"TSA Fondles Women & Children"

That’s the headline. I call that bad press for the boys and girls in blue.

(Brad)

Update on November 5, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

Update on November 5, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

Joe Sharkey of the New York Times on the perils of “opting out.”

“Opt out! We got an opt out!” one bellowed about me in a tone that people in my desert neighborhood in Tucson usually reserve for declaring, “Rattlesnake!”

Other screeners took up the “Opt out!” shout. I was marched from the metal detector lane to one of those nearby whole-body imagers, ordered to take everything out of my pockets, remove my belt and hold my possessions up high. Then I was required to stand still while I received a rough pat-down by a man whose résumé, I suspected, included experience at a state prison.

“Hold your pants up!” he ordered me.

What did I do to deserve this? Well, as I approached the checkpoints, I had two choices. One was a familiar lane with the metal detector, so I put my bag on that. To my right was a separate lane dominated with what the Transportation Security Administration initially called “whole-body imagers” but has now labeled “advanced imaging technology” units. Critics, of course, call them strip-search machines. - read more

(Brad)

Comments

[Frank II]

The big problem as the media is finding out is that people don't mind going through this as long as it keeps them safe. The vast majority of people are so scared of terrorism that they are willing to give up all their rights and freedoms because of their fears.

And all the while being conducted by people recruited from ads on pizza boxes and at gas pumps.

Most other countries allow the airports to hire the security workers. The airports can then get rid of the bad ones.

In the U.S., they are government hired and protected.

[Paula S]

H o l y C O W!!!!

At Toronto women agents pat down female passengers, men do male passengers. They certainly haven't started that style of touchy feely pat down......yet.
The last couple of trips out I have watched the expressions of the female agents when they came across the underwire of my bra, their hands would go back to the wire and follow the curve slowly, at that point I would explain the obvious. Short of having a reduction operation, I'm trying to make life a bit more pleasant for myself at airports by searching for a metal free bra that still has support.
What on earth do they do if they come across people wearing colostomy bags, depends underwear etc?? This is becoming surreal.

[Frank II]

In fairness, TSA rules state that if a pat down is required only members of the same sex may do the patdown.

In the video, the woman claimed a man did the pat down. If this is true, it was a violation of policy and more than likely the guy getting some jollies.

Will anything happen to that TSO. Yes, he'll get high fives from his fellow employees and that's about it.

But here's the really sad part.....starting TSO's make more than starting first officers at regional airlines. To be a pilot you need hours and hours of sophisticated training. To be a TSO, you need to know how to order a pizza.

[Monte]

Frank II, Rainman was the pronounciation of the character's brother Raymond. The character, who's name I don't remember, was autistic. Its not acceptable to use this analogy.

[Maria]

Monte - I support you on this one and completely agree with you! But perhaps Frank II meant the character in the film portrayed by Tom Cruise - the self absorbed "stupid" one? I cannot recall the movie, as it was at least twenty years ago (how time flies!) Even so - autistic people have exceptionally high IQ's and should not in any way be used as a reference to silly TSA agents acting on a power trip to a security policy that seems a smoke screen.

Cheers!

[Frank II]

I've changed it. I didn't mean to offend anyone here who practices political correctness.

Let me point out a few things:

Monte:, Raymond was the name of the character played by Dustin Hoffman. He was called "Rainman" because his brother, played by Tom Cruise, couldn't pronounce Raymond. All he could say was "Rainman."

Rainman was technically an autistic savant. He had extreme abilities in one area (math) but was incapable of functioning on his own. He had no common sense or reasoning. He could only deal in facts and his own recollections.


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