Was this an idle threat by TSA?
Sep 9, 2015, 9:09 pm
#46
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That's not true. The better move would be for the OP to do just what she did because she was the one making the choice. If a TSA clerk (not officer) takes something of yours out of sight (bottle, cup, ipad, watch, whatever) you handle it how you want.
Sep 9, 2015, 9:42 pm
#47
Join Date: Mar 2015
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It's funny that in encounters like this the one telling the story is always so calm and reasonable while the antagonist is exactly the opposite.
Once the OP's chip on the shoulder is revealed in later posts hints of the real story began to emerge.
But to directly answer - no, that was not even close to being a threat.
Once the OP's chip on the shoulder is revealed in later posts hints of the real story began to emerge.
But to directly answer - no, that was not even close to being a threat.
Having said that and this one of my complaints with TSA, as a Physician even if a patient has a chip on their shoulder, I have to deal with them respectfully, I cannot take an attitude of authority with the patient just because they come at me in other than a perfectly respectful way
In my case, I was surprised that the TSA Employee was making a big deal out of a few drops of water left in my water bottle when clearly those few drops were not even equal to one ounce and she acted like she was saving the day by preventing those few drops from making it into the air side of the terminal.
Could I have been more serious and reacted less flip than I did? Sure, but why should I and more over even if I did not react exactly perfectly, why should the agent label me a trouble maker and persist in it weeks later?
When she wound up as my Patient in the Emergency Room should I have had an attitude with her and made comments to the nurses, there is that TSA Employee who mocks me at the airport or should I have treated her like I treat any other patient with dignity and respect? She surly had a chip on her shoulder each time I would see her at the checkpoint and she would say, there is that trouble maker, Mr. Water Bottle.
My point it is far to easy to take the mantra of respect my authority especially when you hold power over another person, it is far harder to ignore chips on shoulders and take the higher road. IMHO, TSA Employees should always take the higher road, after all they have more power than say you (the general you not anyone specific person) and I and it is part of their job to deal with the General Public, it is not part of their job to show the general public who is boss.
I get that it takes two to tango, but employees like TSA employees should strive to be the bigger person, not show who has more power.
Last edited by kmersh; Sep 9, 2015 at 9:48 pm
Sep 10, 2015, 8:54 am
#48
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Well, a few weeks ago that TSA Employee ended up as my patient in the Emergency Room and she said OMG you are the water bottle guy. I said, yes, I am and the Water Bottle Guy and the Water Bottle Guy is going to be your Doctor. She was exceedingly nice to me that day and the one time I ran into her at the airport since then she has treated me like a respectable citizen rather than, "that trouble maker The Water Bottle Guy."
However, perhaps this has helped change her overall attitude toward pax in general. One can HOPE, anyway.
Sep 10, 2015, 9:29 am
#49
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Giving TSA a hard time is not good for the greater cause. It's basically just making the TSA jobs miserable at the expense of pax that come through later. If we have any chance of convincing the powers at be to get rid of TSA, this thread would not do it for sure. And BTW the OP was not the one making the choice. As the OP was not in a position of authority over the agent.
In any case we can try to make the case that the agent was "more" at fault. Simply because they were an agent. However it's all how you want to spin the story IMO. Saying the Agent is more at fault is marginal at best and just hyperbole at worst. Because in the end the OP wasn't innocent by a long shot.
Last edited by SimonB77; Sep 10, 2015 at 9:36 am
Sep 10, 2015, 9:51 am
#50
Join Date: Mar 2015
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This is awesome. As an NP I'm all for dignity and respect (and I have to put on a game face at least once a day) but I have to say if she'd needed an IV I think I'd have found the worst stick on shift that night....
However, perhaps this has helped change her overall attitude toward pax in general. One can HOPE, anyway.
However, perhaps this has helped change her overall attitude toward pax in general. One can HOPE, anyway.
As an MD, my colleagues (unless they are Anesthesiologists) and I are probably the worst sticks of the shift by a large margin, when the ER gets swamped the MDs will draw labs, start IVs, etc and I feel terrible about it as I do it once in a while, while the nurses do it multiple times a day.
