Come up with some kind of game you're trying to play with the child
November 17, 2010 12:49 PM Subscribe
Previously a fake children's book, my First Cavity Search. Now in reality three-year-old Mandy Simon started crying when her teddy bear had to go through the X-ray machine at airport security in Chattanooga, Tenn. She was so upset that she refused to go calmly through the metal detector, setting it off twice. Agents then informed her parents that she "must be hand-searched." The subsequent TSA employee pat down of the screaming child was captured by her father, who happened to be a reporter, on his cell phone.
The TSA regional security director comments in the story to advise how TSA agents should search a young child: "Come up with some kind of game you're trying to play with the child, makes it a a lot easier."
It has also emerged the TSA is being sued for a an incident at the Corpus Christi airport when a woman's breasts were exposed. An unnamed 23-year-old college student was allegedly singled out for 'extended search procedures' before flying in 2008. 'As the TSA agent was frisking plaintiff, the agent pulled the plaintiff's blouse completely down, exposing plaintiffs' breasts to everyone in the area,' the Amarillo Globe-News quotes the lawsuit as saying. 'As would be expected, plaintiff was extremely embarrassed and humiliated.'
The suit also claims staff joked about the woman's breasts. 'One male TSA employee expressed to the plaintiff that he wished he would have been there when she came through the first time and that 'he would just have to watch the video,' the lawsuit said.
At a Senate oversight hearing today, Transportation Security Administration head John Pistole explained that TSA agents really do need to encounter testicular resistance when performing their newly enhanced airport pat-downs. Since switching to the new pat-downs in the last few weeks, "We have detected dozens and dozens of, let's say, 'artfully concealed objects'" that could pose a risk to flight, said Pistole.
John Pistole also said he "understood" the concerns (and he added that children under 12 weren't subject to the enhanced pat-down). When one senator asked if this "understanding" meant changes were coming, Pistole was direct. "Am I going to change the policies? No."
Some criticise the TSA approach to security as ineffective. "It is mindboggling for us Israelis to look at what happens in North America, because we went through this 50 years ago," said Rafi Sela.
"We said, 'We're not going to do this. You're going to find a way that will take care of security without touching the efficiency of the airport."
"We have a saying in Hebrew that it's much easier to look for a lost key under the light, than to look for the key where you actually lost it, because it's dark over there. That's exactly how (North American airport security officials) act," Sela said. "You can easily do what we do. You don't have to replace anything. You have to add just a little bit — technology, training. But you have to completely change the way you go about doing airport security. And that is something that the bureaucrats have a problem with. They are very well enclosed in their own concept."
The TSA regional security director comments in the story to advise how TSA agents should search a young child: "Come up with some kind of game you're trying to play with the child, makes it a a lot easier."
It has also emerged the TSA is being sued for a an incident at the Corpus Christi airport when a woman's breasts were exposed. An unnamed 23-year-old college student was allegedly singled out for 'extended search procedures' before flying in 2008. 'As the TSA agent was frisking plaintiff, the agent pulled the plaintiff's blouse completely down, exposing plaintiffs' breasts to everyone in the area,' the Amarillo Globe-News quotes the lawsuit as saying. 'As would be expected, plaintiff was extremely embarrassed and humiliated.'
The suit also claims staff joked about the woman's breasts. 'One male TSA employee expressed to the plaintiff that he wished he would have been there when she came through the first time and that 'he would just have to watch the video,' the lawsuit said.
At a Senate oversight hearing today, Transportation Security Administration head John Pistole explained that TSA agents really do need to encounter testicular resistance when performing their newly enhanced airport pat-downs. Since switching to the new pat-downs in the last few weeks, "We have detected dozens and dozens of, let's say, 'artfully concealed objects'" that could pose a risk to flight, said Pistole.
John Pistole also said he "understood" the concerns (and he added that children under 12 weren't subject to the enhanced pat-down). When one senator asked if this "understanding" meant changes were coming, Pistole was direct. "Am I going to change the policies? No."
Some criticise the TSA approach to security as ineffective. "It is mindboggling for us Israelis to look at what happens in North America, because we went through this 50 years ago," said Rafi Sela.
"We said, 'We're not going to do this. You're going to find a way that will take care of security without touching the efficiency of the airport."
"We have a saying in Hebrew that it's much easier to look for a lost key under the light, than to look for the key where you actually lost it, because it's dark over there. That's exactly how (North American airport security officials) act," Sela said. "You can easily do what we do. You don't have to replace anything. You have to add just a little bit — technology, training. But you have to completely change the way you go about doing airport security. And that is something that the bureaucrats have a problem with. They are very well enclosed in their own concept."
