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Originally Posted by Denverbounding
(Post 20657999)
Since we were in a secure area having already passed through the screening to enter the gate area, would not it make more sense to pick people SITTING DOWN waiting for their flight rather than delay folks as they are trying to board?
The ID/BP checks are nothing more than make-work to justify bloated staffing and requests for more staffing. |
Originally Posted by Denverbounding
(Post 20657999)
So, there seems to be something about my wife that sets off travel alarms.
She is 50-something, blonde hair, blue eyes, a nordic last name (same as mine) and average height and weight. She nearly always seems to be pulled out at the check points and subjected to additional screening. She never complains, she complies and is on her way after five or so minutes. I think your last sentence above may be a greater factor than the physical characteristics. TSA is more likely to grab/harass people they think will comply and not complain. |
Originally Posted by Denverbounding
(Post 20657999)
So, there seems to be something about my wife that sets off travel alarms.
She is 50-something, blonde hair, blue eyes, a nordic last name (same as mine) and average height and weight. She nearly always seems to be pulled out at the check points and subjected to additional screening. She never complains, she complies and is on her way after five or so minutes. However, I was with her in Denver earlier this week and a single TSA agent was checking ID and boarding passes as you lined up to go down the jetway. He was grabbing people as they were two or three folks away from presenting their boarding pass to the gate agent. Well, she had boarding pass out of couse, but id was stashed away at the bottom of her purse -- took her three or four minutes, maybe a bit more to dig it out. My rant is that this held up boarding and caused a bit of fumbling -- she dropped the purse at one point. Since we were in a secure area having already passed through the screening to enter the gate area, would not it make more sense to pick people SITTING DOWN waiting for their flight rather than delay folks as they are trying to board? Just seems a bit odd. If they approached me as I was wasting time waiting for my flight to board, I almost would be grateful for the break in the routine, but to grab people who are trying to board, as the gate agents are growling away about delays..... |
Originally Posted by Maxwell Smart
(Post 20658092)
The ID/BP checks are nothing more than make-work to justify bloated staffing and requests for more staffing.
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Originally Posted by Maxwell Smart
(Post 20658102)
Are you implying that certain physical or ethnic characteristics, just not the above ones, SHOULD set off travel alarms? I hope not.
I think your last sentence above may be a greater factor than the physical characteristics. TSA is more likely to grab/harass people they think will comply and not complain. |
Originally Posted by Denverbounding
(Post 20657999)
.......
Since we were in a secure area having already passed through the screening to enter the gate area, would not it make more sense to pick people SITTING DOWN waiting for their flight rather than delay folks as they are trying to board? Just seems a bit odd. If they approached me as I was wasting time waiting for my flight to board, I almost would be grateful for the break in the routine, but to grab people who are trying to board, as the gate agents are growling away about delays..... Before boarding, one could always slip off to the restroom or newsstand and possibly avoid the check, at least temporarily. It gives your wife a chance to hide the contraband she might be carrying.;) |
Originally Posted by Maxwell Smart
(Post 20658102)
Are you implying that certain physical or ethnic characteristics, just not the above ones, SHOULD set off travel alarms? I hope not.
I think your last sentence above may be a greater factor than the physical characteristics. TSA is more likely to grab/harass people they think will comply and not complain. In other words, she's getting harassed, and it's not a case of Flying While Brown or Flying While Looking Furrin', or Flying While Looking Like A Muslim. However, based on his description, it may be a case of Flying While Hot, which is just as bad a case of "profiling" as FWB, just motivated by different emotions. |
As Willcad correctly noted :), I was trying to express that" her constant selection for enhanced screening cannot be blamed on perceived race... etal."
And, yes for 50-something, she is a bit "hot." Myself, while having a nordic last name, I actually look a bit Asian with dark complexion, guess the result of a Hispanic mom and a Swedish dad....anyway, back to point. Never thought about the "sneaking off to the restroom" as noted by other posters as a reason not to target other folks waiting for a flight, but you could still avoid getting into the boarding line altogether when you noted gate checks were taking place, so that theory is not too strong, either. |
Originally Posted by Denverbounding
(Post 20658854)
Never thought about the "sneaking off to the restroom" as noted by other posters as a reason not to target other folks waiting for a flight, but what you could still avoid getting into the boarding line altogether when you noted gate checks were taking place, so that theory is not too strong, either.
