TSA apologizes for attempting to screen toddler in wheelchair

[Tony_FLADEM]

ST. LOUIS The Transportation Security Administration is apologizing after agents at Lambert Airport in St. Louis sought to screen a 3-year-old girl in a wheelchair.

The mother of the child shot video that caused a stir in social media after it was posted online.

The incident happened Feb. 8. The girl and her family were about to fly to Disney World in Orlando, Fla. A TSA agent asked to pat down the 3-year-old and screen her wheelchair. The agent initially told the girl's mother, Annie Schulte, it was illegal to tape the activity.

On the video, the little girl, Lucy, who has spina bifida, is seen crying.

Agents eventually decided against a pat-down.

The TSA says it regrets the incident and will address concerns with its workers.


http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57570620/tsa-apologizes-for-attempting-to-screen-toddler-in-wheelchair/

This is in regards to this story: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022408410

[msongs]

1. lesson for terrorists - plant your devices in wheelchairs carrying small children? nt

[jberryhill]

4. Yep

Because three year olds practically never cry.

If it was up to the consensus on DU, three year olds wouldn't be allowed to fly anyway.

[msanthrope]

7. They'd go cargo, with cats and dogs allowed to freely roam the cabin. nt

[CreekDog]

24. people with disabilities must scare you then

nice.

[jberryhill]

89. Would you like to insult my daughter to her face?

My daughter is blind and has mental disabilities.

What other ignorant, rude, and insulting comments would you care to make today in order to feel better about your pathetic life?

Since you would like to have another thread about me, as you are clearly unable to discuss a topic without making personal characteristics, how about you just get it all out at once, okay?

People with disabilities are not the question. The issue is OTHER people taking advantage of people with disabilities.

I doubt infants smuggle drugs. But it is a known fact that drug smugglers out drugs in infant's diapers to smuggle them. Do you understand that, or are you just here do to deal with your personal hostilities in a way that makes you feel better about yourself?

[CreekDog]

92. well look at the post I was reacting to

yes, i actually expected a better, more thoughtful post from you.

and based on what you've said about your daughter, i expected you to be yet more sensitive in these threads about disabilities and the rights of those that have them.

but you weren't. you just joined the pile on and made fun of a 3 year old (certainly not anything over the top, like some others).

but jeez, a 3 year old cries at treatment by the TSA that even TSA has said is wrong and they've apologized for...

and that's a joke to you?

[CreekDog]

31. there you go, standing up for civil liberties

on occasion.

[BlueJazz]

14. As long as the children don't cry or be a little inconvenienced it doesn't matter...

..what happens to the other passengers.
.
.
.

[CreekDog]

27. do you think the disabled are not inspected thoroughly enough before boarding planes?

do you know anything about this? it does not appear so.

[BlueJazz]

36. I fly constantly to my other country (Australia) and many other places.

The disabled are checked and rechecked, as they should be. I wish there were no checks but if it's the law and if everybody
has to go thru the bullshit, I don't want to hear a few people whining like as if "Aw gee whiz, why to I have to go through this torture"

Well...you know what..it does suck..big time. I remember going on fights to New Zealand and taking 6-7 minutes to go through all the customs and stuff. Now it takes me a fucking hour and a half.
(..and that's after being cramped in a plane for 18 hours)
BUT the above sentence is one of the very few times I've bitched about it.
I've seen the "inspectors" be very nice to people and I've seen then be assholes.
My only complaint is every so often we get one of these threads where (maybe) the inspectors were pricks and everybody acts like it's a daily hassle on their oh-so-sacred-lives.

We all go through the crap so stop whining about it. (not you personally)
Maybe we can change the system one day.

