and it was like a 4 day trip. He can drive there for less time and money.

[Andara Bledin]

Also, hasn't someone in this thread pointed out the scanners don't always catch whatever is being concealed in body cavities?

It's not that they don't always catch things in orifices, but that they don't catch anything in such. They can't even penetrate multiple layers of clothing very well, which is why some people appear more detailed in the scans than others; there's less fabric in the way.

^-.-^

[Teysa]

So, if I'm traveling in the winter, I could have on a T-shirt, a blouse over that, and a sweater over that with a weapon concealed in there somewhere and the scanners wouldn't even pick it up? Yeah. That sounds safe.

[IDrinkaRum]

^THIS! And what are the TSA agents going to be doing? Pulling everyone who is "over clothed" over and "patting them down"? The person could have a circulatory problem and gets cold really easily.

I say we go with either no more flying (and hoping the train tix prices go down) OR the scanners are removed & we go with bomb sniffing dogs and metal detector wands.

I still think someone "official" - President or Congress - should step in and put an end to this insanity.

[ditchdj]

Yea, I've actually heard this too.

Yeah people dont realize that anytime the government does something drastic that affects us all is because someone's making money. Jesse Ventura said that in all the government conspiracies that he uncovers, more than half of the time, the name "Halliburton" appears.

[Greenday]

My sister is going on a cruise next week so she has to fly to Miami. She said, "I'm doing the scanner because I don't want to be felt up."

My response, "I wouldn't mind be felt up..."

[smileyeagle1021]

My response, "I wouldn't mind be felt up..."

you do realize that it is done by a TSA employee of the same sex right...
I didn't think you swung that way, but if that's the case

[Amanita]

I got patted down flying through JFK this september- I was wearing a loose devided skirt a sleeveless top that was sort of loose, that might have been what caused it. The lady who did it didn't fondle my girl-bits, and I actually laughed, saying "good thing I'm not ticklish!"

I've read the stories of TSA screeners who DID behave unprofessionally or abuse their power, but the ones I dealt with at JFK weren't out of bounds. There was nothing rude or abusive in their manner.
Unless the agents at the gate are being unprofessional, I don't see the point in starting shit with them, or being rude for no reason, and I say this as a security worker myself. Those of us on the front lines don't make the rules, but we're stuck with the job of enforcing them. That said, there is professional and unprofessional behavior. You can be a good guard or a bad one, treat others well, or abuse your authority.

I definately don't like what I am hearing- about TSA agents being allegedly allowed to put their hands down people's pants now (!!!), or the radiation from those scanners, among other things. But unless an agent at the checkpoint is behaving badly, I'm not going to start a fight with them, or stir up trouble. Why take it out on a lackey who has no say in how things are done, or what the rules are? Take the complaints higher up the food chain, to the ones who make the rules in the first place.

[crashhelmet]

Some friends of mine and I were talking about this tonight. Apparently, SFO (San Francisco) uses private security, so TSA has no involvement there. they have the standard metal detectors and bag searches. I may start flying in and out of there when I go back to the Bay.

The other topic that came up about this had to do with transgendered passengers. What's going to happen the first time someone from the TSA goes to do a pat down and comes across more than they expected? How much worse will it be if said agent is homophobic?

[Ladeeda]

The other topic that came up about this had to do with transgendered passengers. What's going to happen the first time someone from the TSA goes to do a pat down and comes across more than they expected? How much worse will it be if said agent is homophobic?

Then that agent is outed and should be fired. Racists, homophobes, misogynists, and anyone else with a prejudice they will not control shouldn't be in security at any level.

[crashhelmet]

Then that agent is outed and should be fired. Racists, homophobes, misogynists, and anyone else with a prejudice they will not control shouldn't be in security at any level.

I agree wholeheartedly. It's the scene I'm worried about. The undue stress, pressure, and attention the passenger may have to experience. How crushing could/would the embarrassment be? It has the potential to scandalous and costly.

It makes you wonder just how much thought gets put into "worst case scenario" situations when they plan and implement things like this. Makes you wonder if they even care. Both of which are completely rhetorical, because we already know that they don't.

[Peppergirl]

I had two or three emails Sunday from a couple of my regular corporate travelers who happened to be flying.

Trust me, it takes alot to shake these guys up (total road warriors), yet even *they* were less than amused by some of the TSA antics they'd witnessed throughout that day.

[Amanita]

Then that agent is outed and should be fired. Racists, homophobes, misogynists, and anyone else with a prejudice they will not control shouldn't be in security at any level.

I completely agree. And I say this as somebody who works in security.

[IDrinkaRum]

Was listening to the radio this morning. The wife of a TSA agent was on telling how 1) none of the agents (includinger her husband) will admit to working for the TSA because of the current stigma, and 2) calling what they do as "being felt up" is wrong on so many levels, the lowest one being that they are NOT "feeling people up" they are doing their jobs to make sure no one has anything hidden/strapped to themselves.

Also, she says the TSA gets its orders directly from CONGRESS. If the American public is so fed up with this treatment, don't take it out on the TSA agents, write, call, fax, send smoke signals, do interpretive dance, whatever and send it all to your congressman.