TSA Enhanced Pat Downs : The Screeners Point Of View

In the past few weeks since the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) implemented its new “enhanced” pat down procedures there has been considerable backlash from the traveling public. This backlash has been loud and angry … but what is not heard or seen in the media is the quiet resentment of this new policy within the TSA.

A few days ago I contacted 20 TSA Transportation Security Officers (TSO) to ask their opinions of the new “enhanced” pat downs. Of the 20 I reached out to, 17 responded. All 17 who responded are at airports where the new “enhanced” pat down is in place … and the responses were all the same, that front line TSOs do not like the new pat downs and that they do not want to perform them.  I expected most to not like the pat downs … but what I didn’t expect was that all 17 mentioned their morale being broken down.

Each of the 17 TSA TSOs that responded to me detailed their personal discomfort in conducting the new pat downs, with more than one stating that it is likely they are more uncomfortable performing the pat down than passengers are receiving them.

Some comments from these TSOs include:

It is not comfortable to come to work knowing full well that my hands will be feeling another man’s private parts, their butt, their inner thigh. Even worse is having to try and feel inside the flab rolls of obese passengers and we seem to get a lot of obese passengers!”

Do you think I want to go to work and place my hands between women’s legs and touch their breasts for a few hours? For starters, I am attracted to men, not women and if I was attracted to women, it would not be the large number of passengers I handle daily that have a problem understanding what personal hygiene is.”

Yesterday a passenger told me to keep my hands off his penis or he’d scream. Is this how a 40 year old man in business attire acts? He’ll scream? My 3 year old can get away with saying he’ll scream, but a 40 something business man? I am a professional doing my job, whether I agree with this current policy or not, I am doing my job.  I do not want to be here all day touching penises.”

Being a TSO means often being verbally abused, you let the comments roll off and check the next person, however when a woman refuses the scanner then comes to me and tells me that she feels like I am molesting her, that is beyond verbal abuse.  I asked the woman if she thought I like touching other women all day and she told me that I probably did or I wouldn’t be with the TSA. I just want to tell these people that I feel disgusted feeling other peoples private parts, but I cannot because I am a professional.”

I was asked by some guy if I got excited touching scrotums at the airport and if it gave me a power thrill. I felt like vomiting when he asked that. This is not a turn on for me to touch me it is in fact a huge turn off. There is a big difference between how I pat passengers down and a molester molesting people.”

Aside from the issue of TSA TSOs being required to physically touch passengers in places they do not want to be touching them during the ‘enhanced’ pat down, morale is decreasing for front line TSOs, due in part to an increase in verbal abuse.  Each of the 17 TSOs who responded to me detailed a new level of verbal abuse they are experiencing at work.

The TSA has experienced a high level of turn over since its inception, however its turnover rate has decreased recently. With this decrease in morale, caused directly by a change in TSA policy, it is likely to begin experiencing a higher than average turn over again … which will further decrease the effectiveness of airport security.

Some comments from these 17 TSOs include:

Molester, pervert, disgusting, an embarrassment, creep. These are all words I have heard today at work describing me, said in my presence as I patted passengers down. These comments are painful and demoralizing, one day is bad enough, but I have to come back tomorrow, the next day and the day after that to keep hearing these comments. If something doesn’t change in the next two weeks I don’t know how much longer I can withstand this taunting. I go home and I cry. I am serving my country, I should not have to go home and cry after a day of honorably serving my country.

I come to work to do my job. It is not up to me to decide policy, it is up to me to carry out my duties as dictated by the Transportation Security Administration. When a person stands in front of me and calls me a pervert or accuses me of molesting them it is disheartening. People fail to understand that neither of us are happy about the intrusive pat down I am carrying out.  I am polite, I am professional and while someone may not like what I have to carry out, they came to me because they choose not to utilize the alternative and less invasive method of security at my airport.

I served a tour in Afghanistan followed by a tour in Iraq. I have been hardened by war and in the past week I am slowly being broken by the constant diatribe of hateful comments being lobbed at me. While many just see a uniform with gloves feeling them for concealed items I am a person, I am a person who has feelings. I am a person who has served this country. I am a person who wants to continue serving his country. The constant run of hateful comments while I perform my job will break me down faster and harder than anything I encountered while in combat in the Army.

