jdp23

I'm working on a blog post about this and wanted to get some feedback from folks here first.

There are a lot of battles shaping up -- budget to acquire a lot more NoS's, court battles, hopefully congressional hearings -- and while it's easy to get frustrated with how many people still don't get it, and the TSA's success in manipulating the media, on the whole I think momentum is very much on our side.

Here's some of the reasons why:

• more and more people i talk to are getting angry about this
• the press is once again starting to cover our side of the story -- health concerns, TSA's poor maintenance records, Baywatch star and Indian ambassador's gropings
• while good travel numbers aren't out, there's anecdotal evidence that a lot of people aren't flying this holiday season
• grassroots momentum continues: a demonstration this Saturday in Salt Lake City, more demonstrations planned for the 23rd

What do people think about these? And anybody have any other suggestions?

Thanks,

jon

FetePerfection

Today was my first day flying after an eight week break so I had not had the "opportunity" to experience the post-November 1 rules. Flew MSP-ATL early this morning and the only CP open was 6 where they have NoS and WTMD - I groaned as soon as I saw NoS was being used exclusively for screening.

I then started my speech how ridiculous these procedures are, how I thought NoS wasn't supposed to be used exclusively for screening, how wrong the groping is, how abusive the entire system has become etc. I think there were at least 4 pax in front and another 10 or so behind me who all agreed and were chiming in with their point of view. A short time later NoS was roped off and WTMD was opened so I started to cheer (quietly) and was quite relieved I wouldn't have to opt-out.

However the queue was moving at a snails pace with an awful lot of folks fumbling around with bins, shoes, backpacks etc. I started to sense that if they didn't pick up the pace, NoS might be reopened again. Sure enough, the fellow ahead of me was the last person to be directed to WTMD and I was the lucky pax directed to NoS. Short story long...I chickened out and submitted to NoS because the thought of being manhandled and humiliated was worse to me than submitting to NoS.

The good news is I was a sellout and have since resolved to opt-out every time because submission is worse. Submission implies I don't object to the terror TSA is reeking on law-abiding citizens. I will not submit.

To answer OP question, I encountered at least a dozen people in line who were irritated at what traveling has become and how they're made to feel just to fly.

I have made another decision - one that directly affects my business and my income. I am not going to continue to run my destination consulting business as I have in the past. I am going to cancel my travels and actually turn away new clients until common sense and decency has been restored.

TXagogo

Hi Jon,
I'm glad you remain optimistic as do I even though I know there is a long way to go. I just want to caution that the points you listed above are mainly anecdotal and, IMO, a little bit "soft" to be considered evidence.

I'm seeing signs too and I am happy to sense that things may be turning. I would just be careful to get too excited. We have come a long way but there is still a long way to go. TSA is not so much concerned about security as they are about their image, and the lengths that one will go to protect an image can be extreme.

jdp23

FetePerfection, that was great education and activism -- and a huge win getting them to turn them off even temporarily. So don't give yourself a hard time for choosing the lesser of two evils after that. It's a great story, exactly the kind of thing I'm talking about. Thanks for sharing!

Totally agreed there's a long way to go ... I'd say I'm "cautiously optimistic" but not yet excited. Agreed that a lot of this is soft, but right now there isn't a lot of hard data -- for example air travel numbers for Q4 won't be out until mid-February. Especially with all the media manipulation, anecdotal evidence is very useful.

Helen_J

Anecdotally it seems to me that passenger loads are down. I flew in the week before Thanksgiving, which should have been a time of increased travel, and had empty seats on both flights.

I recently flew to the UK and back, a trip I have taken for at least a decade at this time of year, and the planes were not even close to full. That's a change from what I usually experience on these same flights in previous years.

I also flew EWR-IAH on CO, earlier this week and the plane was maybe only half full. The last time I remember seeing a plane that empty on that route was in the months just after 9/11.

I realize this is all anecdotal, but after this recent trip to the UK, one which I've taken for a long time at the same time of year, it definitely got me thinking that loads must be down and wondering if it had anything to do with the security screenings.

I think cautious optimism is the way to go. It takes time and persistence to get things to change.

Wimpie

A little good news from epic.org:
Court Finalizes Briefing Schedule in EPIC v. DHS Body Scanner Case
http://epic.org/2010/12/court-finali...ing-sched.html
Court order here:
http://epic.org/privacy/body_scanner...r_12_09_10.pdf
Case writeup here:
http://epic.org/privacy/body_scanner...n_of_body.html

Keeping fingers crossed....

divemistressofthedark

I got chewed on a bit the other day by a CSA when I called WN to cancel our Christmas flights. Definitely got the impression I had not been the first person to call, cancel and complain about the TSA (to this agent, anyway). I didn't bother to argue - she said she had traveled and "not had a problem" - because I've already written letters to Gary Kelly, CEO of WN, and to CS.

Ordinarily I'd have several leisure trips planned for next year by now. I'm not flying till this is sorted, outside dire emergency (family illness).

tev9999

More soft data - when you read comments on any story related to TSA, they seem to be 90% against the TSA now. A couple months ago I would guess it would be more like 75% "anything for security, don't like it don't fly" responses. It would be interesting to pull up a USA Today article about TSA from a couple months ago and one from last week and rate the for/against/neutral comments.

LuvAirFrance

What annoys me is the SCORN expressed in the voices of people who disagree with the protest. I guess they think only the "uneducated" could object to being groped. The elite are now identifying each other by their agreement that this outrage is an unfortunate necessity. I just love it when malleable people look down on people who are jealous of their rights.