bdschobel

This afternoon, I flew from DCA to LGA. I got to the airport plenty early, and the number of passengers was very small (late Saturday afternoon). So, I checked in at a kiosk and proceeded to the security checkpoint in my usual way: all metal in my carry-on bag, shoes on the belt, etc. I'm alone.

The TSA guy asked if I had removed my laptop from my bag. Well, I don't have a laptop, so I just ignored him. Then he asked if I had removed all the metal from my pockets. Again, I knew I had, but he would see for himself soon enough when I walked through the magnetometer. So I remained silent.

After my bags entered the gaping maw of the x-ray machine, I walked through the magnetometer. Not a peep, of course. So, I headed to pick up my bags.

Not so fast! The TSA guy steps in front of me and says, "Please step over here for additional screening." I protest that the machine didn't beep. He agrees but says (yes, these are his exact words), "You are acting suspicious by not answering my questions. We need to examine you more closely." I ask for a supervisor, but it does no good. (The supervisor is dumber than the first guy.)

So I get wanded, uncooperatively, of course. They call a cop who says that they are only doing this for my safety. I tell him that's baloney, and he gets all pushy like cops occasionally do. I remind him that this is America, where we still can speak freely. Keep in mind, I'm the ONLY traveler there. I'm not holding up anybody!!!

Cop's final words to me are, "You better go get on your plane before I decide to call someone who will make you drive." Oooh, I'm so scared! The terrorists have clearly won.

Bruce

richard

Distressing

ACES II

Now why is it that you could not be civil to someone who was trying to help you get through the metal detector without setting it off? By not answering at all, you were suspicious. Common decency dictates that we acknowledge our fellow men (and women). I am not saying that the TSA guy was right, but you were not a stellar example either. Like a good king once said...."Can't we all just get along?"

bdschobel

I simply ignored him. I was not rude in any way. For all he knew, I could have been deaf.

Bruce

1K wannabe

Common decency may dictate that we answer our fellow man or woman, but failure to do so does not usually come with the consequences of wanding, feeling up and threats to disallow one's chosen method of transport!

Just Passing Thru

And why must you assume that anyone who does not reply isn't being civil? I have had the same experience as Bruce, with one difference. I'm a disabled veteran with a hearing loss. If you speak to me on my deaf side, particularly when there's a lot of background noise, I simply won't hear you.

Result -- TSA person thinks he's getting ignored. Unintended consequence -- unwarranted selection of disabled veteran for secondary "insurance" screening.

Horsesh*t. By not answering at all, I'd be partly deaf. I suppose we are now protecting airliners from the dangerous disabled people who might try to bring them down.

Further, what of a non-English speaker? What do you expect them to do? Make something up? Or just make an assumption? After all, that's what you're suggesting the TSA do.

And the Americans With Disabilities Act dictates that government and business (this would include the TSA) make "reasonable accommodation" for disabled individuals. Since I have a government-rated disability, I am covered by the ADA, which requires the TSA to make that reasonable accommodation for me. However, on those occasions when I identify myself as hearing-impaired (because of large amounts of background noise and the likelihood that I won't hear what the agents are saying to me), I still get the secondary screening. This is a blatant violation of the ADA, and apparently okay with our government.

You're stuck on "courtesy," and not quite so attentive to "law."

<furious> Geez. Sorry I'm partly deaf. It wasn't exactly my idea. I'll try harder not to become disabled next time. </furious>




[This message has been edited by Just Passing Thru (edited 03-16-2003).]

tazi

------------------
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety." -- Ben Franklin

ACES II

However, what you are missing is that he INTENTIONALLY ignored the guy. He went out of his way to be uncooperative. Now why is THAT not wrong? You guys jump to the defense of everything that you "percieve" to be wrong without reading exactly what was posted. I have seen deaf people going through the checkpoints along with me, they always go out of their way to let the screeners know they are deaf. Thats the difference. As for being a disabled veteran, I joined that club too due to injuries received serving in the middle east, so don't preach to me about some hearing loss, which I also have. Going out of your way to be uncooperative is only going to result in treatment that is less that pleasant. That holds true in every activity, not just at an airport checkpoint.

tsadude

Obviously when the screener spoke to Bruce and he responded, there was not a hearing impairment nor a language barrior. A simple nod or thumbs up would have been sufficient and prevented the whole thing. Isn't screening by the way one acts is what some of you suggested?

