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TSA leaves passenger needing surgery after illegally forcing her through scanner

thetravel.com

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Re: TSA leaves passenger needing surgery after illegally forcing her through scanner

#81
post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do that too. My reason is I don't want unneeded radiation. My experience is they make it as difficult as possible. They first ignore you couple of times, pretend they don't know what you are asking for, and finally they make you wait a long time, just standing there waiting for someone to show up to do the pat down. But I know their antics now and show up with plenty of time to spare.

Same. I have never gone through a microwave scanner on principle- I shouldn’t be strip searched for the crime of showing up to the airport. I always get there plenty early and request a pat down, because they always make you wait 10-15 minutes in the hope that you’re desperate to get to your gate.

" I shouldn’t be strip searched for the crime of showing up to the airport."

People have forgotten that the TSA got caught lying about the machines not taking pictures (its just a cartoon!) and their employees laughing at people's bodies.

If the TSA wants to disrobe me they're going to have to do it the honest, old fashioned way. Not some sterilized make believe.

Re: TSA leaves passenger needing surgery after illegally forcing her through scanner

#82
post #30

I'm one of those weirdos who opts out of the scanners because I'd rather avoid having people casually look inside of my body. Last time I flew out of Laguardia I opted out and while I was being patted down another TSA agent about twenty feet away kept making kissy faces at me. Very much felt like intimidation. What a time..

I do that too. My reason is I don't want unneeded radiation. My experience is they make it as difficult as possible. They first ignore you couple of times, pretend they don't know what you are asking for, and finally they make you wait a long time, just standing there waiting for someone to show up to do the pat down. But I know their antics now and show up with plenty of time to spare.

It's been a while since I've flown, but it always seemed to help to not stand completely out of the way lest they forget about you. A bunch of people will ask if you if you're waiting to use the scanner, or even start queuing up behind you until the thugs direct them to go around you. But all this keeps the incentives aligned much better.

Re: TSA leaves passenger needing surgery after illegally forcing her through scanner

#83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Airlines could have locked cockpit doors and prohibited passengers from bringing box cutters on their airplanes 30 years ago, but they didn't, even though hijackings regularly happened. When there is no coordination between airlines, none of them wants to be the one who implements tough security and pisses off their customer base.

> Airlines could have locked cockpit doors and prohibited passengers from bringing box cutters on their airplanes 30 years ago, but they didn't, even though hijackings regularly happened. Yes, because in most cases the hijackers would demand you land, negotiate, and either get some sort of asylum deal or get shot. Big inconvenience, but usually not much bloodshed. 9/11 changed the math for the people on the plane a l…

Yeah, exactly, the security posture was simply to accept the risk because it was presumed to be small. A hijacking is an archetypal security failure, but airlines chose not to add friction to their operations to prevent them.

It's the Ford Pinto cost-benefit analysis scandal of the sky.

Re: TSA leaves passenger needing surgery after illegally forcing her through scanner

#84
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It has been my experience that they would call a female agent when they needed to pat down another female. Has this changed?

It was a female agent, that doesn't mean that it's okay to start groping someone without warning.

Yeah, IME they recite a script (I’ve heard it many times) where they explain why they are doing it, what it will involve, and how you can refuse (in that case, it would probably mean not flying that day). And offer to do it in private.

Re: TSA leaves passenger needing surgery after illegally forcing her through scanner

#85

Like other post-9/11 things like DHS and ICE, we need to abolish TSA since it doesn't actually keep anyone safe, and actively harms people.

You say abolish TSA. That's a "how"; let me ask you about outcomes to better understand. Are you suggesting that the level of security at airports be reduced? Are you suggesting that people and object that get onto planes be given less scrutiny?

I would say yes to both of those.

But even if you want to keep security/scrutiny as it is now, that doesn't mean you need TSA. We had airport security before there was a TSA. We currently have airport security without TSA in some airports, such as SFO.

Re: TSA leaves passenger needing surgery after illegally forcing her through scanner

#86
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It has been my experience that they would call a female agent when they needed to pat down another female. Has this changed?

It was a female agent, that doesn't mean that it's okay to start groping someone without warning.

You phrased it as "If you're not going to get consent to grope girls", so why is it relevant that she is female?

Re: TSA leaves passenger needing surgery after illegally forcing her through scanner

#87

Like other post-9/11 things like DHS and ICE, we need to abolish TSA since it doesn't actually keep anyone safe, and actively harms people.

You say abolish TSA. That's a "how"; let me ask you about outcomes to better understand. Are you suggesting that the level of security at airports be reduced? Are you suggesting that people and object that get onto planes be given less scrutiny?

Judging by how every single TSA agent is horrifically trained and doesn't have a drop of care in the world, abolishing the TSA would be a step up from having it.

Re: TSA leaves passenger needing surgery after illegally forcing her through scanner

#88
post #30

I'm one of those weirdos who opts out of the scanners because I'd rather avoid having people casually look inside of my body. Last time I flew out of Laguardia I opted out and while I was being patted down another TSA agent about twenty feet away kept making kissy faces at me. Very much felt like intimidation. What a time..

I do that too. My reason is I don't want unneeded radiation. My experience is they make it as difficult as possible. They first ignore you couple of times, pretend they don't know what you are asking for, and finally they make you wait a long time, just standing there waiting for someone to show up to do the pat down. But I know their antics now and show up with plenty of time to spare.

I always opt out, too, also because I don't trust their machines after reading enough stuff like https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/iaurm/cancer_clus... or https://www.propublica.org/article/u-s-government-glossed-ov... and then learning enough about how it was all for theater anyway.

Cool tech, but I don't want it scanning my junk especially, no thanks. I'll just apply Betteridge's law of headlines to the article "You Asked: Are Airport Body Scanners Safe?" at https://time.com/4909615/airport-body-scanners-safe/ and go on my merry way.

The TSA definitely seems to intentionally make me wait unnecessarily long for my patdowns to commence.

The attitude among some TSA employees can be truly confrontational when I'm nothing but polite.

One of them literally shoved their hand so fast and so far up my leg, it stung my private area for a good little while after. Now, whenever their script comes to the point where they ask if there is anything they should know, I have to ask them to not do that please, since it has happened before.

If there is a list of people to be first in line for UBI instead of whatever they do now, I'm okay if it's everybody at the TSA, and I'm guessing that they would be cool with that, too.

Re: TSA leaves passenger needing surgery after illegally forcing her through scanner

#90
post #30

I'm one of those weirdos who opts out of the scanners because I'd rather avoid having people casually look inside of my body. Last time I flew out of Laguardia I opted out and while I was being patted down another TSA agent about twenty feet away kept making kissy faces at me. Very much felt like intimidation. What a time..

Talk about l'esprit d'escalier. I'd like to think I would have held eye contact and pointed at my own crotch.

Hmm next time they go for a feel I'll tell them not to sexually harass me loud enough for the whole line to hear.

They feed on folks wanting to avoid embarrassment, not wanting to miss their flights, etc.

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