Originally Posted by TSORon

Personal attacks I report, and don’t take personally. No need to worry in that area.

Your right I seem to have missed your point, but then again I told you that I might.

I didn’t make up the rules, I just work with them. I can tell you this, as a person who was raised in the USA I find it less morally disturbing to touch someone through their clothing than to look at someone without clothing (in the checkpoint environment). Its just the way I was raised. Other countries raise their kids differently and teach them differing forms of morality than I was raised with. Diversity, aint it wonderful. But this is the USA, and here the rules are formed based upon what is understood to be the overall basic morals of the nation. There are going to be some people who like yourself feel differently, its unavoidable, but for the vast majority of the nation this works.

Our rules are pretty clear in the naked passenger area. Not allowed. Sorry, it may be more comfortable for you than touching but there are some things that are not going to change about screening. This IMO is one of those areas.



Easy answer. Ask the TSO to bring your belongings into your view before you begin your personal screening. They get it off of the xray belt and put it on the floor near the AIT where you can keep an eye on it. You wont be allowed to touch any of it until you complete your personal screening, but at least you can keep an eye on it.



I call them as I see them. And I certainly won’t take the word of many of the posters here. If you think about it you will understand why.



And I am one of those TSO’s who admit that there are some sub-standard folks working for the TSA. The difference is that I realize that this is a fact that can be found in every employment situation in our country and that if anyone is surprised by the facts then they are refusing, actively refusing, to be realistic.



I have never seen what you describe. Sorry, not once. I know how we are trained and I know that this is something that would certainly be frowned upon by TSA administration folks. It should not be taking place, period. I’m not saying that it does not happen, I’m fairly sure that what you describe could actually happen, but I would be stunned to actually observe it myself.



Honesty is the best policy, and you have been. I see no reason to be less than that myself.



I’ll look for it.



Kindly read the entire thread before replying. If you had you might have found the post where I said that we will advise you of what we are doing and why. You might also find the post where I stated that you can say “no” if there is something about the screening you refuse to be a part of. And then you might find where I said that a decision like that has consequences, one of which may be denial of access to the sterile area for both you and your property.



Yes, we are all trained on these types of searches. New TSO’s are still in training and may not have been as thoroughly trained as a seasoned TSO, but in such cases they are observed and instructed by a training officer.



No.



This kind of thing happens all the time around here, and to be honest its common place across the entire internet in these types of forums. Don’t let it worry you, its expected.