Think about it: checking people AGAIN who have already gone through the checkpoint means either:
TSA doesn't need to "get real" they need to "get lost!" |
Originally Posted by RadioGirl
(Post 20658889)
You're missing the point made by Maxwell Smart in his first reply: none of this, whether done while you're waiting or while you're in the boarding line, actually adds to security. TSA doesn't need to "get real" they need to "get lost!"
The guy who was checking at the gate was older, maybe 60-ish, and extremely nice. It seemed to me that -- and this is a WAG -- that he wished he could tell my wife not to bother digging out her ID. But, again, the point being...what is the point. If they want to check inside the secure area, fine. Check people sitting down. The argument that people could run and hide is moot. We were in boarding group 3. He starting checking boarding group 1. We could have run and hid long before our group was called -- but -- of course -- we had nothing to hide. Sorry, have to say this, but I sort of feel sorry for the TSA guy. The more I think about it and the more I remember his face, I really think he felt like an idiot doing the check. But, hey, a job in this economy... |
Originally Posted by Denverbounding
(Post 20659224)
......
But, hey, a job in this economy... |
Originally Posted by InkUnderNails
(Post 20659373)
I live in a rural area with lots of farms, even chicken farms. There are lots of jobs I will take before becoming a member of the TSA, no matter the pay or benefits.
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Originally Posted by Boggie Dog
(Post 20659392)
I would stand on a corner panhandling before stooping to TSA employment. In fact if TSA was the best I could do I might just eat a bullet.
You're looking at it the wrong way. If forced to consider TSA employment you should embrace it completely. Become the best TSA officer possible. In terms of getting the whole thing shut down. Become the cliche, short of stealing stuff or humiliating people. Confiscate cupcakes. Swab pets for nitrates. Have long and involved conversations with passengers that opt out. Assemble groups of twenty plus and go for slow walks around the terminal. Get some of them to ride mobility scooters if possible. Shut down terminals occasionally for hand cream or toothpaste. Blog about it. Post the inane training they endure. Post about the amazing foreign-born contractors they use who try their best to correct the organizational problems and move the org towards being a real security organization but are defeated at every turn by the TSA structure itself and that have resigned themselves to simply collecting their six figure annual fee and ride the gravy train while they can. :D |
Originally Posted by SeriouslyLost
(Post 20660760)
You're looking at it the wrong way.
If forced to consider TSA employment you should embrace it completely. Become the best TSA officer possible. In terms of getting the whole thing shut down. Become the cliche, short of stealing stuff or humiliating people. Confiscate cupcakes. Swab pets for nitrates. Have long and involved conversations with passengers that opt out. Assemble groups of twenty plus and go for slow walks around the terminal. Get some of them to ride mobility scooters if possible. Shut down terminals occasionally for hand cream or toothpaste. Blog about it. Post the inane training they endure. Post about the amazing foreign-born contractors they use who try their best to correct the organizational problems and move the org towards being a real security organization but are defeated at every turn by the TSA structure itself and that have resigned themselves to simply collecting their six figure annual fee and ride the gravy train while they can. :D |
Originally Posted by SeriouslyLost
(Post 20660760)
You're looking at it the wrong way.
If forced to consider TSA employment you should embrace it completely. Become the best TSA officer possible. In terms of getting the whole thing shut down. Become the cliche, short of stealing stuff or humiliating people. Confiscate cupcakes. Swab pets for nitrates. Have long and involved conversations with passengers that opt out. Assemble groups of twenty plus and go for slow walks around the terminal. Get some of them to ride mobility scooters if possible. Shut down terminals occasionally for hand cream or toothpaste. Blog about it. Post the inane training they endure. Post about the amazing foreign-born contractors they use who try their best to correct the organizational problems and move the org towards being a real security organization but are defeated at every turn by the TSA structure itself and that have resigned themselves to simply collecting their six figure annual fee and ride the gravy train while they can. :D As for me, I'd scrub toilets first. With my fingernails. ~~ Irish |
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