"You WILL apologize...."
 

Really? I have another great story for your entertainment.

Friday, March 18, about 8:00 am, Newark Airport, Terminal A, satellite 1 (United gates). I had a ticket on the noon flight to Chicago but planned to stand by for the 10 am flight instead. Either way, I had plenty of time and, as usual, was ready for yet another battle with the TSA. I got one!

The TDC, an older heavy-set woman, scrutinized my passport for a little longer than I thought was necessary, so I asked her, "Is it real?" She said that it was and that it was really important that she be sure about that. I said that it really didn't matter if my ID is real -- that what matters is whether I'm carrying any weapons, explosives or incendiaries (the "WEI" that TSA is supposed to be looking for). She disagreed, saying that it's critically important for TSA to be sure of my identity and that, until she was satisfied, I wasn't going anywhere. I laughed at her and said that ID doesn't matter and she's wasting her time. Off to the usual good start!

Well, when I got to the front of the x-ray line, this woman walked over (which she could do because there was another TDC working there) and whispered something to the guy helping shepherd bags into the machine. He, in turn, whispered something to the guy looking at the x-ray monitor. I knew what was coming -- and, of course, I was right: "Bag check." Then, "Is this your bag?" Yes, it was my computer bag, full of all kinds of cords, papers, pens and other small items, even quarters (which I carry for tolls). All of it was just loose in the bag, basically. Never had a problem getting through the x-ray before, but this time I was targeted, obviously. You'll see.

A guy said, "I have to check your bag. Follow me." He carried my bag to a nearby table, and I followed with everything else (not much, really). He unzipped every possible pocket in the bag (lots of them!), then turned it upside-down on the table so that many of my things fell out! Then he started swabbing madly, even a bag of pistachio nuts that he scrutinized for quite a while, until I asked him if he knew what they were. His response, "Do you know what they are? Should I be concerned about them?" Uh-huh. I wasn't losing my cool yet, so he took out all of the papers from my bag (which hadn't fallen out already!) and started reading them, one by one. This was finally too much for me, and I demanded that he stop and call a supervisor. Now the story gets good.

Two supervisors quickly arrived, a woman named Venecia (I think I spelled it right, but this becomes important later) and a nameless man who seemed pretty much asleep at the switch. Venecia got all in my face from the get-go, asking why I wouldn't let the man screen my bag. I said that the TSA's mission of looking for WEI did not include reading my papers. She said that they had "discretion" to look at "anything" they liked, and that I "gave them that right" the moment I passed the TDC. Of course, that's mostly nonsense, and I said so. In my conversation with her, I called her by her name, pronouncing it "Ven-EE-shia." She had a major meltdown at that and said, "My name is "Ven-eh-shia." Then she made clear her unhappiness by calling me "Bruce-ey." Nice! I objected to that, of course, and on we went.

We continued. I told her that not only was the TSA not permitted to "read" my papers, but "that foolish man" turned my bag upside-down and dumped a lot of my stuff out. At that point, Venecia went ballistic and nearly screamed at me, "You cannot call that man names; you will apologize to him or you won't get past this point; you won't be going anywhere today until you apologize." Really? I demanded a screening manager. Venecia said that she is a supervisor. I said that I could see from her three stripes that she is a supervisor but that I needed to see the next level up, a screening manager -- and that, if she refused to call one, then I demanded a law-enforcement officer. She agreed to call a screening manager -- and noted that I don't need an LEO.

While we waited, the other supervisor, the sort-of-sleeping guy, asked for my boarding pass and ID. I said that they were in my bag, which I wasn't allowed to touch. So he walked over and rummaged through my things until he found my boarding pass. Then he proceeded to copy all sorts of information off of it. He did that out of my sight, but I could see him writing.

Finally, Rosemarie, the screening manager, arrived. She is a small, older woman, very pleasant. She introduced herself, and I explained what had been going on in the 20-30 minutes or so I had been there. She assured me that nobody was going to read my papers but they would flip the pages to be sure nothing was hidden inside them. She directed the "foolish man" to go someplace else and asked yet another supervisor (Jessica) to finish searching my bag.