Recently had a Patient who insisted that the MD start the IV as she didn't want, "no stinking nurse to touch her." The Nurse (a really good one btw and one that I would trust my life with) came and said that the Patient refuses to let her touch her and wants the MD to perform any procedures. I explained to the Patient that she is better off with the Nurse who starts multiple IVs a day rather than myself who might start one or two IVs a week. However, she insisted I do it and 4 sticks later I found the vein and got the IV started but I knew if she let the Nurse do it, it would have been one stick and done.
Sep 10, 2015, 10:45 am
#51
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Fighting disrespect with passive aggressive disrespect...simply brilliant.
Giving TSA a hard time is not good for the greater cause. It's basically just making the TSA jobs miserable at the expense of pax that come through later. If we have any chance of convincing the powers at be to get rid of TSA, this thread would not do it for sure. And BTW the OP was not the one making the choice. As the OP was not in a position of authority over the agent.
In any case we can try to make the case that the agent was "more" at fault. Simply because they were an agent. However it's all how you want to spin the story IMO. Saying the Agent is more at fault is marginal at best and just hyperbole at worst. Because in the end the OP wasn't innocent by a long shot.
Giving TSA a hard time is not good for the greater cause. It's basically just making the TSA jobs miserable at the expense of pax that come through later. If we have any chance of convincing the powers at be to get rid of TSA, this thread would not do it for sure. And BTW the OP was not the one making the choice. As the OP was not in a position of authority over the agent.
In any case we can try to make the case that the agent was "more" at fault. Simply because they were an agent. However it's all how you want to spin the story IMO. Saying the Agent is more at fault is marginal at best and just hyperbole at worst. Because in the end the OP wasn't innocent by a long shot.
Even TSA cannot articulate the threat presented in cases like this and go on to prove there is no threat by disposing of liquids like this in common trash bins and such.
In this case the TSA screener removed the cup from the view of the traveler creating a degree of discomfort and the request to toss the cup followed.
My question, why didn't the TSA screener just toss the cup as requested?
I suspect the request got the hackles of the TSA screener up and the TSA screener decided to push back in a demonstration of authority.
I agree that all of this could have been prevented by any number of options on the part of either party.
But what is really needed is a sensible LGA policy from TSA. If the LGA is too dangerous to fly isn't it also too dangerous to just toss in a common dust bins right at the checkpoint?
Sep 10, 2015, 12:07 pm
#52
Join Date: Nov 2008
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My motive is exactly what I said it was. If you choose to make negative assumptions about my motives, there's nothing I can do about that.
Sep 10, 2015, 3:34 pm
#53
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Sep 10, 2015, 4:26 pm
#54
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These type of stories start with a 100% - 0% division of fault and responsibility favoring the story teller.
Later to show their humility the story teller will concede that a 90% - 10% split maybe more accurate.
Reality I think would be more a 60-40 split. And just because TSA was 60% responsible does not in the least dismiss the 40%.
Of course TSA needs to be more professional and thick skinned but we are talking about front line TSA workers here which are about as far from doctors and their training as you can get
Sep 10, 2015, 4:59 pm
#55
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Yes, a childs sippy cup, not a bottle. So what happened to the liquid in the sippy cup? Was it treated like a potential explosive material?
Sep 11, 2015, 1:25 pm
#56
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Mike
Sep 11, 2015, 2:10 pm
#57
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Because maybe deep down inside, they all know it's a big joke too.
Sep 11, 2015, 2:19 pm
#58
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This whole thing is nothing but a sham to make people "feel" safe.
Sep 12, 2015, 9:48 am
#59
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My PreCheck is by virtue of Global Entry. Can/will TSA revoke the PreCheck part for something that was not remotely against any kind of rules? Has anyone run into a screener with an apparent personal vendetta against them? Does such a screener have the authority to mess with a traveler's trusted traveler program? Can this affect my Global Entry status?