This post was deleted for the following reason: I really feel like we're playing "who can make a TSA post that's not deleted" here. Longer pullquotes don't really keep this from being a "here's a few fucked up examples of something the TSA did" and pullquotes from year old articles. -- jessamyn
there's already an open thread from last week with most all of these links in the comments.
posted by mrgrimm at 12:56 PM on November 17, 2010
posted by mrgrimm at 12:56 PM on November 17, 2010
Wow, radiosilents, way to give in completely to your cynicism and bitterness. If everyone thinks like this, then cynicism gives way to apathy, and that's precisely how things like you describe come to pass. When everyone expects everything to be shit, they are much less likely to do anything about it when their expectations are met. I'm pretty confident that no political movement with this attitude has ever succeeded in achieving anything.
posted by Edgewise at 12:58 PM on November 17, 2010
posted by Edgewise at 12:58 PM on November 17, 2010
Since switching to the new pat-downs in the last few weeks, "We have detected dozens and dozens of, let's say, 'artfully concealed objects'" that could pose a risk to flight, said Pistole.
Bags of weed.
posted by telstar at 12:59 PM on November 17, 2010 [2 favorites]
Bags of weed.
posted by telstar at 12:59 PM on November 17, 2010 [2 favorites]
It's becoming very clear that a TSA job is basically a license to grope. If the TSA isn't already Job Central for creeps and rapists, it soon will be.
If I were a woman I would honestly boycott air travel in the US until this changed.
posted by Avenger at 12:59 PM on November 17, 2010 [2 favorites]
If I were a woman I would honestly boycott air travel in the US until this changed.
posted by Avenger at 12:59 PM on November 17, 2010 [2 favorites]
Since switching to the new pat-downs in the last few weeks, "We have detected dozens and dozens of, let's say, 'artfully concealed objects'" that could pose a risk to flight, said Pistole.
Since there's no particular reason to think that such objects only started appearing after the new pat down policy was put in place, we can assume that they were being brought on board in the past. And yet, no attempted hijackings or successful bombings.
So good job, you found a lot of "objects that could pose a risk to flight." That doesn't mean you found a damn thing that actually posed a risk to a flight. In fact, had you done so, you almost certainly would've have phrased your statement that way. Ugh. Probably the worst part about the TSA is how non-transparent it is about how bad it is at its job.
posted by jedicus at 1:02 PM on November 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
Since there's no particular reason to think that such objects only started appearing after the new pat down policy was put in place, we can assume that they were being brought on board in the past. And yet, no attempted hijackings or successful bombings.
So good job, you found a lot of "objects that could pose a risk to flight." That doesn't mean you found a damn thing that actually posed a risk to a flight. In fact, had you done so, you almost certainly would've have phrased your statement that way. Ugh. Probably the worst part about the TSA is how non-transparent it is about how bad it is at its job.
posted by jedicus at 1:02 PM on November 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
The TSA regional security director comments in the story to advise how TSA agents should search a young child: "Come up with some kind of game you're trying to play with the child, makes it a a lot easier."
In a lot of little ways, this is actually far creepier than I'm sure it was meant to be, but with the whole endeavor of hands-on security screening seeming a lot like molestation, that's how it's coming across; make a game of figuring out how to put your hands on a strangers child without them freaking out.
On the one hand, I am so sick of TSA threads, on the other I'm sort of hoping that this scrutiny represents something larger than the Mefi community and that the anger at the pointless and invasive security theater is finally reaching some sort of critical breaking point with the public at large.
Sadly though I think radiosilents might be right. We do seem to be willing to just endure if something is in place long enough.
posted by quin at 1:02 PM on November 17, 2010
In a lot of little ways, this is actually far creepier than I'm sure it was meant to be, but with the whole endeavor of hands-on security screening seeming a lot like molestation, that's how it's coming across; make a game of figuring out how to put your hands on a strangers child without them freaking out.
On the one hand, I am so sick of TSA threads, on the other I'm sort of hoping that this scrutiny represents something larger than the Mefi community and that the anger at the pointless and invasive security theater is finally reaching some sort of critical breaking point with the public at large.
