FriendlySkies

Then the TSOs need to stand-up for themselves. Stop playing along with the security theater!

TSO_LAS

If we stand up for ourselves we are fired on the spot and escorted out of the terminal for failing to accomplish our duties.

If you ever wonder why TSO's are in a bad mood it is because the management treats us like slaves.

MikeMpls

So have some cojones of your own and take a stand for decency & privacy.

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.

MikeMpls

File a sexual harassment complaint if they fire you for refusing to fondle someone's balls against your will (not to mention, probably also against the victim's will).

LuvAirFrance

Asked my wife if she got patdowns on her just-ended European trip. She said she did. I asked was it the front or back of the hand. She said front. So this pat-with-palm thing isn't that novel. Doesn't seem to have bothered her either. Not like having her scissors trashed at CDG. Either she's getting numbed from her frequent trips or maybe it isn't as bad a deal as portrayed. She's not exactly a lover of authority, but she doesn't have issues with it, either.

MikeMpls

Did they poke around in her crotch? We're not talking about simple patdowns here. What's at issue is extreme probing & poking in retaliation for declining to be irradiated & electronically stripsearched.

PhoenixRev

Sorry, but a paycheck does not excuse you or any other TSO of what you are doing.

I am a notary here in Arizona. If my boss asked me to notarize fraudulent or forged documents or be fired, I would let him fire me (that actually did happen to me many years ago, BTW).

If you choose money over ethics, that is your choice; but I refuse to give you cover just because you might have to find a new job.

LuvAirFrance

Anybody here had their crotch groped? No, I didn't go that far. Though a woman at Schihpol must have felt around her bra. She said they told her "We're going to touch you there" and because she was asked if it was OK, she didn't have a problem. She was very impressed with the politeness of Dutch security personnel. Must not have happened in our airport because I just can't imagine an American being that sensitive (now I'm asking for it!).

aviators99

Get in trouble? What for? Isn't this protected speech?

RadioGirl

TSO_LAS, you seem like a sensible person, so don't take this as an attack, but think through what you're saying.

Is groping someone through their clothes (which is, I agree, terrible) really the "most horrible thing" you can imagine? Your imagination needs to get some exercise.

What if, next week, the policy is that you have to escort every 5th passenger to a back room, have him strip naked and grope him without his clothes? What if this includes children?

What if, next month, you have to give a prostrate exam to every male passenger, regardless of age, out of an abundance of caution?

What if, in 2 years time, passengers are no longer allowed to be conscious on their flight, so you're required to administer anaesthesia to every passenger, despite knowing that 0.1% of them will die of an allergic reaction to it?

Somewhere between "what you signed up for", and "the most horrible thing you can imagine if you take a little longer to think about it", there is a line you won't cross. Someday you may be asked to cross that line.

LuvAirFrance

Here's what a thread like this makes me wonder. ACLU is legendary for taking up unpopular causes. Is this an unpopular cause? Is the possibility of changing this through popular pressure remote since the problem is happening to so few people? Is airline travel some sort of elite activity in which so few participate that the regulators don't even have to sweat complaints? Anyone have a guess about this? I know that things that bother a substantial majority do bring some sort of reaction from the Leviathan. But other cases that are just a lot of noise by a very small minority get lip service but no action from government agencies.

VH-RMD

IDK, 2m pax per day US domestic, but the crunch is, I think, the change of mission creep into trains and buses - then we take the 'elite' factor (if there really is one) out of it...

studentff

Sad that TSOs are "fired on the spot" and "escorted out" for standing up for themselves (and I have no reason to doubt what you say), but if TSOs are caught engaging in retaliatory screening, confiscating permitted items, planting fake drugs on a passengers as a joke, or outright stealing from passengers, TSA covers up the incident, refuses to punish them, and lets them continue doing what they are doing.

The day I see a supervisor at an airport fire a TSO on the spot for retaliatory screening, confiscating a permitted item, or otherwise abusing a passenger, will be the day I not only file a compliment card on that supervisor but risk missing my flight to make sure the compliment is delivered and as followup contact my Congressman to pass along a compliment to TSA on that supervisor. I'm not worried about having to do that any time soon though.

Wally Bird

The TSOs of all ranks who approve of, even relish the new 'procedure' deserve all the insults they get. Same goes for managers, FSDs and particularly the traitors (I do not use the term lightly) at TSA HQ responsible for this despicable assault on America.

It has got to stop. I understand the reticence of an individual screener of integrity and conscience to take a stand, but it would only take one prepared to do so. Consult an attorney beforehand, co-ordinate a media blitz and have the 'firing' recorded. That person would be a true patriot and likely garner accolades for doing so. Might even get a better job offer @:-) .

Boggie Dog

Then quit. It's just that simple.