Thanksgiving is coming up and some of you will be traveling. Are you ready to be fondled by the TSA? Don’t get me wrong, a lot of TSA agents provide great service that help keep airports and flights safe. Others are…not-so-bright people that strip-search kids (see the video above) and spill urine on passengers.
The TSA has been getting a lot of negative press lately, but some polls show that people don’t mind the new search procedures and body scans. How do you feel about them? Kindly take today’s poll and share your feelings (like a Care Bear).
[poll id=”86″]
Their new procedures are completely ridiculous. Grabbing my balls doesn't make a flight safer. Seeing my stuff in the scanner doesn't make the flight safer. Neither of those two procedures would show dynamite or nerve gas stuffed up someone's ass. Security theater at this point.
Metal detectors, bomb sniffing dogs should be good enough.
Maybe I'm on the far end here, but I think this is ridiculous. I hope they try and sue that Tyner guy. I'd love to see that brought to court.
(tyner = touch my junk and i'll have you arrested guy. who could get a 10k fine for leaving airport. )
I’m with you. As a former frequent flyer (that still flies pretty often), it’s frickin’ annoying. I liked this article on how the TSA should be more Israeli about safety:
http://www.thestar.com/printarticle/744199
That would require profiling and in American when you are profiled it’s like hitting the powerball lol.
I would expect this to change quickly. This could conceivably cost upwards of a 5% decline in passengers which would really hurt the airline industry. They aren’t exactly high margin. The airports themselves would feel that sting.
This is definitely something I will consider when I choose my next vacation. i’m quite sure it will be a driving distance vacation.
Yeah, I realize it would never fly, but with the way things are going, wouldn't people rather have an Israeli-style we-don't-take-crap-from-anyone deal than someone grabbing their junk?
Ray, stop trying to make sense. Americans who don't understand privacy and personal dignity as well as the gov't do not like that kind of talk. Now stop! lol
They want to make the patdown embarrassing and uncomfortable to funnel ppl into the nudie scanner.
@bsu
It was safe before they did this stuff. Air marshals would be cheaper, the cockpit locking eliminates most of the threat.
Seriously dogs or the bomb sniffing machines would work better.
I'm not a parent, but I'd have a problem with my kid being patted down or ran through a scanner.
True. I would argue that safety and terrorism won’t stay plateaued though. As one increases so must the other. However, I think you are right- different methods would work better. I agree that I would not want my child to be strip searched, especially in public like this.
@bsu
Yeah but if someone wishes harm they will find a way. I'm not saying that an airport should be as open as a college campus but I don't think the TSA is doing it right.
If my front door is locked a criminal might check my locked windows or locked backdoor. Then he/she picks one to kick in. The locks didn't prevent them from doing what they wanted. It's the way I feel about a terrorist or fundamentalist. Most are willing to die for their stance.
I used to work for TSA a few years back and the protocols were the same up until recently so I am torn on the issue. What could of happened was the the young man set off the alarm more that 3 times (that is an automatic search no matter who you are) and it sucks that it had to happen to that kid but we all know some parents unfortunately use their children for their adult dirty work. If you fly a lot then you know that some tickets are randomly marked for random additional screening and that could of been on that young mans ticket.
I think it is ridiculous because about 99.9 percent of passengers that fly mean no harm and its everyday things that they have on them that makes the lines long. Belt buckles in the shape of bullets, gun lighters, nips of booze, etc are totally common place, unless your in the airport.
I can’t decide which to vote for.
After having a day to think about it I voted annoying and invasive. I remember dreading going to work sometimes (especially in the summer) because I knew I had to touch sweaty ass man junk (latex can only shield you from liquids not heat lol), smell stinky ass feet, (a lot of people have very poor hygiene), and get verbally abused (because of the jungle humidity known as a Boston summer) by cranky people. I can go on and on but the same is also true for people doing the flying. It is so annoying for both parties from my experience.
Um, you don’t have to grab the balls to check for other things. You can slide both hands up the thighs without having to touch anything personal. That’s how the Army does it and they need to be more careful than those TSA people.
I voted for annoying and invasive, but I do think that some of these searches could be useful. I don’t do a lot of traveling by air (only flown a couple times) and 99.9% of the traveling I have done has been in a car. However, if I did fly sometime I would like to know that it will be safe. I do know that flying is one of the safer methods of transportation though.
Less security is the price we pay for living in a free society. That doesn't mean we can do some smart noninvasive things to protect people, but at no point does the TSA caressing my junk keep anyone safer.
That’s what she said. *snicker*