Originally Posted by SATTSO

Condscending? Yes, to certain attitudes.

How can I explain the inexperience or fear or whatever of people I do not know? I can't - and neither can you.

As I said, you didn read what I wrote: most people who opt out of the WBI receive a pat-down that has been used for YEARS for those who refused the WTMD. Now consider this, most people who used to refuse the WTMD now use the WBI when it is available. It's quicker than the pat-down.

So...those who now receive this pat-down never received it before. Oh, TSA has/had a pat-down for everything. If you alarmed the WTMD there was a pat-down; if you wore bulky clothing, there was a pat-down; if you had a metal implant, there was a pat-down; etc...

Very few people ever received the pat-down for those who refused the WTMD, and the pat-down does come right next to your genital region. If people are unsteady or clumsy or just rushing, they actually may touch the genitalia (I will not deny that). So it's very easy for me to understand why someone who never received this type of pat-down to think their genital area I'd being searched, when in fact the area around it is being searched.

But these are the facts: TSOs are not trained in and can not perform the "enhanced" pat-down, which DOES use the front of the hand directly over the genital area. The pat-down WILL be performed in private (you can have a witness); the enhanced pat-down is NOT done for opt outs of the WBI; the enhanced pat-down is very rare.