Caradoc

Ah. Carry on, then.

kmanus

Certainly let me preface this by saying I wish the TSA as a whole would go crawl in a hole somewhere.

Now, similar to a comment in another post, could this be construed as a positive thing for those of us who want the TSA abolished or at the very, very least reined in from using the damned scanners and inappropriate patdowns? We are in mid-spring break season and quickly approaching summer where many families will travel. If this begins to happen to more and more kids hopefully parents become outraged - you have certainly reached a larger population than you ever would with just frequent flyers. It needs to affect more people before a real change is going to happen. And these people can't just be told, it has to happen to them.

rocky

Here is the link from the original source, KGW. (The video is longer than the one posted by someone else.)

http://www.kgw.com/news/Clackamas-mo...119816969.html

I've also updated this on the blog:
http://tsascrewups.wordpress.com/201...ld-boy-at-pdx/

Any link love to http://tsascrewups.wordpress.com/ is appreciated! I want to make it as easy as possible for reporters who want to dig deeper to have a one stop shop for the various TSA abuses.

MDtR-Chicago

...and the comments are almost entirely "boo hoo! you're a wimp! your child is fine! TERRORISTS ARE EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!! TRUST THE GOVERNMENT!"

And my favoritate ACTUAL comment:

rocky

The TSA is just a gigantic Milgram experiment.

chollie

It has gone way beyond 'experiment'. The experiment is over, data and reactions have been analyzed, conclusions drawn and actions implemented.

In the US, anything is acceptable in the name of 'safety'.

kmanus

I think my fave snippet of comment is this:

"We just have to let children know that Mom or whoever is present and it is ok just like in the doctor's office. As for not knowing the background of the person doing the screening, how do we know the doctor's background either? It is to keep us safe, like a doctor helps keep us healthy."

Really? I'm pretty sure I can check on a doctor's background, either by checking with the state licensing board or by speaking with other patients. Maybe I need to start using that BeenVerified website on any screener I come across?

chollie

We keep hearing that scarcely anyone actually gets a frisk - 2% of pax maybe? And presumably children represent a smaller subset of that number.

So I think TSA supervisors should be required to log every child patdown, review and retain the tapes, and specifically sign off that he/she has reviewed them and found no problems.

We know TSOs are reluctant to turn each other in for misbehavior. Since there are only a relatively small number of children who will be frisked, and since children are greatly at risk if a sex offender without previous convictions does enter the workforce, I don't think this is asking too much.

Besides, it's not like these supervisors ever seem to actually be at the checkpoint or in the baggage area actually supervising what is going on, so they should have plenty of time.

N965VJ

The same person continued with:

Although I do not fly,

Do you frequent train stations, bus stations, sporting events, etc? The mission creep marches on, just listen for the sound of a blue glove being snapped on.

Nice how some people that don't put up with the nonsense at airports feel they can be self righteous.

TheGolfWidow

I check every doctor our family uses on the licensing website for our state. Obviously, only the most egregious infractions find their way there, but it's the best I can do, and it does tell me about the physician's educational experience, as well as training and certifications. I talk to trusted friends and I talk to hospital nurses, and I've been grateful for honest, heartfelt responses about physician referrals from both. I don't let people touch me or our child without at least doing the most minimal amount of due diligence I can.

Now...where I can I research the screener's background and do the same? How do I find out their level of education and training? Can I speak to their colleagues up and down the chain of command about their experiences with the screener? Where do I determine that licenses are current and not encumbered? Are they particularly skillful at certain tasks, such that their professional organization has recognized and certified their competency? Oh, and finally...how do I go about letting the screener of my choice touch my child?

If we're going to make the comparison to a medical professional, let's make the comparison complete. Perhaps we should even be asking if I can get my child's Sports PE done during the patdown, because after all, it's just like at the doctor.

kmanus

But, but hasn't the TSA said all the screeners have background checks? lol

Caradoc

Yep. They background-checked this guy, too. Doesn't that make you feel better about letting TSA employees touch you and your children?

kmanus

One of the reasons we only have 2 trips planned this year and although I love to travel (for the destination), I no longer want to. Thankfully we don't have kids, so not an issue at the moment. In fact, I'm doing a race in the Santa Rosa area and we are driving the 15ish hours to get there. Not to mention that I would have had to ship or fly with my bike otherwise.

Bonus that the airport we fly out of doesn't have scanners and *knock wood* I've always made it through w/o a hitch. Once I even made it through with an 8oz bottle of shaving lotion that I had in my bag from a previous (driving) trip. No worries, on the way back some screener in San Diego found it and now has really smooth legs.

N830MH

Yep, sure does. That is one of 8-years old boy who patted it down at checkpoints.

celticwhisper

According to the article:

What a tool. Maybe this is giving away an overabundance of information about me(TMI, as they say), but rule #1 of S&M/BDSM is "Safe, Sane, Consensual."

Somehow I think this fails condition 3 spectacularly, and it's not looking so good on 1 and 2 either.