Sadly though I think radiosilents might be right. We do seem to be willing to just endure if something is in place long enough.
posted by quin at 1:02 PM on November 17, 2010
Agents of the government literally saying that they are molesting children to protect their freedoms. I can't remember the last time a single act has carried so much terrible irony.
posted by notion at 1:04 PM on November 17, 2010
posted by notion at 1:04 PM on November 17, 2010
Americans are exceptionally good at just not giving a damn if something happens for more than a month. we'll piss away any freedoms we can to not have to wait in a line because we are, by and large, exceptionally entitled and we don't feel like princesses if we're not flying through the sky and bitching about it, too.
"Now what kind of an attitude is that, these things happen? They only happen because this whole country is just full of people, who when these things happen, they just say these things happen, and that's why they happen! We gotta have control of what happens to us."
posted by bondcliff at 1:08 PM on November 17, 2010
"Now what kind of an attitude is that, these things happen? They only happen because this whole country is just full of people, who when these things happen, they just say these things happen, and that's why they happen! We gotta have control of what happens to us."
posted by bondcliff at 1:08 PM on November 17, 2010
I vowed not to fly and had to break that vow last winter for a family medical emergency. I felt like a complete tool taking my shoes off. Now it sounds like it's getting really stoopid at the airport.
posted by zzazazz at 1:09 PM on November 17, 2010
posted by zzazazz at 1:09 PM on November 17, 2010
My apologies if this is re-treading old ground - these are all new stories this side of the pond, and none of them came up as dupes (except the star link, which was a single link thread deleted for being too thin). I honestly tried to put together a non-axe-grindy post, but if you feel it's a waste of time, please do flag it and the mods can decide its fate in their usual skilled fashion.
posted by ArkhanJG at 1:10 PM on November 17, 2010
posted by ArkhanJG at 1:10 PM on November 17, 2010
The TSA chief did spin on NPR yesterday. He said that they had not successfully communicated - or weasel words to that effect - to their people that under-12s are supposed to be exempt from the groin feelies.
posted by Joe Beese at 1:10 PM on November 17, 2010
posted by Joe Beese at 1:10 PM on November 17, 2010
The TSA regional security director comments in the story to advise how TSA agents should search a young child: "Come up with some kind of game you're trying to play with the child, makes it a a lot easier."
Yeah, that pretty much makes my fucking skin crawl. No child should ever become accustomed to an alleged authority figure being allowed to touch them with impunity. No adult should either, obvsly, but at least adults can differentiate between a pervy TSA groper at the airport and a pervy random groper in a fake uniform hanging out at the park.
ugh i hate the entire universe.
posted by elizardbits at 1:12 PM on November 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
Yeah, that pretty much makes my fucking skin crawl. No child should ever become accustomed to an alleged authority figure being allowed to touch them with impunity. No adult should either, obvsly, but at least adults can differentiate between a pervy TSA groper at the airport and a pervy random groper in a fake uniform hanging out at the park.
ugh i hate the entire universe.
posted by elizardbits at 1:12 PM on November 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
"We have a saying in Hebrew that it's much easier to look for a lost key under the light, than to look for the key where you actually lost it, because it's dark over there..." Sela said.
Amidst all the outrage, politics and posturing that goes with discussions of airport security theater, at a time when divisions seem more strongly felt than ever, it does my heart good to know that some tired old jokes know no cultural boundaries.
posted by .kobayashi. at 1:12 PM on November 17, 2010
Amidst all the outrage, politics and posturing that goes with discussions of airport security theater, at a time when divisions seem more strongly felt than ever, it does my heart good to know that some tired old jokes know no cultural boundaries.
posted by .kobayashi. at 1:12 PM on November 17, 2010
« Older "Do you carry Utne Reader's Digest?" | The Cthulhu Mythos, as drawn by children Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
there will be a core audience of fliers who simply can't not fly and still have productive careers, and they will tolerate the invasion so that they can continue working. they'll be a large enough group that the rest of the country will slowly (or not-so-slowly) come in line with their way of thinking and the concession will seem so harmless when the trade is having to drive all the way to ____________ for the ____________.
we do not care about anything. we will not fight for anything. we will concede anything to just get on with our day. and after a not-long period of concession, it'll just slowly pass into law anyhow with some catchy name like The Alaska Sarah Palin Freedom Bible Flight Safety-Cupping Stars And Stripes Anti-Terrorism Act that lets us waterboard people who express the desire to not be groped as they are obviously anti-American and probably out to kill us all with their shoes.
we're very, very dumb. the utter uselessness of this process is amply demonstrable, and it simply doesn't matter.
posted by radiosilents at 12:51 PM on November 17, 2010 [6 favorites]