[CreekDog]

38. you don't go through it, you don't get to talk

you're not in a wheelchair getting the inspection, you don't get to say that it's all okay for TSA to break the rules.

you don't get to wait ONCE for an hour and suddenly you're entitled to tell disabled people to get inspected far beyond what you're subjected to --and you said you want them CHECKED AND RECHECKED.

thumbscrews just not strong enough for ya huh?

when you're in a wheelchair you can say that.

now?

what makes you safe? nothing. you should be inspected as much and as thoroughly as the disabled are? but you know what? that's when all this shit would end.

the moment most people were subjected to the TSA inspections the disabled experience (and you can see it at any checkpoint you are breezing through while they aren't), this shit would stop.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

52. And she is a 3 year old for Franklin Roosevelt's sake!

Let us think about that!

[CreekDog]

56. well they cry about everything, come on

crying's a sign they are getting the once over extra good so that guy with the briefcase upthread can feel safer.

[BlueJazz]

86. You're not going to like this: I actually did fly in a wheelchair for 2 flights.

I broke my hip (skydiving). It royally sucked going through the inspection.
But...having to go through the process 4 X does not make me an expert.

I go though the "crap" 12-16 times per year and it doesn't bother me..as long as everybody else has to go through it.

All I'm saying is..We have to go through the shit for now and it stinks but also, there are people that live in an iron lung machine that bitch and moan less than the folks in wheelchairs do....

Also..Yes..If I could take their place in going through inspections..I would and I'd just suck it up cause there are people that are in a lot worse shape than ANY of the people that fly.

I know Men and 0ne woman that are severely disabled (From War) and they complain less than any of us...

[CreekDog]

93. you were in a wheelchair twice? so what. you didn't learn anything sensitivity from it...

by the way, does this lady complain less than any of us?

Amputees worry about airport security screening
Updated 8/25/2010 7:49 AM

By Paul O. Boisvert for USA TODAY

Eileen Casey doesn't like the extra screening she has to endure when she flies. "It's ironic to lose my leg to a radiation overdose, and now, if I want to travel, I have to expose myself to more radiation," she says.

By Gary Stoller, USA TODAY
Eileen Casey doesn't want to travel by air anymore, because security personnel at some airports require her to be screened by an X-ray device for passengers with prosthetic limbs.
Casey, a former competitive swimmer, says she lost her right leg from radiation treatments for a skin condition in the 1970s before the dangers of the treatment were understood.

"It's ironic to lose my leg to a radiation overdose, and now, if I want to travel, I have to expose myself to more radiation," says the Burlington, Vt., resident.

Many people with prosthetic limbs complain about the CastScope, a screening device, that uses backscatter X-ray technology to identify security threats concealed in a prosthetic, cast or bandage. They say they're concerned about radiation exposure, the length of time it takes to be screened and a lack of qualified personnel operating the devices.
In June, the Amputee Coalition of America expressed its concerns about the CastScope and called on the Transportation Security Administration to "clean up its act" when screening people who've lost a limb. The group, which has about 5,300 members, says a survey of 7,300 amputees finds they've been subjected to "inconsistent, unfair, abusive and often embarrassing screenings" by TSA personnel.
"One of my biggest peeves is the CastScope," says Jeffrey Cain, a doctor and chief of family medicine at The Children's Hospital in Denver, whose legs were amputated below the knee. "It takes a long time, some screeners don't know how to operate it and, as a frequent flier, I'm concerned about the potential cumulative dose of radiation."
The TSA spent $1.7 million in September 2007 for 35 CastScopes and support services. The agency says it has deployed the devices at 11 airports and doesn't plan to buy more.

...

http://travel.usatoday.com/flights/2010-08-25-airportscreening25_ST_N.htm

[BlueJazz]

96. That Lady has a right to bitch. The child does also...because it's a child.

[pecwae]

84. How awful for you!

To think that you must endure an hour and a half wait while those pesky disabled are rightly checked and rechecked. It must be quite a burden having to hear about a horrible 3 you confined to a wheelchair not having to be subject to an invasive patdown as she so richly deserved.

[BlueJazz]

99. Come on now...get real. You know I wasn't upset about having to wait for disabled people ...

...or even Elders. I'm upset because they need to speed up the damn process by having more lanes...

