Since posting a question here a couple of weeks ago, I have had cause to visit the page and have strayed into a few threads other than my own...

It would appear, to this outsider, that a great many enjoy highlighting the relative deficits of the US airport security system (OK I am stating the bleeding obvious here).

The kinds of transgressions reported are indeed disturbing - whether or not you are protected by the US Constitution, EU Bill of Rights, any other instrument of civil protection, or, in my case absolutely nothing.

What I don't see is some kind of balance, the thread that says - my experience with security today was a smooth as silk (apol to TG), slid through like butter, a joy and pleasure beyond all expectation.

I fear this is because the only folk who feel that way acquiesce and leave all dignity at the door, or are those who 'respect authority' (in that South Park kind of way).

The threads I've read give me the impression that airport security in the US is akin to the late night bouncers on the door of dark and loud music venues, filled with an idea of self importance and not much else.

I am really happy to be proven wrong, but after two weeks reading this page, well...

it's just an observation....

I suspect it is more that folks ARE far more ready to complain than praise.... no matter what the topic... Ask anyone who works "in the public eye"...

I read the litany of complaints and just wonder..... as I have never had a bad experience with the TSA AND have said so in these forums (you musn't have seen my posts...).... and I travel with "Restricted goods" (guns to be precise) which - I'm sure some here would suggest would automatically lead to a nasty experience.. Sorry... hasn't happened!.... (my worst travel experience was with Australian Customs... which was a hell of a shock after many, many excellent dealings with them..)

Perhaps expectation is a part of it as well... ALL I expect is to be treated "not badly" while the TSA (or anyone I have to deal with for that matter) does whatever it is they are supposed to do... I suspect some folks expect to be treated in accordance with their OWN view of their importance in the world.. if you know what I mean...

I wonder - honestly - at how some of the folks telling their tales of woe actually approach TSA staffers... do they "do unto others as they would have them do unto you" or what?

"Ripping in" to front line worker bees about POLICY that you don't like is IMO pointless (and rude)..... like those folks who yell at gas station console operators (mainly uni students working part time here IME) about the price of gas... Like THEY have any control over it...

OK so the rules they have to enforce are dumb - no argument from me there...... but the coal face workers can't change them.. so save the spleen for..and write/complain/campaign to those who CAN.... that's the way I see things... Unfortunately there ARE folks (and quite a number of them if my field of work is any indication) that will ONLY vent at the "troops"... and will NOT address complaints to anyone likely to be able to make ANY changes.... How pointless is that?

And sorry.. I don't consider it anywhere near good enough to say "writing/complaining doesn't achieve anything"... Like being nasty to the "troops" does??

I am sure there are many valid complaints about the TSA... hell, name ANY organisation (public or private) where the staff are required to enforce "rules" on people where that would NOT be the case!! (look at the complaints here on FT about FA's, hotel staff etc etc)

Are "they" any worse than anyone else?

Not in MY experience.. and that's ALL I can say.... YMMV.

I'll be dealing with "them" again next week... and have no particular qualms.... we'll see how it goes THIS time of course.. but I have no intention of being paranoid about it....

A really good security check experience is one you do not remember.

Good Point! ^

Plus, there is the human nature aspect. We are more likely to comment on remarkable behavior. If every FTer posted "I went through ABC today and nothing significant happened" it wouldn't make for very good reading. Since there are relatively few ways that a TSA screener can go above and beyond expectations in a good way, we are more likely to complain than compliment.

Policy issues aside, I have never had an issue with a front-line TSA person.

It has always been my opinion that people who complain about anything do so more loudly, more frequently and with more energy than those who compliment -- if they even take the time to offer a compliment.

There is one person here who I travel with a great deal. He gets very upset on almost every trip, feels as if he is singled out for shotty service from TSA and doesn't understand why I am not as vocal about TSA issues considering I fly three times as much as he does. He also doesn't understand why I �receive better treatment� from TSA than he does, even though I know that I am treated no differently than everyone else.

The difference between the way each of us approach going through security could not be more different. He gets very spun up on the way to the airport, ranting about how we're losing our civil liberties, our founding fathers, why can't I take 4 ozs of shampoo, etc. I've witnessed him make remarks about how stupid the rules are while going through security, etc.

Conversely, I always greet the personnel with a "Good morning/afternoon/evening. How are you today?" as I was brought up to do (yeah... I'm originally a southerner) and as I do in most business transaction settings. I try my best to know the rules and abide by them, slapping myself on the head when I forget to take something out of my bag that was ok to possess on my last train ride to NYC.