Do people know what a Nazi is? One can’t describe me as a Nazi because I am following a security procedure of designed to find prohibited items on a passenger’s body. A Nazi is someone with hatred and ignorance in their hearts, a person who carried out actions of execution and extermination of those based on their religion, origins or sexual preferences.  I work to make travel safer, even if I do not agree with the current security procedures. Further more, I am Jewish and a TSA Transportation Security Officer, an American Patriot and to call me a Nazi is an offense beyond all other offenses.

There are multiple sides to every story, and I think the point of view of those on the front lines of the TSA, those required to carry on the policy and procedures created by the TSA, are an import part of this story. I think those organizing efforts to change the TSA’s policy should also consider the impact to the TSA TSOs.

Rather than dehumanize the TSA TSOs, work with them, understand their views and opinions and work together to change the current TSA policies.

Happy Flying!

866 Comments

  1. I’m glad that they feel bad about being employed as a groper. If I felt bad about the job I was doing, I’d quit. I recommend that all the TSA employees who feel like their job is demeaning and uncomfortable quit and spare themselves a bit of sanity. Then I recommend psychological evaluation for the remaining employees to determine whether they really are humans. This junk has got to end, and dignity restored to travelers.

  2. Modified wisdom from Janet Napolitano: if you don’t like it you are free to go find another job.

    The more abuse you take the better off we are. Frankly, I’m looking forward to someone getting violent with a TSA worker over this. As TSA agents you are agents of tyranny (little ‘t’ tyranny, but tyranny none the less) and you are getting what you deserve.

    So please, hate your job and quit. We’d be better off if you out doing something useful with your life.

  3. As an insulin-dependent diabetic I will always be subjected to pat downs every time I fly because of a small medical device implanted into my abdomen. People with disabilities or medical conditions are disproportionately targeted for pat downs because the full body scanners detect something “unusual.” I think that TSA needs to have a way for people with medical issues to communicate them to the TSOs to minimize the invasive procedures. No one has spoken about who is being searched and why. No one is talking about training.

  4. These people need to either start a union and stand against being made into prostitutes, or quit their jobs and file civil suits. I really doubt they were told they’d be molesting people and violating peoples civil rights every day when they were hired.

    If I have to endure a molestation like this, I absolute will insult the molester. They have a choice. If that hurts there feelings, too bad. Quit. Stand up to your bosses. Don’t blame me.

    It’s too bad I already booked vacation tickets a few weeks ago. if I get molested by the TSA, I’ll be sure to file suit and will certainly never fly out of this country again. I rather drive to mexico or canada and fly from there if I must than be subject to this bullshit.

  5. Thank you for posting this, Fish. While I don’t believe it is accurate to call anyone here a Nazi, I do think it is just as much the TSOs’ responsibility to kick their feedback upstairs as it is for passengers to do so. TSOs are people with feelings, of course, however they frequently disregard the feelings of their passengers. I have had my breasts and outer vagina checked for bombs, it was humiliating and unnecessary and the TSO was almost as uncomfortable as I was, but she chose to take a hostile tone with me, like I had brought it upon myself to be randomly called out of line for a patdown because I choose to dress modestly. Even before these ridiculous and invasive patdowns, there are too many TSOs who treat people like animals with the open hostility of bureaucratic stereotypes. But we often have no real alternative to air travel.

    Everyone who has had a bad day deserves to go have themselves a good cry. I’ve done it myself. But after they wipe away the tears, what are they DOING about it?

  6. The security measures are misdirected and misguided. Real security experts did point out decades ago, that only 1% of the passengers are security risks, from drunk to terrorist.

    Yet the TSA does, what incompetence and fearmongering of politicians demands:

    Molest everyone until they cry, scream, beg and go tru the terahertz scanners.

    Did u think this tru? What consequences and price we pay for your actions?

    Of course, the terrorists can always bypass security measures on technical or technological base. To hunt for and detain real threats you need lots of good and professional people. People who care. People who think and act.

    until then, all you get is hate and ridiculing pictures like this one:
    http://asset.soup.io/asset/1239/4130_9669_480.jpeg

    happy thanxgiving and fly safe

  7. Let’s stop enabling the theatre, and agree not to call the opt-out penalty a “pat-down.” The clue is in the name: a pat-down is just that, patting with an open hand. Law enforcement use a pat-down to perform a cursory check of a suspect’s person if, and only if, there is reasonable articulable suspicion that the officer’s safety is in jeopardy.