God...you must think I'm a real prick.

[GoneOffShore]

91. Australia, Canada, England and New Zealand have all bought into

the TSA security model. And totally unfortunate it is.

But then there has always been a component in English speaking populations to go along to get along. You sound like a "go along to get along" sort of person.

Guess what, you've got more chance of being struck by lightning or winning the lottery than being killed in a terrorist attack on an airplane.

No, we MUST, as you so nicely put it, "whine" about the security state. Actually we must shout about it.
Otherwise it's the slippery slope to the Stasi.

No maybe about changing the system some one day. We must change it.

Take a good look at the blog Taking Sense Away, Travel Underground and Flyer Talk for a good insight into real travelers experiences with the TSA.

And for an even better look at "Airport Security" go to [link:http://www.schneier.com/essay-330.html|A Waste of Money and Time
By Bruce Schneier], an op-ed piece he wrote for the New York Times.

[BlueJazz]

97. I'm well aware that it's probably a waste of time. I have written letters and tried to be active

..in the hope of changing the system. It's just gotten worse.

[Union Scribe]

58. That's quite a bizarre, violent sig you have. nt

[BlueJazz]

87. I'm a Man and (for a while) was a rape counselor. That's where my Sig. came from.

[Logical]

16. LOL, yes, because there is tons of proof terrorists are stopped daily by the TSA. The TSA....

is a joke. Liquids? Really? Shoes? Really?

Why don't terrorists shoot up a school weekly? Or a sporting event? I will tell you why. Because they are not really wanting to.

[BlueJazz]

100. Well...there hasn't been any terrorist attacks lately.

I'm not serious about that.

[CreekDog]

22. what are you going on about?

[BainsBane]

40. seriously

They need to screen EVERYONE. Now, that doesn't mean manhandling a little girl. They should treat her carefully, but she has to be screened.

[CreekDog]

46. she was already screened

this was a second screening and TSA admits they did it wrong.

jeez.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

55. So they screened her ant then they go and scare her?

They did relies she was 3?

[Cali_Democrat]

62. Apparently the TSA was frightened by a crying, wheelchair-bound 3-year-old

The TSA is a joke.

[LanternWaste]

90. It will become as common as unicorns...

It will become as common as unicorns...

[Cali_Democrat]

2. Here's a photo of the child crying:

[obamanut2012]

85. omg

[DollarBillHines]

3. Bullshit

I travel a good bit. It is appalling how many small children and really elderly and frail people are singled out for TSA bullshit.

Due to various factors, I get to spend a good bit of time in the 'box' when I fly (like 90% of every pass-thru), so I see a lot of this.

[dixiegrrrrl]

5. The box?????

What is this box you speak of?
Serious question, I stopped flying the day they started this crap with TSA.

[backscatter712]

15. The "special screening" box?

Presumably, you get on the list, get "SSSS" printed on your tickets, so while most passengers get the usual baggage x-ray and metal detector, he gets the grope-down and porno-scanner, along with the delay getting to his flight and the rest of the ritual humiliation.

But don't worry. DU's Vichy progressive authoritarians will be here to shit on this thread, lecturing us on how we need to submit and pray to their authority figures. They start having anxiety attacks when we protest instead of obeying.

[CreekDog]

29. could be referring to the glass box you wait in until they give you the secondary inspection

and for the disabled or those with health issues, that's a sure way to get to be in the box 100% of the time.

[DollarBillHines]

78. Pretty much, every time I fly...

which is often...

I am directed to what I call "The Box" and I am wanded and groped.

This has become part of my travels. I have the drill down, pat.

It is a fucking joke.
DBH

[LibDemAlways]

8. I was once treated to the spectacle of watching an

elderly Alzheimers patient have her shoes yanked off, get hoisted out of her wheelchair, wanded and then patted down. The poor woman was terrified. Her daughter, a senior herself, kept pleading "Please leave my mother alone." This all happened while the goons were feeling around my bra when pins in my ankle from an old injury set off the metal detector. What a circus.

