<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by TacomaRain:
Guys and Girls I am pretty new here. Some of you have read my postings. I am a Lead screener at (you can probably guess what airport). Please let me fill those of you in who are not screeners on who we are and what we do. I think that all of the screeners that post here will agree that they took this job mainly because of 9-11 and their true desire to do SOMETHING to make a difference. I know that probably most of us have been greatly disallusioned. I am sorry for that.
For those of you non-screeners, picture yourself sitting next to an x-ray machine. Your knees are probably touching the machine as the bags pass through. At any moment you may see on that screen what you have been trained to identify as an improvised explosive device. It is now probably about six inches from your family-making apparatus. How many times do you think that the thought has gone through our heads "What in the h...ll am I doing here for $25,000. a year, putting myself into this position, and the public doesn't give a d..mn about anything but getting through the process."
Add to that the management attitude that we deal with daily. Is it worth it? I still think that it is, if someday, in some way I may prevent some wacko from getting onto a plane (or deciding to detonate a bomb in our checkpoint)and destroying that plane, maybe hurting or killing you or your loved ones. I think that every screener here feels the same way. When those of you (you know who you are) lay into us, please consider if you would like to do what we do while receiving the appreciation that we get (or don't get).
Please don
t say that I am whining, either. Many, or most of us could make more money in other sectors of the job market, but we decide to put ourselves between you, the flying public, and that idiot out there intent on harming you.
Bless you all</font>
I've said it before...
You the TSA "hero" here at FT, making the skies safe for me and all flyers in the USA (Waving flag: "God Bless Her!") will never in your life, place eyes on a terrorist and know it if you did. You will never thwart a bombing nor will you probably even ever find anything significant in the "war against terror". Sure you may find a switch blade, fire cracker/sparkler, box cutter, perhaps even a gun but none of these items are capable of taking over a plane even when they do get through (as we all know they do). The TSA (and you TSA posters) needs to get over itself and understand that it is not "in the line of fire" and stop trying to get us to believe this crap. Seriously, only grandma and grandpa would buy into your "TSA=Hero". It's unfortunate for you (and your babies) that you feel you must stay in a position, knowing you could make more elsewhere, because of the Captain America cape you decide to wear all in the name of Safety.