    What is being passed off by the TSA as a pat-down is in reality a “full search” of the kind which police are not permitted to perform until a suspect has been formally detained.

    TSA can call it whatever they want, but it’s not a pat-down, and thinking people need to stop referring to it as such, since that just helps perpetuate the illusion that it is reasonable.

  8. For all of you narrow minded idiots such as ’56’, (what kind of stupid moniker is that), ‘wanton sexual assault’, ‘treason’…are you actually retarded, or are you just having a temper tantrum like a little spoiled child?

    Seriously, are you people even living in the real world, what are you thinking?

    Do you realize that if a cop pulls you over for a traffic stop, if he or she wants to, they can do a pat down on you that would make you wish you were in an airport!

    How about all of you whiny little bitches just grow the hell up and start acting like adults.

    By the way, if you don’t like the pat down…FUCKING DRIVE!!!

  9. The biggest reason that these TSA policies will not change is the higher ups making these policies don’t have to fly like the rest of us. They have their private jets or even Air Force One. Let the President, First Lady and First Daughter go through the pat-down and then let’s see now long this policies stays in place.

    I would much rather see the government issue a “Airline” ID. It is too easy in this country to get a driver’s license which is all that is required to get on a plane. Let’s use a passport or some other form of ID that actually requires a background check. That would do more to prevent terrorist than all the security lines out there. The professionals will find away round this no matter what.

    This does not make me feel safer getting on a plane.

  10. Number four, Jason, has got the point: TSA employees who act like them (pat-down on children, asking elder women to take off their breast-prosthesis) _are_ acting like Nazis. That’s what an ordinary nazi did: he did, what others told him to do, without using his brain. Nothing more, and nothing less.

    A german reader.

  11. You don’t like being told that you’re a pervert? Don’t do things that are perverted. I’m the customer, you’re my employee. I don’t want your service, so don’t start to cry when I complain.

  12. This is ridiculous. Yes, these searches are demeaning for both parties involved and yes, these machines should go under further testing before being allowed to scan people in airports, but why are we yelling at the TSO agents for this? If you want the policy changed, yelling at them is just going to waste your time and theirs.

    And this is addressed to all of you insulting the TSO agents: What is wrong with you? THEY ARE PEOPLE YOU MORONS. No matter what, this is still true, and comparing them to Nazis is demeaning and wrong, and you should be ashamed of yourself for acting like a three-year old and calling people names. End of story.

  13. What I am going to take from this is that people do not need to be verbally abusing people who are doing their jobs. Nobody likes what’s going on, and maybe they should just walk out on their work. But to verbally abuse anyone for doing something listed in their job description is wrong. Tell them that it makes you really uncomfortable and that you think they should quit their job. But what are you helping by calling them a pervert, a molester, or any other hurtful word that is reserved for the scum of our country?

  14. Fish,
    I have read nearly every scholarly article, newspaper article, and blog post I can find. These seem like facts:
    1. Images have been recorded in at least one instance (a lawsuit is ongoing). http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20012583-281.html is but one link to this news.
    2. The radiation in indeed less than the whole body endures by cosmic ray exposure during a few minutes of flight. However, the radiation employed by the full body scanners is of a very different nature than cosmic rays. Cosmic rays easily penetrate both the plane, your body, and well into if not beyond the earth. Full body scanners work by essentially, being stopped at the skin, and thus, revealing what you have in your clothes. Using the “less radiation than flying argument” is inaccurate and irresponsible. The machines deliver all of the radiation to the skin, and most vulnerably, the eyes and reproductive cells. No organization has thus far tested the effects of repeated exposure, or, most worrisome in my opinion, the error rate of these machines (it takes years of training to be an x-ray tech, but a month I am told to be a TSA worker). I do not doubt their intelligence or abilities, but to operate an x-ray machine on humans should and does require years of training in all other applications. These points, I believe seriously cast doubt upon the safety and privacy aspects of this system, and the degree to whether or not we can trust the TSA to handle this well. They are good people, but this is too dangerous, both legally, morally, and until further testing, physically to let fly for now. More testing, better systems, more intelligence work, more statistics as to normal flight patterns are all called for. Please let me know if I am incorrect about the scanner’s method of operation of about the breaking of the promise not to store pictures.

