Messing with the TSA at IAH terminal E!
 

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?" :confused:

"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! :rolleyes:

At least it did not turn out as bad as messing with Sasquatch.

Messing with the TSA at IAH terminal E!
 

I would be careful messing with them. They do have the right to make you go to a private room and strip-search you, although u can always turn around and go home.

They claim that they have the right to demand it.

Brav:p!!!

And best of luck to them if they insist that the screening be done privately. A colleague of mine once got into it with a TSO who told him he'd been flagged for random, post-WBI screening, and he would need to accompany the screener to a private room. My colleague told the screener he would submit to any and all screening, but anything that had to be done to him would be done in the screening area, outside of a private room.

The screener didn't like that and called over a supervisor, who promptly called over a LEO as well. The supervisor told the LEO that my colleague was refusing to submit to screening, and my colleague told the LEO that he was willing to undergo any TSA screening required to deem him safe for travel, but he would not be taken into a private room by the TSA.

The LEO more or less told the three-striper that my colleague was, in his opinion, cooperating fully, and the supervisor would have to decide whether to search him there or send him home, but not to expect any help from the LEO with the latter option.

These stories warm my heart.

funny. reminds me of my Costco experience where I marked my own receipt with a highlighter before I reached the receipt checkers at the exit (whose job it is to mark receipts with a highlighter).

What I learned is that it's really easy to confuse people who have a low IQ.

There is messing with them and there is messing with them. Our OP did what he was told and answered the questions accurately. It's not his fault that his shoe size exceeded the IQ of the clerk. This type of messing is rewarded with "time based" retaliation. The simple defense of arriving early makes this almost a fun game.

On the other hand, interfering with the process, committing fraud, lying, insulting, threatening will get you the "LEO based" retaliation. This is never fun.

I highly encourage the former; discourage that latter.

YMMV :D

Miracles do happen every once in a while. It's truly sad that this is the exception rather than the norm.

Just imagine a tourist and/or limited speaking person.

That could turn out really bad.

I hate flying.

I enjoy doing that. I had one time where the TSO was being difficult with my rifle case. He got very superior and asked how long until my flight. I responded with "I have four hours. I have plenty of time to dance." He then went and got a TSM so that my issue could be resolved.

I have taken to printing multiple boarding passes - even at the kiosk - and just throwing the marked one in the trash as soon as it's scribbled on. As far as I'm concerned, it's not my job to be their mule and carry secret messages through the checkpoint.

My guess is that eventually there will be quite a kerfuffle when some lowly TSO decides that he doesn't like my "policy" of doing this, but in return I'd really like to see their "policy" that says you have to carry the same BP all the way through security. I guess this new "policy" is the beginning of that game.

Be aware: I've seen a TSO go ballistic during a gate check because a passenger had changed seats, printed a new boarding pass, and thrown the old one with the magic scribbles away.

You forgot the :rolleyes:

I've seen dozens of clerks lose their mind because the sun came up. It's like idiot lightning. Sometimes you just have to hope that you don't get struck by stupid.