I have had a few "discussions" with TSA personnel when I feel that things are a bit out of whack, but always in as a professional, civil manner as possible. I do not agree with everything the agency is doing but I am much happier that they are doing something rather than nothing and believe that the kinks will get worked out over time.

I would say that 95% of the people I know and associate with are of the same opinion. Those of us who travel a lot (I had 130,000 miles last year with only one of those trips being International) have addressed the implementation of TSA, and all that comes with it, by simply making adjustments in our travel planning. Many of us have done so willingly because of our life experiences. Ultimately, it's those experiences that shape our views and attitudes about pretty much everything, no? I have been accused of being a TSA apologist by more than a couple of folks (which could NOT be more incorrect), but here's where I come from...

I lived in Europe from 1980-1987 and I clearly remember being involved in many, many discussions about how lax airport security was in the US compared to other countries. Amazingly so at that time.

I survived an RAF terrorist bombing by less than 60 seconds several years ago. I lost several friends and co-workers on 9/11 and spent 4 hours not knowing if my wife was alive, trying to remain calm and reassure our kids, families and friends for 4 hours. 4 hours of watching the TV and seeing that part of the last wall the plane went through was our old office. I also have more than a little experience setting up and leading new organizations with new missions, although with a great deal more time in the planning phase than was afforded for DHS and TSA.

There are several people in my circle who have similar experiences and who also drop into this forum from time to time, although we routinely fight the urge to post a response to the many posts you refer to as it often appears to be pointless. Much like the vocal extremists of the political parties in our country, people tend to make it very difficult to discuss the middle ground on polarizing topics such as TSA.

Sorry... this post is way too long. The bottom line is to take what you read here with a grain of salt and draw your own conclusions by visiting the US and experiencing the good and bad that we, like any country, have to offer. The one thing that I can tell you for sure, I have never been subjected to oversight by security officials armed with sub-machine guns and dogs in immediate proximity here as I have on many, many occasions elsewhere.

With so many people flying every day, a system that was thrown into place after a major catastrophe, and employees who are poorly paid, it is not a surprise that there are incidents on a daily basis.

I am not a road warrior, and I can sympathize with those of you who are and lose patience. I do fly both domestically and internationally several times per year. I am also not a shrinking violet, and have a reputation for standing up for myself, sometimes when it is probably not necessary.

That being said, I have never had a confrontation with a TSA employee. I go in with the attitude that they are doing a thankless but critical job. They do not need any grief from me. I pack carefully and try to follow the rules as I understand them. I make a big effort to try and not have anything that they could have a problem with.
I go out of my way to be polite and cooperative. I have encountered a variety of attitudes, but I set the tone with my good attitude, and therefore have never had any bad experiences.

I go thru with a neutral attitude ... hope for the best, expect the worst. Sometimes I've had good experiences, a lot of times I don't.

Bark at me, treat me like cattle and give me a hard time, make up rules as you go along, you'll get the same back.

Treat me like a person and I'll do the same. I've filled out compliment forms when they've stuck to their rules. I haven't done that in awhile because of how stupid things have gotten. Give me something to praise and I'll praise it. I've seen posts on here just today saying that they've had a good experience. Unfortunately, that seems to be the exception rather than the rule.

I can separate the screener from the stupidity most of the time. However, when the screener's being stupid and stepping outside his or her bounds, I believe that it should called on and acted upon and one should stand up for his/her rights and make sure they stick to THEIR rules that THEY publish, not that they make up.

It always bugs me when people think that because of what happened on 9/11, if it's more personal to some that they think their opinions trump everyone else's. I'm not saying anyone here is doing that. However, most times that's the way it is.

9/11 was a shared American tragedy. It changed our lives forever. Unfortunately, it's changed for the worse and not for the better. Instead of standing up for freedom and going on as normal and making some SENSIBLE adjustments, the gov't's gone out of control. Chertoff's cranked down so much on travel that it's a chore to even try to get to the plane (then the airlines ruin it from there with their own crap). All to keep us "safe." Safe from whom now is the question ...

If people are willing to make keep their heads down, make "adjustments" and so forth in the name of "security" ... good for them. That doesn't make those who are vocal against the farce whiners or anything like that.

I wasn't here at the time, but I heard that this part of FT didn't even exist until after TSA was created. That should say something ...

