I think that is an eminently reasonable point of view. One of the reasons I posted this story, depsite it being hearsay, was that I was hoping others might be able to shed some light on this subject. From a purely selfish standpoint, I would like to be reassured that this is a very out-of-the-ordinary experience and that I have no reason to expect to be searched in this manner when I try to board an airplane. So, if nobody else posts a similar story, I would chalk it up to a very bad TSA agent, and not be worried the next time I fly. Conversely, if lots of other people post that they have been subjected to body cavity searches, then I think we should all be worried.

I don't think either of the people who were searched would have exaggerated the story, or would have a different definition of body-cavity search than the rest of us. But, like I said, I don't expect people to take my word for it, I'm just some random person on the internet.