  15. The TSA officers responses are surprisingly ignorant. Taking nude pictures of people or groping them without probable cause to believe they pose a threat to the aircraft is not honorable. Refusing to do so would be honorable, but unfortunately they care more about their paychecks than they care about protecting their fellow citizens from gratuitous sexual abuse.

    The Nazi comment was particularly interesting. A common defense of Nazi soldiers was to claim they were just following orders. Indeed there probably were many who committed atrocities because they were told to, without hatred or malice for their victims. That is of course no excuse. Likening TSA officers to Nazis is an all the more apt comparison in light of how many of them plead that they are just doing their jobs.

  16. It’s offical. The US is a country of wimps. If a grope or two is needed to make flights secure then that’s it. Grow up.

  17. We need to treat them like crap for agreeing to do what they do. We should lay it on thick and push them to quit.

  18. Good. Break them. Then break the next group, and the next, until either the TSA can’t find anyone to do fondle passengers or they are forced to change their policy.

  19. Boo…hoo. Get another job. Many of us do things we do not like in our daily lives at work. We chose to do what we do.
    yes you have a menial low paying job but you also use this job to exert unnecessary authority towards the general public.
    After all, all they did was give you new shirts and place Juanica and Puff Daddy at the lines to harass passengers. Most of you TSA people are rude and uncaring……..
    Cut the BS…suck it up or get another job….what the TSA is doing is totally unnecessary

  20. i find particularly interesting the quotes:

    “Even worse is having to try and feel inside the flab rolls of obese passengers and we seem to get a lot of obese passengers!

    …if I was attracted to women, it would not be the large number of passengers I handle daily that have a problem understanding what personal hygiene is.”

    work with them huh? That sounds an awful lot like a tenth of tso’s referring to the public as fat, disgusting people…

    I just wonder how many tso’s are parked in airplanes on the tarmack without access to toothpaste, shampoo, soap, razors, water, and other instruments of personal hygiene because some jackbooted thug took it away while they were trying to pass through a security checkpoint after either fondling them or taking a picture of them naked?

  21. I’m glad you posted this article. My husband and I were talking about this last night. I figured the TSOs have to be just as upset about it as the travelers. This certainly wasn’t in their job description when they were hired. They don’t deserve the abusive comments. The people in their company that make the decisions are the ones we should be aiming our anger at.

    For those that say they TSOs should just walk away from the job if they don’t like it, I disagree. It’s easy to sit and judge other’s actions from the comfort of our desks. If I had to choose between a job (albeit a low-paying one) that will provide food for my child and a roof over my head vs. being homeless and starving, I’m always going to pick the one that will provide for my family. And yes, that means sometimes I have to take a hard look at my personal morals and ethics. I may have to swallow my pride for a little while in the best interests of myself. I realize that is a selfish thing to say, but it’s a decision many of us have to face daily. However, If I was currently a TSO, I’d be looking for another line of work. The best time to find a job is when you have a job.

  22. this is absurd! The country itself has been running scared more and more each year since 9/11. the bottom line being is airports have always kind of felt like police stations, now a bit more personal. Are you telling me that none of these passengers have never been arrested or searched by police. I’m sure they would not slander an officer, less they be arrested. TSA officials are practically police. As far as I am concerned anyone whom takes the time to make a TSA uncomfortable while doing their job either goes to the back of the line or can catch the next flight. GROW THE FUCK UP PEOPLE!

  23. If Americans want to take back our country than we shouldn’t be allowing a Mosque to be built near Ground Zero & we should definitely do something to shut borders down & deal w/all the illegals here. Let’s take back our country by putting stricter standards on Muslims who want more freedom for Islam to be the big dog in America. Bad enough we have to be subjected to being treated like possible terrorists than when a woman in a burkha gets questioned all of a sudden its an infringement on her civil rights & religion? Hell no, the terrorists were Muslims & even though not all Muslims are terrorists & there are some good Muslims out there but if you can’t assimilate into our society than you don’t belong here & should go back to your own …

    AS SIMPLE AS THAT!

    Do i have some sympathy for some of the TSO’s absolutely. I understand how difficult it must be for some of them & how unrealistic it might be to just up quit when you have kids at home & have to pay bills in this economy. This has gotten too far out of hand but only because we have become so ‘tolerant’ & ‘accomodating’ to the fundamentals of Islam that we put ourselves in this position.

