One time I refused to say my name publicly , but then leaned over to the TDC and said softly but I will whisper it in your ear. That got me a 5 minute penalty and a chat with a three stripper as I made the TDC uncomfortable :D.

Normally, I just say my name but with out the constant after each vowel. They just want you to say something. So Ralph Smith becomes Raph Smih. Say it fast enough and the TDC passes it for good enough.

What is harder is when they say your name. I typically hand them my BP and PP and then stare off looking for which line I will get in. If they say my name I try not react and wait until they hand me my documents back.

Lame questions I can live with. "Hot enough for you?" "I see you have a Coleman backpack. Do you like them?" "You are from Kentucky. Do you drink Bourbon?" "Have you been to the Derby?"

The last two I have gotten and I consider them innocuous. If all they are looking for is a reaction, that kind works good enough and I will play their game.

When it becomes a PIPI and they want to know where I am going, what I will be doing, where I will stay or other personal travel and business questions, then I object.

I would say, "What do you care? Why are you asking me these personal questions? What in the world does my past, present or future attendance at the Kentucky Derby have to do with my flying today?"

Bruce

A two word response... (if I was semi-prepared for it, and chose not to ignore them):Based on where I have lived, I wonder if I can expect questions like: I'm sure I can add a few more stereotypes for the places I've lived... :)

Bruce, you may be right. Questions slightly restated to make them better, but you are a still free to disagree:

"Hot enough for you?"

"I see you have a Coleman backpack. I've been looking for a backpack. Do you like them?"

"You are from Kentucky. I like the Knob Creek from there. Do you have a favorite Bourbon?"

"I have always wanted to go to the Derby. If you have gone, is it easy to get tickets?"

I contend that there is a level of questioning that is less offensive than others. I also agree that they should not be asking any questions.

The PIPI is out of bounds in my view.

OT but once my wife and I were flying and her sister and two little girls. We all met up in ATL from connecting flights. It was a last minute flight and no one was seated together. As my wife and I got to the gate before them I ask the GA to do some seat shuffling so that an adult was sitting with the girls. In the end I had all of the boarding passes. As we board the other GA who was a male commented on how lucky I was to be traveling with all these fine ladies. Without missing a beat I said "Yeah I am from Utah and these are my sister wives" to which my wife and her sister looked at each and said yes we are sisters and wives. The look on the GA's face was priceless as he was in complete disbelief.

I recall (but don't have a link to) a report out of BOS of a passenger being asked by TSA if they "liked Boston," answering no, and receiving additional/retaliatory screening as a result of that answer which apparently insulted the local. Questions that are innocuous coming from a stranger on the street can not be assumed to be so when coming from someone with authority, arrest, and detention powers (law enforcement) or someone who thinks they have these powers (TSA).

You're right. Even I wouldn't object to this sort of conversation.

Bruce

The most we have gotten is just reading off the names of each person and visually scanning our family to try to mathc names to bodies. That doesn't bother me. No other questions from the TSA. Questions from Immigration were more challenging up unitl the last year or so. My youngest, who just turned 10, is painfully shy, as in WOULD NOT talk to strangers. She would nod her head when asked "Are you VickiSoCalJr?". and that was it. She didn't talk to most of her teachers, doctors, coaches, Girl Scout Leaders, etc. until she'd known them for years, so some stranger in a uniform at an airport wasn't going to get anything from her! We were always worried that she would be questioned further by someone who wouldn't take nods and head shakes but she never was.

In all the times I've entered the US or any other country, no official has ever asked me to say my name out loud. Is the TSA using a clever technique that the immigration officials in all these countries are missing?

For the most part, I agree. The apparent nature of the questions seems to be much less confrontational, and more of a personal inquiry from the person asking. As long as they don't ask too many questions of one passenger, space out their questions amongst passengers, and didn't repeat the same questions to the same passenger on multiple trips; I don't think most people would even realize what was happening. Especially if the person asking feigns a "oh, I better let you go as we're holding up the line..." type statement to end the questioning. You're still going to offend some people, but my guess is it would be a lot less than now and would likely improve the overall perceptions of the general flying public.

I answered all there questions in boston and they were NOT happy!

Where are you going? - Gate A7
After that? - ORD
How long have you been in Boston? - 45 minutes

Got escorted to front of line for a more intimate interview.

They asked 10 times why I wouldn't answer they're question, to which my answer was I did.

Can you expand on the "more intimate interview"?

The TSOs get no more information than what is printed on the boarding pass. Simple as that.

On at least one occasion, I said, "I'm exercising my right to remain silent." I wouldn't say anything else. They let me go before too long.

Bruce

earned me a retaliatory, 25 minute SSSS search at AUS.