How the TSA beat fliers into submission

[CPT Tripss]

The TSA is having a heckuva summer.

From a new "trusted" traveler system it's pushing on passengers, to a peculiar new rule that requires certain electronics to power up before they can fly, to numerous bizarre incidents at screening areas, the federal agency tasked with protecting America's transportation systems has been in the news for all the wrong reasons.

But that's not the headline. No, the story is us — you and me — and our reaction to the agency's antics and missteps.

More than 12 years after the TSA's creation, it seems our anger and outrage have run dry. Travelers have come to accept anything the agency throws at us, no matter how nonsensical and despite its civil-rights implications.

The story is our TSA apathy.

The rest at http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/2014/07/27/airport-security/13248051/

 

[lylone]

Ya know... Even though I have had my bare legs patted down, hair patted, hoodie patted and a blunt edged nail file thrown away after being through an Xray scanner, it is still easier to fly.
I will take the aggravation and sit on a plane for an hour rather than sit in a car for 8 hours.

If everyone wants to boycott air travel because of the reasons posted in this article...then fine by me. That means less waiting in security lines for me!

 

[maxiesmom]

Ya know... Even though I have had my bare legs patted down, hair patted, hoodie patted and a blunt edged nail file thrown away after being through an Xray scanner, it is still easier to fly.
I will take the aggravation and sit on a plane for an hour rather than sit in a car for 8 hours.

If everyone wants to boycott air travel because of the reasons posted in this article...then fine by me. That means less waiting in security lines for me!

Ditto.

I also know who posted this thread just by the title alone.

 

[Skywise]

I'm not going to boycott air travel but I want things back the way they were pre-9/11.

I didn't need a government approved, secureCard(tm), "r ur papers checked citizen?" ID and being stripped search for my own "safety" just so I can fly the (now un-)friendly skies.

That we've come to accept this is just another nail in the coffin of a free society.

 

[maxiesmom]

That we've come to accept this is just another nail in the coffin of a free society.

Nope. As long as flying is a choice, and the government isn't forcing me onto an airplane, then I still have free will.

 

[Skywise]

Nope. As long as flying is a choice, and the government isn't forcing me onto an airplane, then I still have free will.

Except when the government forces you off an airplane because your name looks scary.

 

[goofy4tink]

So not an issue for me. I've seen the article...I have gone through pat down searches several times.....once when I flew 3 rimes in 24 hrs (Ft Lauderdale to Philly, back to FtL and to Providence), and once at Sanford, about 2 months after 9-11. And my dh and dd had the same 'treatment'. Dd was 14 for the FtL fiasco, and 8 at Sanford....no traumatizing there. I've never been treated with anything but respect at those times....but, others may feel that they had opposite experiences.
I have been lucky the last few times...I have been given access to the quick security line...shoes and belts stay on, nothing comes out of the carryon bag. It's nice.
I don't feel beaten down at all.....none of it bothers me. What does bother me are those people that are either clueless or confrontational. They either have no idea what is expected of them when they get to security, or there are those that just like to push the limits and make an issue out of every little thing. Both hold me up, keeping me on that line when. I could be relaxing at the gate...yes, I'm the passenger that gets to the gate 90 mins before departure.
This is all such a non-issue for the majority of people....yes, I wish I could keep my shoes on, yes I wish I could carry full sized shampoo. But none of it bothers me all that much.

 

[CPT Tripss]

Ditto.

I also know who posted this thread just by the title alone.

Oh, you knew that the article title was the USA Today headline for Christopher Elliott's story? Or is your response a personal attack?

 

[sam_gordon]

I'm not going to boycott air travel but I want things back the way they were pre-9/11.

I didn't need a government approved, secureCard(tm), "r ur papers checked citizen?" ID and being stripped search for my own "safety" just so I can fly the (now un-)friendly skies.

That we've come to accept this is just another nail in the coffin of a free society.

Pre 9/11? You mean the way they were when folks were able to hijack planes? And yes, planes were hijacked well before 9/11.

ETA: This quote in the article stuck with me...

"I'm tired of complaining," says Pam Miller, a frequent flier based in Seattle. "It's an ineffective use of time and energy."

Now, I might be reading the quote wrong (I see two ways to take it), but I read it as "complaining" is an ineffective use of time and energy.

The bottom line is the majority of travelers DON'T CARE about the steps TSA is taking. That's been the case from the beginning. When the TSA starts doing something I'm vehemently against, I'll stop flying. Flying is still a choice. If you don't like what TSA is doing, complain to your congresscritters, don't fly, or when you are subject to screening you think violates your rights, sue.

 

[Alesia]

Oh, you knew that the article title was the USA Today headline for Christopher Elliott's story? Or is your response a personal attack?

Oh, I don't think pointing out that you take every opportunity to bash the TSA is a personal attack - it's just common knowledge

 

[maxiesmom]

Oh, I don't think pointing out that you take every opportunity to bash the TSA is a personal attack - it's just common knowledge

If you can't own up to your threads, then don't post them.