    Freedom of Religion is a right in this country & I believe in separation of church & state I do not believe that a religion should play a role in how observant & careful we are to not stepping on peoples toes however who want to push their religion off on us.

    People whine about Christianity & yeah there are some so called Christian nut jobs out there like the ones protesting soldiers funerals. There are the Black Israelites who are so racists that they act more like Nazis when speaking to real Jews who had family members perish in the Holocaust. Since when did free speech turn into something that you could make someone feel so dehumanized.

    Want to wear a burkha? That’s cool & fine by me but if it interferes w/practical safety issues than sorry but i want to see your face.

  24. You always have the option of not flying. No one is making you fly to your destination. If you don’t like the new security policies then find a different way to get where you are going.

  25. It’s not the procedures, it’s who is performing the procedures. Unkempt, overweight, inarticulate, testy, officious TSA personnel who are poorly trained are regarded as one step removed from working at Walmart. This is the problem, not the procedures.

  26. It’s not the procedures, it’s who is performing the procedures. Unkempt, overweight, inarticulate, testy, officious TSA personnel who are poorly trained are regarded as one step removed from working at Walmart. This is the problem, not the procedures. The Israeli method is much safer and much less intrusive.

  27. I don’t sympathize with the TSO’s at all. Let them come out publically along with their untion the AFL-CIO and state that concealment searches of children are wrong and they will nto enforce them than they will get my sympathy and concern. Furthermore the AFL-CIO has stayed quiet and on the sidelines. What is the screening process for the TSO’s, people say it is not our business however these men and women will be groping and concealment searching toddler and young teens. It is our business and their should be no negotiating away strict controls over the backgrounds of these people. This is a case of we are the government shutup and do what your told. Some TSO’s may be good people doing a job but if we are to have sympathy for them why are they not speaking up about some of the stupiditiy in this policy. The TSO’s have to understand touching my child is gonna get you hurt or cussed out understyandably.

  28. Yep, when you violate people’s rights and strip them of dignity, you do not get the luxury of compartmentalizing their reactions into tidy little boxes. These agents may be the puppets in this show, but they are fair game when it comes to targets of citizen outrage. Let’s just hope that we can also direct our disgust in more productive, useful ways.

  29. Fish –

    Comparing the radiation from the body scanners to the radiation in-flight is somewhat “apples to oranges”. The radiation from these machines is concentrated on the first few layers of the skin as opposed to the diffused radiation you experience in flight. For this reason it does not pose any danger to pregnant females, however there is a cumulative risk of skin cancer with repeated exposure. As a government body, the FDA has a vested interest in supporting the unproven safety claims of these scanners.

    There is a nice article on Discover Magazine online that talks about this: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/11/17/whats-the-real-radiation-risk-of-the-tsas-full-body-x-ray-scans/

  30. Someone has to do this crappy job and I appreciate the ones that do. Maybe all the TSOs should just strike or quit, then what will happen… no one flies?

    Then all of the business drones and happy vacationers can’t get to their destination and have something else to complain about.

    I’m all for people standing up when the current process is very flawed, but to take it out on the TSOs who are just doing their job is ridiculous. And for all the people who say… this is their chosen job, they can leave… start reading my comment again from the beginning.

  31. Dear Confused,

    The Images that were stored were generated by the US Marshal Service, with hardware procured by the US Justice Department. There have been no images saved, stored, transmitted or ‘leaked’ from the TSA created outside of a test-environment.

    For more info I suggest reading – http://bit.ly/8XwJaZ

    As for radiation, I am in the process of speaking with more than one physicist for their professional opinions. I have some opinions offered to me by other scientists, but am pursuing this as well for a wider scientific view.

    Happy Flying!

    -Fish

  32. Opt Out Day is a reasonable means to tell our out-of-control bureaucrats that we will protest having our rights and bodies violated by government lackeys. The people are in charge, not the government. Sexually assaulting Americans does nothing but make terrorists laugh themselves silly in their caves. What is wrong with profiling? Not PC? Neither is the criminal behavior of TSA. Profiling has worked for Israel for over 50 years. Answering a few questions in line is a lot less intrusive than what our government is subjecting us to.

