Flying domestic with controversial book?
Jul 13, 2014, 6:57 pm
#1
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Posts: 627
Flying domestic with controversial book?
I will soon be flying roundtrip TLH-BDL, and I'm in the middle of reading _The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy_.
Has anyone here ever experienced extra scrutiny, book confiscation, DY...T, or TSA clerks calling the police, attempting detention, or even pointy-fingered TSA clerk lecture about having books about controversial subjects?
Thanks!
Has anyone here ever experienced extra scrutiny, book confiscation, DY...T, or TSA clerks calling the police, attempting detention, or even pointy-fingered TSA clerk lecture about having books about controversial subjects?
Thanks!
Jul 13, 2014, 8:03 pm
#3
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Nope. But, if you're really worried, just wear a hat lined with tinfoil so the secret agents can't read your thoughts and know what you're reading.
That is, unless, you refer to an Officer as a clerk....
That is, unless, you refer to an Officer as a clerk....
Jul 13, 2014, 8:39 pm
#5
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That's what they are, clerks. Clerks with shiny badges they hand out to people they've recruited from pizza box ads.
People who attend real law enforcement training are entitled to be called "officer." Not the employees of TSA who are trained to bark at passengers, write useless squiggles on on BPs, and steal valuable items from our checked baggage.
People who attend real law enforcement training are entitled to be called "officer." Not the employees of TSA who are trained to bark at passengers, write useless squiggles on on BPs, and steal valuable items from our checked baggage.
Jul 14, 2014, 10:40 am
#6
Join Date: Nov 2008
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I've not had problems with this. But others have.
Don't read books about airplanes while on an airplane.
Don't read books about airplanes while on an airplane.
Jul 14, 2014, 10:47 am
#7
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And don't forget the college kid with the Arabic flash cards. It was incredibly unfortunate for the TSA that the kid's dad happened to be a lawyer.
Last edited by FliesWay2Much; Jul 14, 2014 at 7:45 pm
Jul 14, 2014, 1:46 pm
#8
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Ah, yes ... this story.
Jul 14, 2014, 2:40 pm
#10
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Jul 14, 2014, 4:14 pm
#13
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It's a library book, so obviously, if it's confiscated, I'd be buying the library a new copy of it.
If someone gives me a hard time about it while in the airport or in flight, they can Foxtrot Oscar. Are there any instances of airport passengers calling the cops because they think something looks "out of place", like a controversial book, person with a beard and turban, etc.?
Can bag X-rays see book titles, or just that it's a book?
On a side note, I've joked that winding up on the NFL would be the best thing to happen to me--my job does not require flying, I hate flying, and I itch for reasons not to. My family and friends who think the NFL is a Vaunted Layer(TM) between us and another 9/11, might start to see how stupid the NFL is. Or maybe they'd just think I "deserved" it due to my political views, which, sadly, is how a lot of people these days think.
Jul 14, 2014, 6:04 pm
#14
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I had a few well-known incidents in mind that made me ask my original question. The black man with the book about WW I airplanes. The above-mentioned PHL Arabic flash cards incident. The blank checks/"divorce situation" incident (also at PHL). A previous FT post talked of a TSA clerk confiscating flight charts. Multiple incidents of TSA clerks making photocopies of the contents of wallets or envelopes.
It's a library book, so obviously, if it's confiscated, I'd be buying the library a new copy of it.
If someone gives me a hard time about it while in the airport or in flight, they can Foxtrot Oscar. Are there any instances of airport passengers calling the cops because they think something looks "out of place", like a controversial book, person with a beard and turban, etc.?
Can bag X-rays see book titles, or just that it's a book?
On a side note, I've joked that winding up on the NFL would be the best thing to happen to me--my job does not require flying, I hate flying, and I itch for reasons not to. My family and friends who think the NFL is a Vaunted Layer(TM) between us and another 9/11, might start to see how stupid the NFL is. Or maybe they'd just think I "deserved" it due to my political views, which, sadly, is how a lot of people these days think.
It's a library book, so obviously, if it's confiscated, I'd be buying the library a new copy of it.
If someone gives me a hard time about it while in the airport or in flight, they can Foxtrot Oscar. Are there any instances of airport passengers calling the cops because they think something looks "out of place", like a controversial book, person with a beard and turban, etc.?
Can bag X-rays see book titles, or just that it's a book?
On a side note, I've joked that winding up on the NFL would be the best thing to happen to me--my job does not require flying, I hate flying, and I itch for reasons not to. My family and friends who think the NFL is a Vaunted Layer(TM) between us and another 9/11, might start to see how stupid the NFL is. Or maybe they'd just think I "deserved" it due to my political views, which, sadly, is how a lot of people these days think.
) You'll probably be perfectly fine.X-ray machines can't read a book title. I tend to not take library books travelling just because I might forget and leave it somewhere. I once had to replace a lost book and despite being able to buy it on Amazon for a cheap price, I had to pay the high price of a "library quality" book with special binding or something. So they told me anyway.
Maybe you could just tell your friends and family you're on the NFL so you could get out of things?
Jul 14, 2014, 6:40 pm
#15
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We've had a couple of the resident TSOs on FT tell us that a book shows up in the carry-on x-ray as a solid mass, which must be examined visually because the mass is indistinguishable from a shielded container (which could contain prohibited items) or the solid mass of plastic explosive.
Thus, there is a possibility that your book might trigger a bag check.
However, I have flown with paperbacks many times and never once had it trigger a bag check. The only bag check I've ever had was back in the early 90s, way pre-TSA, when I put a carry-on into the machine that contained nothing but lightweight clothing. I have always imagined that the reason they checked that bag was that the clothing was completely transparent to the x-ray and there were no solid masses in the bag to create a real image, so the operator thought it might be shielded.
Thus, there is a possibility that your book might trigger a bag check.
However, I have flown with paperbacks many times and never once had it trigger a bag check. The only bag check I've ever had was back in the early 90s, way pre-TSA, when I put a carry-on into the machine that contained nothing but lightweight clothing. I have always imagined that the reason they checked that bag was that the clothing was completely transparent to the x-ray and there were no solid masses in the bag to create a real image, so the operator thought it might be shielded.