CameraGuy

UNCOOPERATIVE!!!!????

This head case get's his panties in an uproar because Bruce has better things to do than play his stupid little game and Bruce is being UNCOOPERATIVE?

You need to get a grip on reality. These Head Cases have got to go. This is shear and utter BS.

Bruce,

I hope you got the name of this head case and the supervisor. You need to contact the FSD at this airport and report this. These head cases who abuse their power MUST go.

ACES II

Yes, by all means report the guy. But be honest and tell it like it happened, make sure to tell how you were uncooperative, to the point of a police officer getting involved. I bet the screener gets a letter of commendation for his actions.

bdschobel

Unfortunately, no.

Bruce

tsadude

Hearing loss is not as obvious as some of our brethern who cannot walk or have lost limbs. Former military members with prostetics come through all the time and do not mind having their devices checked. I am a disabled vet also and may not be able to stay in this job because of the physical requirements but you do not hear me whine about it. Get real and be thankful for what didn't happen to you.

richard

I agree with Bruce and also Aces.

I realized a while ago that the TSA is like the weather. There is really nothing we can do about it, just like we can't stop the rain outside. So by resisting it we are only hurting ourselves. I can resist the rain but the rain doesn't care. Or I can accept the rain and it doesn't seem so bad. (I loved the snow this winter even though most people hated it.)

I realized: why not make it easy on myself by conducting myself as pleasently as possible? I want to accept things as they are and love things as they are rather than some imaginary resistance that only hurts me.

I did what Bruce did a while ago and then I resolved to stop, to look at people straight in the eye and see them as real people. As soon as I started doing that, things went better for me at the checkpoints.

I still don't volunteer anything and I might be rather quiet like Bruce was. I don't like being barked at and I really hate the whole idea. But the checkpoints have gone much better somehow since I changed my approach.

That's why I agree with ACES. I agree with Bruce because I would not like to go through that simply because I chose to remain silent and I believe in the right to travel. Nobody should be able to insist I interact with the police and the feds just because I excercise my right to do so.

StarGoldmember

Last month, I was in a small airport, in a small country. I didn't speak the language, and the two staffers at the security checkpoint probably didn't speak much English either. I nodded upon approaching the security checkpoint, placed my carry-on into the onto the belt, and (leaving my jacket on thank you very much) walked through the metal detector. Of course, being used to these contraptions, the second screener heard not a peep from the machine. I got my bag, and left, without saying a word. I was not suspicious to these screeners, because my person and my baggage did not appear to contain any prohibited items. And really, that's all they're looking for.

Now, in the United States, you have this interesting new development, in which many TSA workers have taken it upon themselves to expand their mission. Not only is the security post a (first) checkpoint for contraband - it's now a mini-immigration post.

Anyone who has tried to enter most foreign countries is used to the routine. Comb your hair. Wear a nice shirt. Look showered. Look semi-wealthy. Look innocent. Present your passport. Hope for the best. Because the immigration officer has the veto power to deny entry to his/her country. This routine of "looking-the part" was, until recently, restricted to entering foreign countries. Not a requirement for getting on an aircraft in your homeland.

Unfortunately, recent incidents have left the TSA with a somewhat bloated head (and I mean this in the collective sense - not against specific screeners). No more is the mission to simply examine (physically) baggage and passengers. TSA screeners must now be motive-guessing machines. TSA screeners must now profile passengers by attempting to judge their right to be on an airplane in the firstplace. I might be able to remain silent in country X, but in country USA, I no longer have the right to remain silent. Or unfriendly, for that matter.

This means that I've been treating TSA workers a lot more like Russian immigration officers. I smile. I gladly offer my bagage for screening. Secondary screening even! When they ask me to remove my shoes I say, "No thank you, these shoes are actually airport friendly!" I gladly answer the TSA screener who asks if I have a laptop in my bag, even though the other screener behind him just asked me the same thing. It's this redundancy which keeps our skies free of the evil-doers. And I always pause before walking through the metal detector. That friendly TSA screener has to finish eyeing that cute 20-something in Line C before he can notice that I'm gladly waiting to get through and board my flight. But that's okay.

I never used my pocketknife when I traveled anyway.

SGM