Get groped at MCO....
 

Running late for a flight on AA tonight...no line at the AA FC counter=good sign...no line at security to the AA gates=bad sign. Of course I'm selected for "random screening"....blaw, blaw, blaw...wand, wand wand..."fold your belt down" I do my usual insertion of thumb between belly and belt buckle..

"May I please pat you here?" pointing to my nether regions <<Note...rent-a-groper spoke very broken English so not sure if rest of this actually registered anything other than "blaw blaw blaw"...

I said..."NO...YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO TOUCH US THERE" "Please may I pat you here" Again indicating the <I blush> pubic area.
Me..."No, YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO TOUCH US THERE...YOU MAY WAND THERE."

"Please, may I pat you here"...hello, did my last comment not register...

"Supervisor!"

OH GOD...me seeing myself tackled by three GI Joes intent on patting my nether regions.

Female supervisor..."He is asking if he can pat you there."

"No, you are not allowed to touch us there."

"He is asking if he can pat you there."

<<I see this conversation going no where, clock is ticking>>

Do what you must to get me on plane but I'm taking names <<OMG...did these words actually come out of my mouth...yes, see me writing Javiar or whoever's name on my ticket jacket along with Theresita, the supervisor, like I'm some bigwig.>>

Three other rent-a-gropers gather around to watch this indignity take place.

See me on my way...proceed directly to gate...time passage to ticket taker with gate rent-a-groper fondling some other victim...immediately order G&T from wonderful former TWA FA who is kissing her 29 years of seniority good bye...but that is another thread.


DO WE NOT HAVE ANY RIGHTS?...Must we submit to these outlandish scrutiny feel-ups with no recourse?

And if one infrequent flyer responds to this with "OH, I don't mind at all the 3 hour waits and the extra security" I hope you get the full body cavity search next time you fly...there's your extra security!

Did I mention the free bottle of champagne I got from MCO to STL...I feel so much calmer now...

But D***'it, I may still write a letter!...I took names afterall!!!!

Ouch! Sorry to hear about such a negative experience, especially at my "home" airport!

I share your sentiment, and strongly encourage you to follow up. Maybe someone will review the policies and procedures followed by these goons, and put a stop to this nonsense. Good Luck!

This is plain and simple class warfare. Some -- not all -- of these rent-a-gropers have waited all their lives to abuse the generally more successful population of air travelers. The more successful you look, the more they want to abuse you. Making matters worse, many of them know that their days are numbered because they won't qualify to be screeners under the new law (must be a U.S. citizen, clean record, etc.). So they take their best and often last shot at getting revenge.

I continue to wonder how long the Anmerican sheeple will put up with this nonsense. I suspect that the ranks of those who "welcome" the new "security" measures must be shrinking all the time.

Bruce

I am happy to see someone finally say what I have too frequently noted. The sooner the transition the better because these goons are consistently taking advantage of the little time left them. Well-to-do women travelers, usually on business have been the most consistently searched (and abused) in my experience.

Isn't it funny, that you can still get champagne for getting gropped, only now it's legitimate?

I think the class warfare comment is probably closer to target here then not.

By all means, write the letter. Better yet, be sure to copy it in to the Orlando Sentinal as well! Maybe the paper will pick up on the potential it has to greatly disrupt your biggest industry!

I'm glad to see that there are a few of us who are willing to risk being labeled as "insensitive" by pointing out the obvious "class warfare" angle. Will it get better when the current security is replaced by Feds? Probably not. Once even the slightest possibility of being fired is removed, you'll have post office-style service at the airport! Oh boy!

I bought a mileage run ticket to MDW back before 9/11. Neither Mrs Duxfan nor I need to make this trip anymore, as she has her silver for next year, and I made platinum already. I bought these tickets on NW, routing CLE-DTW-MDW. I am dreading making this trip because of the "random" searches. I can hardly wait to get a steaming heap of attitude in DTW....

What you experienced is trumatic; I would not want anyone to go thru' this. In this politically correct world, I wonder what these rented goons will do or supposed to do if a woman wearing a 'burkha' shows up and will not let her see even much less than touch her;

We don't have to pretend anymore that we live in a free country guys. We don't.

Good luck on getting those policies reviewed or read back to you.

Don't want to sound inflammatory but I seriously wonder about our sense of false security we are buying with higher prices, bail outs etc., It seems like it is worth it only if it makes you feel better (but not actually do anything to improve the security). Am I the minority here?

Thanks.


[QUOTE]Originally posted by mwp2paris:
[B]Running late for a flight on AA tonight...no line at the AA FC counter=good sign...no line at security to the AA gates=bad sign. Of course I'm selected for "random screening"....blaw, blaw, blaw...wand, wand wand..."fold your belt down" I do my usual insertion of thumb between belly and belt buckle..

"May I please pat you here?" pointing to my nether regions <<Note...rent-a-groper spoke very broken English so not sure if rest of this actually registered anything other than "blaw blaw blaw"...

I said..."NO...YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO TOUCH US THERE" "Please may I pat you here" Again indicating the <I blush> pubic area.
Me..."No, YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO TOUCH US THERE...YOU MAY WAND THERE."

I would definitely write and complain to the FAA and the airline that you flew. In addition, you should write to your Congressional reps -- all three of them. And a letter to some newspapers may not be a bad thing either.

The thugs doing security now will be gone soon and they're just getting their kicks now. Very few of them will be able to compete with the kinds of people who will apply for $35K a year jobs in an enconomic downturn.

Last time I checked, security was the responsibility of the airline (until Uncle Sam screws it up.

I smell a class action suit here somewhere!

Yeah, so what? When the thug gets on the witness stand and says, "I had to strip that woman naked because she made my wand beep," how are you going to respond? The security people clearly are going to win, especially these days, and they know it. So do I! Unfortunately, that's one reason travel has become so unpleasant since 9/11.

Bruce

Very easily. I would make the thug in question look like the thug he is. I would say, well, isn't there a more dignified way to handle the situation? No? You could have taken that person behind a screen, correct? You could have done this, that, and other, correct?

If it's a jury trial, who's going to be held in higher regard? A successful person who travels a lot for either work or pleasure?

Or a $7.00 an hour thug who probably can't speak English worth a ****?

Unfortunately, they get away with pretty much anything these days because it's for "SECURITY". What would happen if a passenger asked for a police officer and tried to file charges? Not a bad idea.

I'm just glad I'm ugly and nobody with 2 senses working (sight and smell) will want to grope me... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

They can do this and will continue because AMERICA says they can. If we want security, this will continue. Or we can get reasonable and back down a bit. America has to decide what she wants.

Personally, I think all of this is a waste of time. But it appears I am in a minority, or else we would not be spending millions of dollars for all these "security steps".

Frankly, despite the inconveniences and indinigites, I think we're getting worked up for nothing.

I think the borderline-retards and other dysfunctionals who have been hired by travesties like Argenbright are simply too fnckin' stoopid to realize that "Dey da man" now so as to exploit their empowerment to harass well-to-do or other travelers.

They're just in CYA mode themselves, going through the motions of staring at the computer screens, more engrossed by appearing to be intent than actually focusing any of their meager-as-it-is neuronal energy on registering what they're seeing before them.

Don't blame them. Blame the thugs at companies like Argenbright who hire, supposedly train, and supervise them.

That the United States has enemies who will seek all sorts of means of offense or retaliation is just a fact of life. The real enemies of the American people are the companies who have the fiduciary as well as civic responsibility to carry out their contracted responsibilities to offer protection and security, but don't.