Originally Posted by T.J. Bender

That's a bitter, sarcastic way of saying that screeners at LAX are uneducated and inconsistent, and they don't even know the rules that their own agency has laid out for them. I've flown out of LAX three times since the BKSX went in. The first time, the screener tried to tell me that it was wonderful that I'd chosen the pat-down, but I still had to be scanned before it. I had to bring a supervisor over to explain to the screener and the 2-striper who responded first that opting out does not mean "scan me anyway then pat me down".

The second time was a disaster, but not because they tried to scan me anyway. I told the screener I was opting out, they asked why, and I told them that it was my right to do so. The screener informed me that it would be up to an hour before anyone could pat me down, so I asked for a supervisor and a LEO. The supervisor came over and said he'd see what he could do (they never called the LEO as I requested), then a few minutes later returned with a screener to pat me down and acted as if I should be thanking him. No surprise at all that I was "randomly selected" for additional screening at the gate check.

The third time, they once again tried to tell me that I had to go through the scanner despite opting out, and I told the screener to bring a supervisor and a LEO over, because I would not be denied my right to opt out without an officer there to witness it and take my assault complaint. Total BS on my part, but it worked, and the scanner begrudgingly let me walk around for my massage.

Point being, don't count on consistency from the screeners at LAX, don't count on them even knowing the rules they're supposed to play by, but definitely count on aggressive "resistance hunts" and the knife of a palm being rubbed down your backside if you dare to question them. If at all humanly possible, fly into LGB, as it's the last non-MMW/BKSX airport (aside from tiny little CLD) in SoCal.