It must really pain you to learn that no such citizenship requirement exists to join the US military or to fly a commercial jet for a major airline (or lots of other occupations more relevant to our security than searching thru dirty underwear for pocketknives and scissors).

What makes people demand that the person with the most menial job at the airport (searching endlessly for things that almost never appear) be a US citizen?? How will that improve anything? Can anyone articulate why citizenship is suddenly so fundamental to such a pointless job?

pderby, agreed.

Would just requiring everyone to have a passport for airtravel work?

*Nearly everyone already has one

*we wouldn't have an extra i.d. to fatten our wallets or extra charges for new i.d.s to fatten the gov'ts

*foreigners need one anyway and it would now be checked during domestic US airtravel

*and finally I have Photoshop, and it would be difficult to duplicate a passport with it

These jobs shouldn't be menial. Personally, I would like to see the caliber of people hired for these positions the same as US Customs Inspectors with similar training only focused at terrorism. US Citizens would be protecting their own country, not just filling a meanial job earning menial pay. Personally, I would prefer our army be one of citizens, too.

The way the entire security process is now handled has to be revamped. Check out the article on how the United Kingdom does security at Heathrow in this month's Conde Nast Traveler Magazine. It is a good model for us to adopt and improve upon.

Personally, I think your experince would make for a good newspaper article. If you really want to raise a big stink about it, I'm sure the media would love that story.

Wow --

I would have stayed there until they carted away the screener in handcuffs. Just as an FYI, I'm another guy who unloads everything from my pockets. I put everything into my briefcase and spin one of the locks before it goes through the X-ray. That way, when I'm 100% randomly selected, the goons have to wait until the wanding harassment is over before they can look inside my briefcase.

I really torqued off gate screeners at Denver recently when I made them wait until after the "personal" search before they searched my briefcase and laptop. I made them turn the briefcase 90 degrees on the table so I could watch what they were doing inside. When it was all over, right in front of them, I pulled my wallet out of my briefcase and counted my cash and credit cards right in front of them. One of them said to the other loud enough for me to hear, "Gee, you'd think he thought we were trying to steal something." I figured I won this little mind game.

Unfortunately, your situation was far more serious. Nonetheless, all of us have to make the point that we're not going to take any fertilizer from these people.

Hang in there.

"If they outlaw nail clippers, then only outlaws will have nail clippers."

I thought about trying to get this in the papers, but I'm afraid I let the window slip. It has been over a week now.

Upon my return from MSN, I saw quite a few people (many of them elderly) do the same thing I did. I regret I didn't take the opportunity to educate other flyers by making this public. Heck, I don't even know if this screener got fired or arrested.

WMH

Enh, attempted wallet snatchings aren't really so much "news."

But you educated some people here, right?

You mentioned
"Free us"

Were you detained?

On my return flight from MIA last Saturday, the two gals giving me a 'light' once over at the gate, were speaking in a language, that I couldn't recognize. They were more interested in looking at each other as they spoke, then looking in my carryon. I would bet money, that the discussion was about their social calenders, rather then about my baggage!

Similar situation at ORD Saturday. Mr. D (the XX GSC on duty at the time) says a lady walked through, having put her watch in a bowl to go through the mag (mistake, Will Robinson). Lady beeps, goes through the strip search.
Watch is missing.
Mr. D and the CSS start looking for the watch. Nothing to be found.
Asks the screener if she saw it--"yeah, it was sitting here a minute ago".
Mr D gets the idea to look at the tape--thinking another passenger may have
accidentally taken it. Finally pull up the scene. There's the lady putting her bowl on the x-ray....there's the bowl coming out...there's the screener putting the bowl on top of the x-ray...and there's the watch going in the very same screener's pocket. (The same screener that said she had seen
the watch sitting there).

Screener pulled aside...talks to CSS...leaves...CSM comes back 5 minutes
later. Throws the screener's badge on the desk at the checkpoint and says,
"How stupid could she be".
(IF she read this and knew what the CSM said about her - she'd probably sue him for defamation of character - if she had one.)

If you want decent security workers, give them a decent wage. I would be willing to have another 40 bucks tagged on to my fare for good security. These people make the same as a person who works in a grocery store. The longer you work there, the more you will make, but it's still not a lot. Rollover is common. The people in DTW that I have seen forever (some I am very chummy with) are usually the good workers. These people are usually retired, or in some similar situation where the money that they make is not the primary motivation for the job (at least the ones that I know).

Yes, I realize that you can make some tall coin at a grocery store, and have fabulous benefits...but they are management.

Quit yer *****in' and watch yer belongings.

Another Forty Bucks for a ticket for more expensive security?? Be my guest.

You're joking, right?

Why stop at $40? Why not make it an even $100 per ticket?? Or $1,000??

Wonder how many carriers would go under if your proposal was enacted. My recent $184 RT ticket contained over $55 in various taxes and security fees.

Don't care how much you pay people to do the most menial job at the airport - the job will still suck. Look at the Postal Service if you need an example. High pay and lots of dissatisfied workers, cause sorting and delivering mail sucks (but not as much as sorting through dirty underwear at the airport). And mail carriers never steal mail.

The NW flight attendant has gotta be kidding me.

Sounds like she's blaming ME for some slimeball STEALING MY WALLET.

Wow.

WMH

It's called "blame the victim" (happens in other areas as well).

That's not what I meant. If you're looking for a confrontation, look elsewhere.