  33. TSA’s are not molesters, anyone who has ever been truly molested would know this! Yes you do have to sign a release at the doctors, and police cant pat you down in that manner, but police arent the ones trying to make sure we dont have another 9/11. And yes they need to view everyone as potential terrorists, if they didnt then they wouldnt be able to do their jobs correctly. If you dont like it then use another form of transportation, plain and simple. There are buses, trains and the always present driving. You dont want to use those modes of transportation then quit whining. You know what you are getting into when you decide to fly, and I believe that your buying that ticket is all the permission they need.

  34. At last, the sheeple finally baa in complaint of something. It took Gramma being felt up by a moron to get you indignant, but finally, some of you are refusing to take this bullshit anymore. The TSA are about as “honorable and patriotic” as the guys driving the trucks of Zyklon B into the camps. “Just doing our duty. . .” That’s a lie that never seems to get old.
    Now if you otherwise milksops can keep this up, we might actually get something done about this violation of human decency in the name of false security.

    This is it, break their morale and make this nuisance fail. Haters, arise! Now is your hour to spill such hateful vitriol that you finally manage to get something changed! Let the TSA cup fill over with your wrath, people!
    Don’t just take this anymore! Curse them, spit on them, revile them in every way.
    Make them all cry!

    “Those who sacrifice liberty in the name of security deserve neither.”
    – Benjamin Franklin

  35. Many commenters here are truly disgusting, and are actually the face of what is wrong with this country today. The attitude displayed in many of these posts is emotional, immature and childish. Step down off your high horse and get a grip on reality people! If you are so against these proceedures DO NOT FLY. It really is that simple. You are NOT being forced onto the plane, and you do have other choices available to you. That you choose not to consider these other options, declaring your “right” to a non-invasive flying experience, is nothing more than immature selfishness. You think walking into an airport is all about you. That’s the very same attitude displayed by Wall Streeters as they ripped this country blind.

  36. It doesn’t take much courage to take cheap shots at TSA employees, who have to stand there and take it. I’d have more respect for these “freedom warriors” if they’d email or call the office of their Senator or Congressman. But that takes work.

  37. Just a few comments from a front line TSA officer –
    1. We didn’t sign up for this abuse or the issues related to the enhanced pat down procedures. For some it’s just another job but for most it’s a chance to serve their country again!
    2. Most of us don’t agree with the new procedures but again I will reiterate and say we do not make policy, we implement and accomplish it!
    3. We, as a society, are unfortunately forced into the situation we now find ourselves. We all wish we could return to the good old of days of flying without the security concerns but those days vanished when the first sky jacking occurred way before 9/11.
    4. The vast majority of the American people have no earthly idea what the real threat is.
    5. The front line TSA officers have to get it right 100% of the time – the bad guys only have to get it right 1 time! If that 1 time were to happen again, I bet everyone of you who are now screaming about the loss of some personal freedom will be the first to scream about TSA not doing it’s job and how could TSA let this happen.
    6. Let’s propose this solution: Every passenger who wants to opt of security can do so. They pay an extra $250.00 to TSA and the offer is open to anyone!!
    Just my $00.02 worth as I for one am sick of all the screaming people who don’t really care one way or another – they just want their 15 seconds of fame!

  38. Hey TSA Agent. If you don’t like ‘patting down’ passengers, then quit. Now! If you don’t quit you like it. Period.

  39. A quote from a chat channel talking about this article…

    “German citizen in the early 1940s: “I’m not doing anything terrible. I’m just working at a train station where they’re loading passengers on these trains, bound for who knows where. I don’t hate them. I’m just doing my job. If I don’t do it, I could get in trouble. I have a family to feed. I’m serving my country.””

    If these clowns want to “serve their country”, they can join the Army. Working for TSA is working for any regular employer for a paycheck, and they’re no different than abusive cops that only stay at the position for the steady paycheck and the power. If it’s really disheartening to be told the truth to your face, QUIT. They can’t keep replacing the agents forever if everyone hates them.

  40. I live in Hawaii, and so I guess I *COULD* kayak across the Pacific, there are not very many other options. I guess my choice could be that I live somewhere else. If you follow that logic all the way down, then you could say there really aren’t any rights–just choices.

    I think the 4th Amendment issues are very strong here, and are worth pursuing.