[SheilaT]

6. I have not flown in more than five years now

I can't begin to guess when I'll next be willing to fly.

If everyone is that dangerous, including the 90 year olds, the nuns, the toddlers in wheelchairs then let's just shut down the entire air travel system altogether. Or, as a condition of flying everyone must be stripped naked, issued some kind of gowns (sort of like hospitals) that they wear during the entire flight. Need I add that absolutely no carryon can be allowed, so too bad if you have prescription medicine or a baby that needs formula. Then, and only then can we be one hundred percent certain that everyone is absolutely safe.

Clearly I'm being sarcastic. But the entire TSA is totally out of control. I will drive across the country in my car before I will get an an airplane these days.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

42. "Totally out of control"? They are under the control of the guy in the White House.

Would FDR, Truman, JFK, LBJ, Carter, or Clinton have tolerated this?

[railsback]

9. If I were a terrorist

This would go to the top of my list on how to smuggle bombs onto an airliner.

Stupidity and carelessness, a la George Bush, can get people killed. So can bleeding hearts.

[NightWatcher]

11. if the "terrorists" start employing sick babies, old people, and the infirmed they fucking win ok

but since this has never been done leave them alone. reinforce the cockpit doors and scan the luggage for dangerous items like bombs that could bring down a plane. Here's an idea, scan the cargo that places like FedEx and UPS put on these flights that never gets scanned.

[railsback]

44. No one ever flew jetliners loaded with passengers into skyscrapers, either

[fujiyama]

49. If you're so afraid of terrorists

go lock yourself in a bubble.

There are inherent risks in a free society. I'm not willing to harass three year olds in wheel chairs to make you feel safe because you're afraid of the boogeymen.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

72. That just makes no fucking sense. nt

[railsback]

74. Of course not.

[CreekDog]

68. you don't know what you're talking about and you're embarrassing DU

you don't know how the disabled are already screened.

you don't know that this little girl already was screened.

and you're so ignorant of that screening that you think this, the most scrutinized group of traveler's in the country for a decade now, is the group that terrorists are going to use.

that statement is among the most ignorant statements written on DU tonight, sadly, you don't win that prize because another poster thinks the disabled should carry papers saying they won't spread disease before they enter buildings.

so you don't win tonight, but it was an admirable effort in heartlessness. the prize for the quote i most thought came from Mein Kampf and not from a fellow DUer, sadly, goes to the other guy wanting the disabled kids to carry papers.

[railsback]

76. Oh, I had no idea you were personal friends with this family

You'd have to be, to be 100% sure. I mean, if you didn't know this family personally, then you'd just be assuming, which is what the Rightwing does, and that certainly would be embarrassing, wouldn't it?

[CreekDog]

83. Oh, and I had no idea you were personal friends with

[GoneOffShore]

13. Nothing "Bleeding heart" about it.

TSA is security theater.

There to make once a year flyers get used to the surveillance state.

[backscatter712]

17. It's designed to psychologically condition the populace to accept an authoritarian police state.

Every time you go to the airport, you're practicing obedience, submission to authority. They make you take off your shoes, pour out your drinks, walk through the pornoscanner, bark like a dog, accept your dignity violations without protest.

FUCK THE TSA!

[dixiegrrrrl]

23. Exactly....which is why we don't particpate in their games by flying.

I had hoped that more people would say NO but apparently not.
Jaw dropping what people will accept.

[CreekDog]

28. and it is working, half the posters here think the disabled need to be inspected harder

it's not enough for them.

they want them xrayed, groped, whatever isn't being done to the disabled who are trying to fly, half a dozen posters think they are just whiny babies for not wanting even more intrusive inspection of the disabled than is already taking place.

even TSA APOLOGIZED FOR THIS and DUers are ANGRY that TSA has!



they aren't even Democrats or liberals to me. they just care about themselves.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

43. What good is authority if you can't abuse it?

For the TSA, it's a perk.