Super

MetroAir, there are a LOT of forums in FT that really push the edges of sanity. Whether it's good or bad or neither, others forums have "extreme" views as well.

You posted a similar question in the UA forum yesterday; look at the response KathyWdrf gave you. Her response could be copied and pasted over here as an answer for this forum.

Personally, I've been thinking over the past week or so about my participation in this forum, and I think it's time to back off a little -- maybe a little more than that. But I'll probably always be a lurker at the very least.

There is, without doubt, some really laughable points, comments, and/or "experiences" posted in this forum, even by some of the regulars here (including myself). Some are intended to be funny, some are funny in the "do you really believe that?!" sort of way. Personally, I've shifted from not believing some of the stuff posted here to most of the stuff posted here (in terms of actual events transpiring at a checkpoint and what some would say to a TSAer).

To me, the best thing about this forum is the feedback, comments and other things TSAers say here. Over the past few months, we've had a GREAT influx of level-headed TSAers enter this forum.

And what I mean by "level-headed" doesn't necessarily equate into a requirement to agree with us on the ridiculous nature of some of the procedures, or an equal disdain for TSA HQ and/or management. It's that they can get beat up a little here and not take it personally or going cyber-Rambo.

But this forum does have its place on FT, provided it doesn't go overboard.

IMHO, the establishment of the TSA's blog is an acknowledgment that things are really bad on the front lines.

41,000,000 potential air passengers a day dropping out - and a big reason is the "security" hassle. That's not a drop in the bucket. Both the TSA and the airlines need to take heed.

FWIW, the TSA does seem to be making some changes in response to thousands of complaints from the traveling public. Will those changes be positive or negative - time will tell.

Good point and thanks for linking to that post, LessO2.

We are, generally, a bunch of whining "trashers and bashers" here on FlyerTalk. And count me among them. Not sure why complaining is more common than complimenting but it's a fact of life in almost any forum you visit. And it's probably not just limited to FlyerTalk.

I do see the occasional complimentary TSA thread here but the complaining ones outnumber it 20 to 1.

I've never had a "bad" experience with TSA. But, never a "good" experience, either. The average experience is awful. You stand in line, waiting, waiting, have someone look carefully at your id (and the reason is?) then rush to take off your shoes (and the reason is? some stupid guy), pull your laptop out and put it in a separate bin, take off your jacket, pull out your Kippie bag (which you have carefully packed the night before and put in your carryon where you can easily find it and the reason is?), walk through the metal dectector, have your boarding pass looked at again, then if you are lucky, pick up your stuff, stuff everything back in your bag, put on your jacket, look for a chair (which is never there) so you can put back on your shoes, struggle to put back on your shoes. If everything goes right, why compliment TSA for what is not a great experience.

If I'm carrying my camera gear, then they want me to unpack all my lenses, and my expensive camera and put everything loose in a bin and send it back through the X Ray machine. So, I wait and pray that no one drops my gear, that it doesn't bang together and break.

And the reason is? Are we any safer? Or is TSA always fighting the last war, whatever the last threat or potential threat was? For me the risk/benefit analysis isn't there.

Uh...what? That'd be the entire population of the U.S. deciding not to fly anymore in just over a week.

i too, go thru security with a neutral attitude. as many of you know, i wear orthopedic shoes and custom fitted orthotics as a result of ankle surgery and as i approach the wtmd, i inform the gatekeeper as to what i am wearing and after passing thru, i await my secondary-which should be a shoe (and sometimes palm) swab 'n go. no attitude from me at all and what plays out is how the screeners handle it.

if for some unforeseen reason, i am am denied passage thru the wtmd, i will ask for a supervisor to explain why-again no attitude and await the supervisor's actions.

if the tso who gives me my secondary does things right, i'm done and on my way in less than 3 minutes. if they don't i will question as to why as i did not alarm and should be only subject to a "shoe secondary" (or as to why after i was asked to go thru the puffer, did they want to swab my shoes, give me a full maSSSSage and want to go thru my briefcase as the puffer is an etd in itself thus the swab in not needed and there is no reason for them to go thru my bag if nothing in the x-ray aroused any suspicion.

so what it all boils down to for me is the attitude i'm presented with and my advice is to always be polite and ask why when you think something is not right/inappropriate. don't be a sheep but rather be a ram-tho be a polite ram

Ooops - sorry - it's a year!