Jessica removed everything from the bag -- and that's really quite a lot; the bag weights a ton -- and meticulously went through the items, swabbing madly. She even opened a small tin of breath mints! She carried the empty bag to the x-ray machine, asking if I wanted to go with her. I declined, preferring to stay with the bag's contents, rather than the empty bag. Finally, I was free to go. Rosemarie asked if I wanted to repack my bag or have Jessica do it. I chose Jessica.

While she repacked my bag -- badly, but she did it -- I told Rosemarie about Venecia's demand that I apologize to the "foolish man," or I wouldn't get past that point and wouldn't fly today. Rosemarie, who seemed pretty sensible start to finish, said that the TSA has no authority to make people apologize. She said that it probably wasn't a good idea to have called the man foolish and that some thoughts are best kept to oneself. I agreed but said that I have the right to believe he's foolish and can express that thought as long as I do it without profanity, without raising my voice and without disrupting the screening process for anyone else. She agreed. So I asked, "Can I go to my plane now, even though I did not apologize and have no intention of doing so?" She said yes. We said good-bye to each other. Never had a harsh word between us. She was very professional.

I went to the Red Carpet Club and changed my flight to 10 am, which I could still catch, then I walked to the gate. On the way, I passed the "foolish man," who was guarding an exit at that point. I walked up to him and observed that I was going to my flight even though I had not apologized and wasn't going to. He said, and I quote, "You're the man. You really got what you wanted today." I knew he was being sarcastic but decided to play along, agreeing that I'm really pretty cool and the fact that I didn't apologize is the coolest part. Unknown to me, Venecia was listening to this exchange from inside the TSA's little room along the corridor to the gates, and she burst out to glare at me. I decided that I really didn't have time to engage her once again, so I just glared back and walked to my gate.

I hope these clowns have trouble sleeping at night -- but, unfortunately, they probably sleep like babies.

Bruce

"you have no idea how to defend a nation. All you did was weaken a country today, "

:D

I believe we have heard of Venecia previously:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...ml#post7743806

If it's the same one, it seems as if she has let her one success in life go to her head.

The power trip some of these TSOs are on is just staggering.

Yet another disgusting story of the total monetary waste that is the TSA. :mad: Harass, inconvenience, humiliate, subjugate, & dominate appears to be their credo.

Interesting. I didn't remember her name, but I remembered the incident.

Bruce

<sigh> Terr:rolleyes:rism Supp:rolleyes:rt Agency indeed. It's hard to stomach the fact that not only do we pay for this with our taxes but also with per-ticket fees.

And if she is the same one, in 4 years she has not risen in rank in the TSA. I wonder why......

There certainly seems to be an element of class warfare going on. Nobody mentions it, but those traveling by air, at least those who fly fairly often, tend to be at a higher rung on the societal ladder than the screeners. Not that this makes the flyers any better humans, but on the flip side, resentments held by the screeners certainly come into play at times esp in the form of "payback" that OP got.

Human nature at its finest. Next time you go there, prepare to get groped roughly.

There's a fine line between asserting your rights when it's important, and waking the dragon or dragoness when you don't have to.

So obviously you're going to write in about the idiotic parts of this but you should right in about RoseMarie as she's the type of supervisors you want to keep running into when the idiotic people do their thing.

I certainly hope that I gave Rosemarie appropriate credit. She was really the sanest person in the room, myself included! :)

Bruce

I have met many female screeners and LTSOs at EWR, as well as a few managers. I must say that the majority of the females I have encountered at EWR over the past few years appear to have some sort of attitude issue. (And as a female I have most likely received patdowns more often from females at EWR than you - assuming of course from your name that you are male!) The times I have however asked for a manager I was actually pleased with the outcome.

I have no doubt that those screeners with attitude know that they are doing jobs that are basically pointless for little pay, and are likely resentful that the people they process are going places they themselves will never see.

I also have no doubt about that.

Bruce

"I am sorry.... you are a foolish man working for a foolish agency".. would have shown the proper amount of contrition.

This is, sadly, the least offensive of the explanations.

I have no doubt that at least a percentage of those screeners with attitude couldn't care less what their social position is - they work for the TSA because it offers them endless opportunities to show people their true colors.

"I apologize for offending you with the truth."