[Logical]

19. LOL, please list in detail how many terrorists the TSA has stopped. Also, they stopped.....

making certain people take of there shoes. Where are the shoe bombs? Wow, gullible much?

[backscatter712]

20. Here's my detailed list...

...

[Logical]

21. Damn, I guess I was wrong! :-)

[Blecht]

25. I like threads like these

They help me add to my ignore list -- I know that anybody who supports this security theater will have nothing of any substance to say on any topic.

It really saves me a lot of aggravation.

[CreekDog]

45. i always find it interesting when the most ignorant posts come from posters who should know better

yet don't.

[CreekDog]

30. you don't know what you're talking about

first, the girl was already inspected thoroughly once. this was a 2nd inspection and the screener, stupidly, didn't even do it right or know what the rules were.

second, they inspect the disabled more heavily than any other group already and they aren't proposing to change that.

but it shows what you know.

in fact NOTHING with which would make your stupid assertion true.

[fujiyama]

32. Wait, wait, so anyone against harassing 3 year olds in wheel chairs is a bleeding heart?

I guess I am one then and I'm guessing 99% of sane free thinking people are too.

With all due respect, if this is how you believe in fighting terrorism, then you are really fucking stupid...

[CreekDog]

47. yes multiple posters in this thread think babies in wheelchairs are terrorist risks

one even thinks they need to be CHECKED AND RECHECKED.

[fujiyama]

48. That kind of paranoia is killing this country

A large number of people seem to have lost their mind over the last 11 years.

[railsback]

51. Good Gawd, the Left is going all Teabaggin' again

Think for ONCE. No one thought it possible that multiple airlines could be hijacked at the same time, loaded with passengers, and used as missiles on our own soil. The fact that there were attempts to smuggle bombs in clothing worn by passengers means that 'they' are looking for various ways to carry out terrorism. Do you personally know these parents and child? Do you actually think that 'they' are not watching all of this? We freakin' trained their own terrorists how to fly our jetliners, for fuck's sake! Oh, and then there's that little matter of taking out OBL, for added incentive.

Whatever. The kid will get over it. No doubt it was the parents creating a scene that freaked the girl out. Yes, 'fucking stupid' is the key term.

[fujiyama]

57. Teabaggin?

Fuck you.

Seriously. I see you're from the Joe Lieberman wing of the Democratic party.

[railsback]

61. LoL

Yes, the use of the term is now confirmed.

[Union Scribe]

65. The use is, yet its meaning escapes you

as does its PROPER use. But you needn't confirm you used it. We saw that.

[jeff47]

95. Boy, I didn't think you could get more wrong.

No one thought it possible that multiple airlines could be hijacked at the same time, loaded with passengers, and used as missiles on our own soil.

Except for it being so obvious and commonly thought of that it was a plot point in a Tom Clancy book.

"No one thought" was the Bush administration's bullshit to try and cover for their ineptitude. They thank you for buying into their excuse instead of asking how they could be so inept.

[backscatter712]

59. We all know the type of people who use terms like "bleeding heart"

Three guesses how they vote, and the first two don't count.

[fujiyama]

63. They're from the Joe Lieberman wing of the Democratic party

Oh wait, that means they're not Democrats - they likely belong to the now defunct party of Joe Lieberman for Connecticut.

I have no patience for such authoritarian idiots. There is more risk of some crack pot with an AR-15 that had a bad day with his girlfriend gunning me down at a bar/restaurant tomorrow than there is of me getting on some random flight where Al Qaeda somehow "smuggled bombs" in some three year old's wheel chair. And besides, it's not like those in wheel chair's don't go through metal detectors.

No now we have rape-scan machines. I haven't seen one lick of evidence that the TSA has accomplished anything over the last decade. Maybe rails can provide some, since he's so gung ho on the fucking organization.

[railsback]

70. This is why I use the term 'Teabaggin'

Assuming without coherency. Assuming Democrats HAVE TO BE LIKE REPUBLICANS and follow the status quo. We are the Borg. I vote 100% Democrat, have for years. I also served in the military and can comprehend tactical ops. No, I don't have to be like any of you. I am above the ridiculousness of the mob.

