RosemaryT

When I picked my grandson up at the airport, we were walking through the long corridors when a TSA agent appeared and knelt down and placed a "TSA junior officer" sticker on the little boy's t-shirt.

Of course, the kid loved it, and it made MY blood pressure go up a few points.

Made me so mad I nearly blew a gasket.

Made me think of Hitler's promise that if he could get the youth, he'd be all set. That's what they're doing here, you know?

I guess if you're accustomed to groping the genitalia of little boys and little girls (as the TSA is), you'd think nothing of invading their personal space and putting a sticker on their chest.

My daughter (the little boy's Mom) thinks more government is good government, and is under the delusion that the TSA is our friend. If it hadn't been for her, I would have started screaming, "Don't touch my child! Get your hands off my child!"

I'm disgusted with these goons. Just disgusted.

They have come for our children.

The little boy touched the sticker with pride, and I asked him, "Do you know what TSA stands for?"

He said, "No, what?"

I told him, "Thousands standing around."

He smiled and repeated it.

I said, "Very good. Very good."

His mother was very unhappy with me for "disparaging" our beloved leader and his brown-shirted goons.

Rosemary Thornton
Norfolk, VA

sailman

I read your post with a great deal of incredulity. Did the agent ask permission to touch the child?

FliesWay2Much

I've seen kids wearing those from time to time, apparently with the parents' permission, because whenever I see them, they are all beaming from ear to ear.

Did this person do this unsolicited in the non-secure area of the airport or at the checkpoint? ...not that it matters, except that it is even more disgusting if it happened somewhere other than at the checkpoint.

cottonmather0

The last couple of times I've flown with my kids the TSO's have been quite friendly and obsequious ("You're going to Grandma's house? WOW!") and patted them on the head and all.

I was quite conflicted about it - it made me sick to my stomach, frankly, but with the age that my kids are (2 and 4), seeing Daddy argue and be confrontational in responde to a person who's clearly being nice would confuse them. Once they're a little older I guess I can start to explain it all, I guess.

But no "junior officer" crap. If they started that with my kids I would refuse the favor and give the stuff back. That's crossing the line, imho.

Caradoc

It's never too early to learn that not all who act friendly are actually nice people.

The color that the TSA wears will probably be changed over the years as people teach their children that those who wear that particular shade of blue are NOT real police officers, and are NOT nice people.

RosemaryT

Is that a not-so-subtle way of suggesting that I fabricated the whole thing? I assure you, it happened just as I have stated it here.

It was in the non-secure area and we were rushing to get the baggage (as we were trying to get somewhere on time). As we were walking briskly, this TSA agent approaches us with a card full of these hideous stickers and said, "This looks like a little boy that would like a sticker!"

His mother beamed from ear to ear and said, "Would you like a sticker?"

What kid could deny that?

But here's the rub. As the TSA goon was saying these words (would you like a sticker), he'd had already knelt down and was placing the sticker on the boy's chest as the mother (my daughter) made her comments.

A Philadelphia attorney could make the case that it was "informed consent" because the question was posed, but I find this most objectionable.

He did not ask the mother, "May I place a sticker on your child's chest?"

He did not say, "Young man, may I put this sticker on your chest?:

It's peddled as being another innocuous action and yet it is NOT.

This is NOT a sticker - it is propaganda and we're just training children to let the TSA touch them wherever and whenever they want, and we're training them to submit to authority without question and we're training them that the TSA is our friend.

The sticker said "TSA Junior Agent."

I thought to myself, "Just like Hitler's Youth."

Rose

doober

How long before young ones stop playing "doctor" and start playing "TSA screener" with their friends?

onlyairfare

I read this as disbelief that a TSO is roaming the airport with nothing better to do than accost and attempt to indoctrinate young children with their propaganda.

If a TSO wishes to be "child-friendly," how about not groping their genitals and otherwise giving them rub-downs?

And how about getting parental permission first, so we have the opportunity to remind the child that it is not safe to allow strangers to touch them?

TheGolfWidow

I would politely close this down, and use it as a teaching moment.

Parent to screener: I'm sorry, sir, but it's quite important to me to help our child understand the difference between a police officer and others who wear similar uniforms.

Parent to child: Johnny, when you need help, you should ask someone you know, someone who works in a store, or a police officer. But you should always first ask "Are you a police officer?" Can you ask this man?

Child to screener: Are you a police officer?

Screener: No, I blah-blah-blah...

Parent to child, cutting off the blah-blah-blah: This is not someone you should be talking to or asking for help. We do not know him, he does not work in a store, and he not a police officer. Let's go.

Take child's hand, walk away.

cb1111

This post exemplifies what is wrong with this forum.

You are so paranoid that you have forgotten the basic intent of TSA.

The OP has totally lost touch with reality and should be ashamed of herself. You guys are the unthinking "sheeple" that you accuse the great traveling public of being. You mindlessly spout this drivel and feel better for it.

I came to this site based on a link in one-world-one-bag about packing suitcases.

You guys here act like class bullies. The fact that this post exists is astounding. Would I get as many results if I posted "my dentist gave my gramdson a sticker" or "the pastor gave my grandson a sticker" or " the gas station (big evil oil) gave my kid a lollipop"

There are a zillion things wrong with how we do security here but this isn't one of them. Why don't you focus on constructive change rather that trying to pick on everything TSA does "ohhhhh, I just saw a TSA screener eating a burger, I'd better report that to FT and start a 20 page thread."

Those TSA employees come from your communities. They ARE a reflection of Americana - like it or not. How many of you are overweight slobs joking about the fitness level of screeners.

Focus on the mission and work on constructive ways of improving the system.

There! I feel better now.

Tom M.

How does giving stickers to kids fit in with the basic intent and mission of the TSA?

TheGolfWidow

I don't care who you are or what your job is - pastor, dentist, screener -- if you walk up to a stranger's child and touch them without first interacting with a parent who is standing.right.there, you are engaged in risky behavior.

And, this situation is complicated by the fact that the screener is easily perceived by the child as a true authority figure, to which he might turn for help in a crisis.

sylvia hennesy

Sorry, cb, but in this case it seems purely for the purpose of indoctrination. Is the little child going to resist when the nice smiling "officer" (what a bunch of c**p) feels up his genitals the next time through security? The very production of these stickers (unlike the dentist's, we are paying for these!) is an attempt at swaying childrens' minds and is blatant propaganda, a response to some very bad press about children resisting and crying about being manhandled.
It is outrageous.

Caradoc

It doesn't.

The single most constructive thing we can do to "improve the system" is to eliminate the TSA entirely.

cb1111

and only in your paranoia do you believe that every TSA employee is the devil.

TSA employees have the socio-economic background as the rest of society (including law enforcement and FT'ers.) There are some upstanding citizens and there are some creeps. I've found that the "holier than thou" crowd (very prominent here on FT) often falls into the creep category.