Posted on 06/18/2008 4:13:02 AM PDT by CWWren
It's been at least five years since I've flown commercial, and for good reason: I don't wish to be arrested for questioning actions by often arrogant, rude Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers.
Two years ago, my decision was reinforced by my daughter's experience when going through airport security with her two lovebirds. Having shown her ticket and ID to security personnel, and walking toward the metal detector, they started shouting to her, "Miss, you're going to have to take them birds out of the cage." I watched with incredulity as she approached the metal detectors. Fortunately, a TSA worker took the cages and my daughter followed without further incident. Had it been I traveling with the birds, I might have told the TSA workers something that would have gotten me arrested.
James Bovard has an article titled "Federal Attitude Policy" that appears in Freedom Daily (June 2008), a publication of the Fairfax, Va.-based Future of Freedom Foundation. According to the February 2002 Federal Register, people can be arrested if they act in a way that "might distract or inhibit a screener from effectively performing his or her duties … A screener encountering such a situation must turn away from his or her normal duties to deal with the disruptive individual, which may affect the screening of other individuals."
That means it is a federal offense, and a fine of up to $1,500, for any alleged "nonphysical interference" that makes a TSA screener "turn away" from whatever he was doing.
What's nonphysical interference is solely up to the discretion of a TSA screener since it isn't defined in the regulations. TSA agents can levy fines for a passenger disagreeing with the behavior or arrogance of a screener. The TSA has made little effort to control screener behavior.
Bovard reports that in March 2004, airline passengers filed almost 3,000 formal complaints with the federal government over the conduct of TSA screeners. Hundreds have complained about the rudeness of TSA screeners. And yet, none of these passenger complaints resulted in disciplinary measures. In fact, passengers filed four times more complaints against the TSA than against airlines.
But it's going to get worse. The TSA aims to have 500 "behavior detection officers" (BDOs) in airports by the end of this year. The job of the BDOs will be that of examining passengers for "body language and facial cues … for signs of bad intentions." They look for what the experts call "micro-expressions." Fear and disgust are the key ones, he said, because they're associated with deception. That would make me a prime candidate for scrutiny and possibly trouble because if I ever had to go through airport security procedures, I would have those "micro-expressions" of disgust and fear of arrest.
McClatchy Newspapers reported in an article, "New airport agents check for danger in fliers' facial expressions," (August 2007) that Jay Cohen, undersecretary of Homeland Security for Science and Technology, "wants to automate passenger screening by using videocams and computers to measure and analyze heart rate, respiration, body temperature and verbal responses as well as facial micro-expressions."
Someone who wishes to hijack or destroy a plane will spend considerable time and effort to get around the TSA's attitude-detecting policies. The bulk of the people hassled by these and other TSA procedures are law-abiding Americans who have no malicious intentions, along with a few people traveling with drugs and other contraband. The TSA routinely confiscates about 15,000 items a day from passengers, in addition to the hassle, rudeness and arrogance. With these kind of costs imposed on the traveling public, I'd like TSA to give an account of themselves, namely just how many hijackings or bombings they have prevented, along with the evidence. Americans have been far too compliant and that has given the TSA carte blanche to treat travelers any way they wish. I'm staying away. TSA has its rules and Williams has his, and one of mine is to avoid tyrants and idiots.
The old false choice fallacy.
>> was not pleased and filed a complaint, but just received a form letter back telling me that my complaint had been forwarded to the TSA chief in Phoenix. I never heard anything else about it.<<
You know, same airport, I had a postive experience and filled out the form and immediately heard from the TSA chief in PHX. About a month later, had a terrible experience and filled out the form and never heard back from the very same TSA chief.
They only want to hear (encourage) positive feedback, it appears.
I’ve traveled by air hundreds of times since 9/11, and I haven’t encountered any abrasive TSA folks. My wife has - once.
That doesn’t support the theory that they are Nazis trying to subjugate America. I think a lot of their rules are stupid, but that is another discussion.
“So...is Williams suggesting we drop security at airports altogether?”
They already have. While you are gullible enough to think that strip searching grandma is “security”, illegal aliens work the airplane, the tarmac, and are all throughout the terminal buildings. Hell, many of the TSA workers are foreigners. Stick that in your security pipe and smoke it.
How about that shoe search everyone does? One bomber tries to light his shoes on fire and we all now must remove our shoes. How stupid. How about that belt or many other items of clothing that can conceal plastic explosives? We don’t remove those, but we sure remove those shoes.
How about the fact that time and time again investigative officials have been able to get guns aboard and past those high-school dropout TSA workers?
Security, my ass.
“sheeple”...everyone standing in line barefoot while being insulted by a high school dropout with revenge issues
Like I said, I don't like dealing with security, but I don't project this dislike on the screeners. I think that's the difference between my personal experiences, and those on this thread that think the TSA people are a couple of rungs lower on the evolutionary ladder.
“Some of us are more concerned about the stuff that gets aboard these planes as FREIGHT, much of which is very cursorily screened or not at all.”
Excellent point. Explosives of all kinds can EASILY be placed on US carriers. While there is some explosive screening, only a few packages are checked and everyone knows this.
While your wife or daughter are fondled at the airport, the terrorists packages get a free ride onto the same airplane.
If he doesn’t, I will. Along with the ability to carry. I’m sick and tired of my freedoms getting watered down in the name of “safety”. I the eyes of the government, it’s not about safety anyway. It’s about control.
Well, no. You may be gullible enough to believe that the airlines are unsecured but I'm rational enough to realize that the TSA is the last line of defense. And that any plots against airlines are most likely stopped days before the flight and miles away from the airport by state and federal law enforcement authorities. So I'm not depending on TSA to protect me. I'm not stupid enough to believe that profiling Arabs would provide security. I'm smart enough to realize that it's a much bigger job being done by professionals nowhere near the airport.
I always ship everything I need UPS the day before I fly. I walk into every airport with nothing but a book. When I get to my destination UPS is knocking on my door with my baggage. Piece of cake.
I suspect some of the posters have chips the size of redwoods as they go thru the lines, and bring it on themselves.
It is like when you get stopped by a cop...saying, “Pulled yourself away from your donuts long enough to harass an innocent taxpayer, eh?” tends to bring out the worst in people.
As for the silly games we play with carrying liquids on board: There was a (thwarted) plot to blow up airplanes with bombs assembled using liquids carried on board . The rules regarding liquid carry-ons were drafted in response. It was an actual threat, not someone's concoction. The rules are cumbersome but I haven't heard anyone come up with a better way to address the problem. The solution has to be scalable to thousands of airports and enforceable by entry-level personnel so answers like "use common sense" aren't workable.
The TSA/Homeland Security is nothing more than a big guv jobs program allowing the incumbants new class of workers to derive votes from.
This is a classical reflex of out of control government, a preview of the near future.
Actually I do. I've gone through it several times. They ask me a couple of questions and never bother further with me. I've even answered their "Did you pack everything yourself" question negatively and they still didn't bother to look in my bag. Maybe it would be yourself who has no idea?
ML/NJ
“but I’m rational enough “
Yeah, seems every tyrant, including liberals, likes to use the term “rational”, as though that is the last excuse needed for an insane policy.
Why don’t you read the entire thread and respond to all the known holes in this TSA “security” plan.
If they were honest about it, they would equip their 48,000 screeners with 3-inch red swastika armbands that will be worn on new brown shirts.
and I only get to talk with his assistant. Drat!
“How about the fact that time and time again investigative officials have been able to get guns aboard and past those high-school dropout TSA workers?”
Not just security pros, journalists and freelancers have done it too.
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