Schmurrr

I won't use PreCheck. My employer offered it, and I declined. PreCheck is extortion, a waste of taxpayer resources, and a nail in the coffin of the 4th Amendment and the presumption of innocence.

RandomBaritone

I find such philosophical objections curious, given that the fee for the background check is voluntary. I for one am delighted when any government agency recognizes that the fee-for-service model can work. Why should all taxpayers cover the cost of something only a small percentage of citizens use?

And before anyone says so, obviously we'd all be happiest if Pre-Check became the norm for everyone, with no fee.

cbn42

My main philosophical objection is that Precheck is designed to silence the critics of intrusive search techniques like body scanners. By giving frequent fliers (and anyone else willing to pay) an exemption, the TSA is able to minimize criticism. There used to be lots more criticism of AIT on Flyertalk before Precheck was implemented. Since it rolled out, opt-outs have declined and media coverage has declined because the most vocal opponents have been given a pass.

I, for one, will never pay for Precheck. If they give it to me, great. But I am not going to hand over money to avoid being groped.

FliesWay2Much

Yep -- this was the TSA's objective all along and it has worked like a charm. I've written before that Precheck is no different than the Communist system of privileges. They doled them out as necessary to instill loyalty to the government and the fear of it, because the people lived with the fear that the government could withdraw those privileges at any time for any reason. Living in fear of the government is a good thing -- if you're the government.

cbn42

How are frequent fliers the government?

petaluma1

They aren't, but they are the ones living in fear of the government, which is exactly what the government wants.

Ysitincoach

I detect that there's an assumption that just because you're in PreCheck that you still can't protest TSA?

Even in the PreCheck lines, I won't play their name game, I'll go deaf when they BARK out commands like taking a jacket off or not removing a laptop (tumi T-Pass), and I won't participate in so-called ETD screening.

Bottomline, you can still be an a-hole despite PreCheck.

iluv2fly

Take the PreCheck.

Then you can decide when/if you are in the mood to use it or not.

Perhaps you may run late sometime - good to have it.
Perhaps you are in the mood and have time to mess with the TSA - you are under no obligation to use Pre.

The best of both worlds.

petaluma1

How do you not participate? Do you simply refuse to allow them to do the swab? Then what?

relangford

Although I dislike the TSA's actions in many cases, in the 1960s and 1970s, to take a domestic flight in South Korea required a full-body pat down and NO carry-on luggage (I had a ham sandwich and bag of potato chips once as checked luggage). This was well before 9-11. We accepted it due to idiots to the north.

Michael El

I "sold out" and bought Pre Check on March 24th and it's already been worth the $85. I bought a ticket yesterday at 3:30 PM for a flight out of DEN at 6:30 PM. I was the only person in the Pre line and zoomed right through just like the good old days.

Randyk47

I guess I'm kind of on the fence about TSA. There are some aspects that are fine (i.e., bag screening, basic medal detecting) and there are other aspects I'm not too hot about (i.e., body scans, unpleasant agents, patdowns). I fly because I have to for work or want to for vacations. With forty plus years of experience it's neither new, exciting, or all that pleasant, I simply don't fly for the thrill of flying. To that end I try to do everything I can to make it as easy on myself as I can. I fly one airline as much as possible to garner advanced flyer status and the associated perks, I belong to an airline's club system to make layovers as pleasant as possible, I've learned and probably relearned what is going to cause issues with TSA, and as soon as signing up is reasonably available locally I'll get TSA PreCheck. Call me "sheeple" or accuse me of bending or surrendering to the authorities, or whatever but it's kind of like a doctor's visit to me, not fond of it but it's something I've got to do so I make the best of a bad situation.

jfunk138

My concern for the OP is that pre-check with turn a once outspoken opponent of TSA madness into a silent bystander. I have a friend who turned very anti-TSA around the arrival of the body scanners. Now, he gets Precheck and he is of the "I don't worry about other people's problems" line of thinking. As many have stated, if the goal of Precheck is to silence critics it is working extremely well.

For the OP, every time you get the Precheck treatment, do not forget your mother, wife, daughter, etc. who will someday endure the Non-pre cattle line. The battle does not end when "your" treatment improves, only when it ends for all.

jkhuggins

There's a way to read that, though, that isn't nearly so conspiratorial.

There are statements from various TSA folks (at all levels) that suggest that TSA wants to move to PreCheck as the standard for all screening, precisely for the reasons that many of us have complained about for years here (ineffective screening, invasions of privacy, wasteful spending, etc.). If TSA is attempting to respond to silence the criticism by, you know, actually doing the right thing, then a happy consequence of such actions will be to silence the critics who offer that criticism.

On the other hand, participating in PreCheck might actually encourage the TSA to open it up to more and more people. TSA has managed to screen thousands of people a day using PreCheck without any loss of security. That might convince TSA that more people should be allowed to use PreCheck --- with the ultimate goal, of course, being that PreCheck is the default mode of screening for most passengers.

But I'm a "glass half-full" sort of person; as always, your mileage may vary.

Ysitincoach

I'll not hear them and keep walking, they usually give up.