Originally Posted by
tkey75
You could also try this - be very quiet so you don't wake him until you're right next to him. Have your phone in hand, pretending to talk to someone. Shout to the imaginary caller when right next to the sleeping TSAer.
Or just sneak up on him and shout "Wake up!!" in his ear. Wait for the excuse that he was just suffocating a bug in his eye.
I already do have several interesting videos from airport travels this year - one of a gate agent going berserk on a passenger while a bunch of people watch, but she sees me and then becomes nice halfway through the video, pretty funny. I have two others of TSA agents appearing to sleep (or actually sleeping) on the job, and one sleeping in the terminal, really amusing.
I also have a primarily audio recording of a pilot going on a SWA type rant in a tram taking us to terminal, I was the only passenger on the tram with a bunch of crew, again, last flight of the day. I got a few shots of his face but I don't know who it was. It was height of unprofessionalism. Yuck. But, hey, I forgive the person, they were just probably blowing off steam. In a sense I feel a bit privileged to know what they really think about their job and politics, etc, but he was totally out of line.
I've thought about posting some of them, but decided against it, partly because the agents are easily identifiable. In one case I'm pretty sure they would come after me too, as I was identified as recording and yelled at by the screener as I got out of there. It's also kind of obnoxious to record like this, and quasi-legal.
The funny thing is, I don't necessarily want TSA screeners to get fired for sleeping, etc. As evidenced by some of the TSA agents who post here (and if you have had a conversation with any of them), they are generally not the brightest bulbs, and the change must come from above, not from the agents themselves. For all practical purposes there are an infinite supply of low qualified screeners, so when you fire one, you just get another who is marginally less qualified.
Moreover, I DON'T want the agents to take their job too seriously. Overzealous TSA agents = more harassment for innocent people. We should be encouraging CIVILITY and REASONABLENESS, not "HEROISM" by the TSA screeners. Imagine the most gung-ho TSA agent:
Ooh, that guy moved sideways to pick up his dropped wallet when exiting the terminal TERRORIST TERRORIST!!!
Oh no, I dozed off for 10 seconds can't be sure TERMINAL DUMP, TERMINAL DUMP!!!
Such an agent would probably get praised for his "honesty," "integrity," and "commitment to the job."
No thanks.