What's Your Tipping Point?
 

Of all the horror stories you have heard so far, what would be your last straw, "cuff me" moment?

Mine is "take off your pants/skirt/dress." Call the bailbondsman!

Hands in or under underwear/bra, plain and simple!

Theoretical: if I saw my wife or daughter pulled out of a line and selected / procured for the Nude-o-Scope, obviously for the prurient interest of the screeners, followed by an invasive patdown involving genital contact, I would show you what a tipping point looks like. I keep reading these accounts of terrified people being exposed, exploited and hand-raped this way by leering TSA bullies and I can't imagine controlling myself if it happened to people I care about. I would prevent it by all means necessary. I'd take my chances with a jury of fellow fathers and husbands.

Well, I refuse to be irradiated, but I'm still willing to fly at this point and see how the grope goes.

My wife is taking several trips next month, we'll see what she experiences, that may change my mind, but I'm more inclined to let them pat me down and then file a complaint afterwards... I'm not afraid of psychological scarring...

I think my tipping point would be is if I felt like the TSA feeler had a sexual or motive or experience in their touch. Right now I see them as low-wage earners just doing what they are told...

Employees do all kinds of bad or demeaning things to keep their jobs, and I hope they file sexual harrassment suits against TSA for being forced to do this, but in the meantime, I can understand why they don't want to be fired...

However, there is a difference between reluctantly doing their job and getting off on it. If I think they are having a good time, I will call them on it and make it an issue.

I would hate to think that I wouldn't travel all because some a-hole thinks it's a good idea to feel my privates, that's like hiding inside, and as humans we shouldn't let that happen, and as "americans", it should be against our nature...

If the British tried to do this to us in 1775, we'd have revolted over this, and time may pass, but it doesn't change, our government is abusing us right now, and we need to stand up to it, before it happens to us, while it happens to us, and after it happens to us...

Right now I don't have kids, if I had kids, I might stop flying though... they don't have the psychological skills to handle inappropriate touching.

Crazy, isn't it? We're all sitting here shell shocked at how quickly this all came about.

And in the end, our elected representatives refuse to do anything about it.

I don't think it's just coincidence that this is allegedly a response to the underwear bomber threat that somehow didn't get rolled out until it was too late for it to affect the elections.

I don't think filing a complaint is going to help. Remember that the TSA supports their own SOP. As far as they are concerned they can touch you anywhere they want. They are "anything for security" people. Quite a few would support cavity searches.

Instead, check your local laws, call over an LEO, and file a complaint with them for the genital touching if such actions are against the law in your state. If we could get one lucky conviction over that then this nonsense will be all over regardless of what politicians think about it. It would be an endrun around the political or judicial process.

I don't really think they are being forced to do it. I think a lot of them could get away with doing non-genital, less invasive patdowns without actually getting fired. If you had a job that required you to touch people's genitals in public would you be afraid of being fired? I think TSOs should be the subject of one of the dirty jobs episodes on the Discovery Channel.

My tipping point would be the point where a stranger at the airport touches my breasts or genitals. I have chosen not to fly since the new rules went into effect. I am not required to fly for work, I drive regionally, so I can choose not to fly.

I am a sexual assault survivor, and am honestly not sure how I would react if I were put in that situation. I also don't know how my husband might react to me breaking down in such a situation. (He's a biiig guy, too!)

If I felt that I would be subject to a huge fine and/or arrest, that might exacerbate the feeling of helplessness.

I would rather not take the chance of triggering something like this right now, and am really hoping that the TSA is abolished!

I have already reached my tipping point at the prospect of scope-or-grope.

The very worst personal abuse is the one you are required to participate in. (Thinking of "Submit or don't fly" here.)
(Might as well have said, "Resistance is futile." What an idiot!)
(Hasn't ANYONE at the TSA heard of customer relations?)
(Oh, wait: we're not customers. We're "fares.")

Pay money to be irradiated and/or genitally groped? HAH!

I'm done.

FF on Delta (gold as of now) and this is it for me. My time is my own so fly/train/car is at my discretion. I have Amtrak tickets for a Denver trip next summer. I also have a conference in San Diego a month later I plan on canceling (Amtrak is 4 days - too long for me) rather than submit to this insanity.

If the strip searches and sexual assaults are stopped, I will immediately begin flying again.

The real question to all this is why the Obama administration wants to kill off commercial flight? I know I'm not the only FF that has had it.

I think, until the TSA introduces 'scope-or-grope' to train stations, this could be the best thing to happen to Amtrak in a long time. But I am betting that within a year scope-or-grope will be present at major train and subway stations as well. The usual argument against Amtrak is that it often costs the same or less to fly. To those of us who refuse to be scoped or groped however flying may simply no longer be an option. It is like going back in time before commercial airline travel. Although I think we had nicer trains back then. I have no problem taking a 12-24 hour train trip in Asia or Europe, but US trains are horrible and ridiculously overpriced IMHO.

Same here. My time is not my own & sometimes I have done 4 flights in one day so I didnt have to stay overnight, but there is no way I am flying until they dial it down EVERY day, not just Opt Out Day.

The NoS's were turned off & guess effing what????? NO PLANES BLEW UP!!!! I can't believe someone in power hasn't pointed that out to Pissy & Nappy & asked them to cease & desist. It's not our fault they wasted all that money on the NoS's. I am not flying again either until the insanity stops. Sorry, Delta. But figure it out already.

Killing off commercial flight is an unintended consequence of thoughtless, brutalist, contemptuous policymaking. They didn't foresee this. They didn't have enough respect for the American people to foresee this.

I think you may be on to something there...

Same for me. I am simply not flying anymore. I had 10 straight years of top tier status (Platinum: NW / CO). Travel is not required now for work. This TSA crap has just gotten worse each year. My last flight was in February, 2010. When something is done to disband the TSA or severely curtail the illegal actions by these criminals, I may return to air travel.

My tipping point was getting groped at IND 3 weeks ago and seeing an elderly man behind me get barked at and groped as well. The increasing TSA mess and "anything for security" arguments encouraged me to learn more about the erosion of civil liberties and now I've tipped hard.

I've reorganized my upcoming flight itinerary to avoid the US. At some point, I'll need to go back to Indiana, so I'll grit my teeth and fly back. To get out again, I'm thinking Amtrak and a freighter--it sounds intriguing, and I can take the time off because I'm the boss.

Most of my trips are international, and I don't have any problems with security checks at airports in countries where I didn't "elect" the authorities.