cb1111

You don't think you are paying for the dentist's stickers?

CavePearl

It makes me ill.

But... OP they haven't "won" yet.
Not yet.
I'm not willing to give up.

PhoenixRev

Here's a thought: DON'T. TOUCH. MY. CHILD. WITHOUT. MY. PERMISSION.

Devil or not, no TSA employee should ever randomly touch a child without the consent of the parent or guardian.

Perhaps, someday, you will understand the concept of "body integrity."

onlyairfare

I'm a family doctor who often treats children, but only with permission of the parent/guardian, who is right there saying it is OK. I try to obtain the child's "assent" - their agreement that it is OK to listen to their heart with my stethoscope, etc. If they are reluctant, it is still with parental permission and under parent's observation.

I try to instill in children the idea that it is not OK for others to touch them without parental presence and permission. Yes TSA is a slice of society, and society contains some perverts and pedophiles. It is the job of all who care for children to protect them from such predators, and part of that is the lesson that strangers do not touch them, or entice them with promises of stickers, candies or puppies.

This is not paranoia, it is recognition of reality.

Caradoc

There's a certain irony in calling people paranoid for weighing the risks and realizing that it is almost infinitely more likely that the TSA clerk is a thief, rapist, kidnapper, molester, or child porn purveyor than a passenger is a terrorist armed with WEI when the TSA's immediate assumption is that anyone who purchased a ticket to fly is an armed terrorist until proven otherwise.

bluenotesro

Touch my child without my permission (and only a doctor or family member has that permission) and somebody will be going to the hospital. If I go to jail, so be it. I guarantee the charges against me will be dropped.

And somebody's pain will just be starting.....

clrankin

Wouldn't that result in the arrest of at least one of the participants for statutory rape?

clrankin

You are far more reserved than I, and are probably a better person for it. Those exact words would have come out of my mouth while glaring at the TSA clerk.

They would have come out in a nice tone, so as not to upset the child, but they would have come out. (In this case the tone wouldn't matter, as the TSA clerk would have gotten the message loud and clear.)

cb1111

You know, going by your definitions of TSA employees here on the board and applying those same definitions to parents, that would mean that any parent who has changed a diaper is guilty of incest or (at the very least) sexual abuse of a minor.

I don't expect you to publicly agree with me - you won't because you are a fraid of the "forum backlash."

clrankin

The only constructive way to improve the TSA system is to abolish TSA. There is absolutely no reason why this nation couldn't go back to private screening companies to accomplish the very thing you support.

Consider:
1. We seldom heard of serious problems with private screening companies prior to 9/11. Maybe there was a bit of theft, but it did not run rampant as it has with TSA running the checkpoints. (Perhaps this is because TSA's hiring policies didn't post "good character" or "moral upbringing" as bullet points on their pizza box ads.)

2. When private screening companies ran the checkpoints, there was considerably more accountability. If something was done incorrectly, a screener could be retrained once and then given the boot if he/she didn't learn. If a screener violated various laws (theft, sexual battery, etc.) the screener was held accountable, fired, and possibly turned over to the authorities. At TSA, those who do these types of things are just "retrained" - perpetually.

3. Private screening companies realized their place in the security process. They accomplished what they needed to accomplish without being rude, mean, condescending, or otherwise snarky in their demeanor toward the traveling public. The screeners realized that their job required courtesy, respect, and professionalism - three things that have been sorely lacking in most of my encounters with TSA staff.

This agency is a laughing stock. They're a joke when it comes to security. The only things they excel at are annoying the public and trampling Constitutional rights. And part of the problem squarely rests on Pistole's shoulders for this. He never should have been put in charge of a civilian agency. He is a perfect example of how someone with a law enforcement background will let things run amok if not kept in check. Pistole is a nervous nellie failure of a man who sees terrorists plotting to kill him around every corner, and he's let his unfounded paranoia infect TSA and its employees much in the same way that black mold can infect and destroy someone's home.

The only resolution to this, of course, is to get rid of him. Fire Pistole. Replace him with someone who understands the necessity of regarding passengers' rights in the highest regard. Replace him with someone who isn't willing to kill freedom for the sake of saving it. Replace him with someone who's actually competent. And then throw him in the deepest, darkest hole and let him rot there until he is long forgotten. Pistole is a perfect example of why law enforcement personnel are not fit to be leaders in society.

Caradoc

There's no need to replace him if the TSA is abolished entirely.

chollie

Agree.

If the purpose of this activity is to 'win hearts and minds' and improve the TSA-pax inter-action, perhaps it cost less and be more effective to start by keeping hands out of my underwear.

That would save the price of the stickers and it would certainly improve TSA-pax interaction.

Don't want to take this to OMNI, but I wonder if those who think this is OK would approve of similar actions in other contexts.

IE, would you mind if someone came up smiling and put a Scientology sticker or a GLBT sticker or a 'Vote for xxx' (someone you are voting against) sticker on your child's chest?

Sorry, at the very least, the TSO has no business touching a child or handing a child something without prior parental approval.

These days, I feel that way about any stranger anywhere.

jkhuggins

The ends do not justify the means.

It depends on context.

At my local post office, one of my favorite postal workers who services the counter is quite happy to offer my kids lollipops. BUT --- and this is the key point --- he always asks my permission first, usually out of sight of the kids. He's exceedingly generous and friendly, but finds a way to exercise that friendliness without interfering with my authority as a parent.

As the story is related here, the well-meaning TSO put a sticker on this child without the parent's permission, and before the surprised parent had the chance to voice any objection. This is quite a different set of circumstances entirely.

This would assume that TSA is actually interested in engaging with the general public on ways of improving the system. The primary attitude I see projected from TSA, and its employees, is "we won't take your suggestions, because we know more than you do, but we won't explain why your suggestions are bad". That doesn't lead to an environment for constructive engagement.

Caradoc

Assuming a parent had also published child porn or plotted to make a 15-year-old girl his "sex slave", I might agree with you.

Look, I understand the need for TSA employees to defend their employer - they have nowhere else to go if the TSA is abolished - but to persistently claim that what the TSA does is "for the good of the country" or "security" in any form is pure stupidity.

What the TSA does is pure theater, designed to make sheeple think that their government is doing something to make them "safer," while granting free reins to a collective of people who can barely be trusted not to pee on the floor.

Caradoc

The local pet store won't even offer someone's dog one of their free biscuits without asking the dog's owner...