This thread follows on the footsteps of other threads about the TSA at some airports asking to see your BP just after you pass through either the WTMD or the other machines. I travel through terminal E quite often and they have been doing that there for awhile, the barking moat dragon keeps telling people to empty everything out of their pockets and have their BP in their hand.
So this time I printed 2 BPs and at the podium I showed my first BP with my passport and he made the usual nonsense scribble and sent me on. I put my passport and marked up BP in my computer bag and prepared everything to go down the conveyor belt. The moat dragon was still barking orders and when she pointed me towards the cancer box I pointed to the WTMD and she asked, "So do you want to Opt out?" And I replied, "yes."
She called for a male assist and pointed to the WTMD and as I passed through an older 1 striper asked to see my BP so I showed him the other one I had printed. He studied it carefully and looked on both sides, not being able to see the scribbled notations. He looked at me puzzled and asked, "Didn't someone write on this BP?" I looked at it and said, "No, doesn't look marked on to me
Now he is really puzzled and asks me if I did indeed pass by the TSA guy at the podium and I said "Oh sure, just a minute ago." "Didn't he write in your boarding pass?"
"Oh, yes he did and I put it away with my passport, it is in my bag over there! Why do you need it?"
"Well, it's my job to see it and sign off on it that it is all correctly marked off," he explained.
So I said I didn't realize that and that they don't do this at any other airport I go to around the country and he replied, "well of course we don't do it the same way everywhere, the terrorists would then know our system!" He went on to explain that doing it differently at all airports helps keep our country safer. I thanked him for explaining that to me and for his efforts to keep us all safe.
Then I had my body grope complete with at least one genital karate chop!