  41. I am not concerned with the “personal” feelings of the TSA officers. If they don’t like doing the job they get paid to do, then can grow a backbone and find another one. I do not like being accused of a crime every time I go into an airport. With the TSA, you are guilty until proven innocent.

  42. I just wish there was more honesty here. Patting down a man’s testicles and penis, or a woman’s breast and crotch have nothing to do with security. They are looking for drug traffickers.

  43. “Yesterday a passenger told me to keep my hands off his penis or he’d scream. Is this how a 40 year old man in business attire acts? He’ll scream? My 3 year old can get away with saying he’ll scream, but a 40 something business man?”

    He does this because knocking TSA personnel down is not a valid option.

  44. I will probably deal with the enhance pat down eventually.. I’m resigned to it because I have prosthetic knees and set off detectors. Whenever possible I will use the AIT line. But I also don’t like it when I’ve been in line waiting my turn and am told to wait and wait and wait, while other people are randomly pulled from the traditional checkpoints to go through the AIT ahead of me. And what I will react to is getting yelled at by a TSO for not following procedure. Excuse me, I don’t read minds and I didn’t know that some of the scanners take longer than others so to verbally abuse ME for not following procedure was inexcusable. All I did was turn my head in the AIT when the agent SPOKE to me. Then I was yelled at because I RUINED the image. I also found it offensive that I am the one who is made to feel at fault and guilty for something I did not deliberately do. So it cuts both ways. Luckily I no longer have to fly frequently on business.

  45. Also, please do an expose of this sort on hookers, drug dealers, janitors, garbage men, riot police, and corrections officers. Don’t act like the victim when you picked your job and you decided it was more important than following the TSA’s orders. At the guy who said he didn’t think he was a Nazi because he was just following rules, I have news for him – that’s what the Nazi’s thought too.

    You’re a person, you’re just being professional, you’re not getting a thrill out of this. Well you picked the job, and guess what? Everyone else in line is a person, a professional, and not getting a thrill out of this. But you picked a job, and you also get compensated for it. If you’re following it out even though you don’t “agree” with it, you’re still a TSA goon.

    No sympathy, because you’re not the only one with a job they didn’t like. But you are the only one’s who act like fiddling with the private parts of American citizens (and foreigners alike, to be fair) is just another way of saying “professionalism.”

    PS: Yeah, that does make you a Nazi, just not in the “A Nazi is someone with hatred and ignorance in their hearts, a person who carried out actions of execution and extermination of those based on their religion, origins or sexual preferences” sense. You know, Nazi in the sense that you’re someone who’s ignorance and hatred of finding another job has blinded your hearts, and you now carry out the actions of fondling people from kids to seniors based on a paycheck. Yeah, much, much better.

  46. I’ve had enough, I will not continue to fly as long as TSA is going to violate my 4th Ammendment Rights. I won’t let anyone expose myself and family to more xrays or molestation and I hope the airlines and the TSA continue to suffer until they reconsider this policy.

  47. So wait. If you only get this pat down if you choose to skip the other methods of search how are the TSO’s violating your rights? You chose to get the pat down, you even chose to fly. You don’t have to deal with losing your job if you decide you don’t like this. Don’t blame the TSO’s because you don’t like the organizations higher ups. Furthermore don’t blame the TSO’s because your too whiny and self righteous to work with them. Suck it up and act like an adult.
    As for the Nazi comparisons, the Nazi’s took away the basic rights, and eventually attempted to kill off, several ethnic and racial groups. The TSO are trying to control a serious issue. They are not coming into your home at night, they’re not prosecuting you in public, they’re not even stopping you from flying; they are just making you fly safely. People who specifically hate TSO officers for doing their jobs, disrepute them, and the many of you who wish violence upon them, are closer to Nazi’s than any of the stories i’ve seen/heard.

  48. Never would I have ever believed our country could turn on innocent travelers in such a sick manner.Where did our rights go? This is legally and morally repugnant. We are told to bend over and take it or do not fly. We are told there is no recourse by our sick goverment. This is the line in the sand. Our elected officals need to say NO. TSA workers need to say NO, we will not molest another person. The people of this country need to say NO, as Americans we will take this no more, forever. Our Goverment knows who the bad guys are, grow some balls, man-up obey our laws quit molesting the innocent. Do the hard job go after our real enemies.

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