 

[CPT Tripss]

Oh, I don't think pointing out that you take every opportunity to bash the TSA is a personal attack - it's just common knowledge

The author of an article in a national newspaper did the bashing . . . Just pointed it out to the board. Out of curious it's, did you go to the article and read it?

 

[Alesia]

The author of an article in a national newspaper did the bashing . . . Just pointed it out to the board. Out of curious it's, did you go to the article and read it?

Okay, I'll rephrase: You never miss the chance to post a link to an article bashing the TSA.

And, yes, I read the article.

 

[debster812]

Oh, you knew that the article title was the USA Today headline for Christopher Elliott's story? Or is your response a personal attack?

Ditto.

I also know who posted this thread just by the title alone.

maxiesmom did not say she knew who the author of the article was, just that she knew who posted this thread, based on the title. Which is really not much of a stretch, given your history of anti-TSA posting. You are absolutely entitled to your opinions, but you can't get upset when people call you on it.

And, like goofy4tink posted, we've had quite a few interactions with the TSA, and never once have we been mistreated, treated rudely, or had a bad interaction at all. DS is 17, and has been flying since he was 6. He has also never been treated poorly, or treated rudely.

 

[soniam]

I don't like the current state or TSA either. However, at least it's a little more consistent and civilized than it was immediately following 9/11. We flew to Germany as soon as the airways opened up after 9/11. On our return home, when we landed in Detroit (pre-TSA), the poor female airport employee had to feel me up. I don't mean a mild pat down. I mean a "full body cavity searches all around, Bork" kind of thing (not just over, but under the undergarments too). I think she was more embarrassed than I, especially when she commented that I must be cold (hard nipples). I'm always cold. Now that was almost as intimate at the OB/GYN. It was my only choice if I wanted to re-enter the US at the time.

Luckily, it has improved some. I still don't like it though, especially the back-scatter machine and the lack of shoes. However, it hasn't got to the point that I won't fly. We gotta keep up the complaints though, or they think we are complacent.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

I'm not going to boycott air travel but I want things back the way they were pre-9/11.

Signing up for Global Entry and getting the benefit of TSA PreCheck as a result was one of the best things I've ever done. I'm just back from a business trip. When I left yesterday morning, I was at the gate 35 minutes after I left my house...and it took me 20 minutes to get to the airport.

Flew home today from Midway. I took the L to the airport from downtown Chicago, and was at the gate 11 minutes after stepping off the train. I was pretty amazed by that (the regular security lines were horrible), but I was so happy for PreCheck because I got to pass by so many people.

PreCheck is about as close to pre-September 11 as you're going to get, I think.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

No problem here with TSA, especially with the problems in the eastern Europe and with that nut case Putin and in middle east now.

Frankly if there needs to be stronger measures..............bring them on.


AKK

 

[keishashadow]

No problem here with TSA, especially with the problems in the eastern Europe and with that nut case Putin and in middle east now.

Frankly if there needs to be stronger measures..............bring them on.


AKK

I'm all for increased security but, that said. their measures need to be 'measured'. More than a few highly publicized gaffes by their agents have many people thinking the TSA is a joke when security on the planes is nothing to laugh about imo.

 

[ParrotBill]

1. You shouldn't have to carry copies of the TSA's own regulations to carry approved items through security. I continue to read too many reports of
people being denied approved items.

2. I got a pat down for a receipt in my pocket. really?

3. My first encounter with the TSA they tried to separate me from my 5 year old daughter because I was randomly selected for pat down. They would have left her standing alone in the crowd exiting the checkpoint.

When crap like #3 happens you can never feel good about the TSA again.

I fly only when I really have to now, and drive to WDW.

 

[CPT Tripss]

Signing up for Global Entry and getting the benefit of TSA PreCheck as a result was one of the best things I've ever done. I'm just back from a business trip. When I left yesterday morning, I was at the gate 35 minutes after I left my house...and it took me 20 minutes to get to the airport.

Flew home today from Midway. I took the L to the airport from downtown Chicago, and was at the gate 11 minutes after stepping off the train. I was pretty amazed by that (the regular security lines were horrible), but I was so happy for PreCheck because I got to pass by so many people.

PreCheck is about as close to pre-September 11 as you're going to get, I think.

And, even with the small "bribe" you paid for Global Entry, the next time you allow only a short time, you can bet you'll be "randomly selected" and treated just like Parrot Bill was.

The flip side is that even people like me may get "randomly selected" for PreCheck without paying. Unfortunately, it does me no good as I can't raise my arm and assume the position for MMW and my metal joint alarmed the WTMDS. Had to divest my shoes and get the hands on full body search.

The whole experience was interesting, I tried to turn down the offer because it would have separated me from by spouse . . . The Airport Security Screener then moved us both. Sped us up and slowed down the paying customers.