[Union Scribe]

60. Actually, the terrorists

should be sitting back and reading what you just wrote, and feeling pretty good that they've completely won in making Americans a pack of craven knee-knockers who would rather have goons assault a child than take the minuscule chance one of them scary Muslims strapped a bomb on them.

[railsback]

64. Well, actually they'll be reading this

and be thinking what a bunch of pushovers the Americans are.

[Cali_Democrat]

66. Bingo. n/t

[NightWatcher]

10. take a tip from Israeli airport security, use some fucking common sense

address the threat in each situation and not harass sick people who are OBVIOUSLY NO THREAT TO OTHERS OR THE AIRPLANE

[GoneOffShore]

12. More smoke and mirrors from Taking Sense Away.

I cannot believe that people here defend the TSA.

[backscatter712]

18. Authoritarian Vichy "Democrats". n/t

[Lady Freedom Returns]

26. Have not seen video, but

from what I have read on Spina Bifida can be painful.
Did they have her stand up or move a certain way? That can cause her pain from what I have read. And I know I would cry if I was in pain.

"Spina bifida back pain in the lower back can also come from muscle problems. If you’re sitting in an awkward position or you’re standing or walking in such a way as to be very uncomfortable, that can get back pain started and keep it coming back."

http://www.losethebackpain.com/back-pain/spina-bifida-back-pain.html

[LeftInTX]

39. Spina bifida is caused by a birth defect which the spinal cord

is tethered and in many cases exposed. Paralysis occurs below the exposure.

The degree of paralysis varies. Usually in a young child like that the spinal cord was exposed at birth. Surgery is performed to cover the cord. Children are often able to walk with braces.

I imagine getting in and out of the chair is overwhelming to the little girl. I guess if necessary, they could have transferred her to another chair, for the inspection, but in this little girl's mind her chair is part of her body. So, she would feel violated even if it didn't hurt.

I also assume she is afraid of the agents.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

41. If they are anything like the Border Patrol, I can't blame her. n/t

[CreekDog]

71. if she wasn't afraid of agents, she will be from now on

another child grows up as the unnecessary target of people in uniform.

[MadHound]

33. Between this and the original thread on this topic,

I find it amazing how many authoritarians there are on this board, willing to manhandle a small disabled child, or disabled or elderly adult, just so that they can keep their precious illusion of safety.

I also find this amazing because I remember when this TSA security theater got rolled out under Bush, there was almost universal condemnation of it. Sure, there were a few who favored the jack booted thugs, there always are in a crowd, but nowhere near the extent there are now.

The funny thing is, TSA, despite all their thug theater, has yet to catch a terrorist. In fact the regularly let knives and guns slip through their screenings. Meanwhile, the Israelis, long considered to be the gold standard in airport security, don't go in for security theater. You don't take off your shoes or belt, you aren't hoisted out of a wheelchair. Instead, each person is ask a detailed set of questions, and the determination is made from there whether or not further actions are taken. Not one Israeli flight has been hijacked since '69, not a single instance of a terrorist attack on a plane.

But of course this sort of security costs more money than the TSA. Thus, we try to do it on the cheap, demeaning every person who flies in the process, and certainly not being effective at all.

But apparently some folks love the authoritarian theater. Insane. You know what Franklin said about trading liberty for security.

[MotherPetrie]

77. If Bush were still president, you can bet there would not be a single defense of the TSA..

But because the TSA now answers to President Obama, and he hasn't done anything to curb its excesses, criticism of TSA is ultimately criticism of MyPresident. Can't have that.

[fujiyama]

34. The TSA should be disbanded

Both parties are responsible for this fucking mess. Yes it started with Bush, but Lieberman sponsored it and Dems went along with the damn thing. It was a perfect example of corrupt interests aligning. I'll get shit for this, but I don't think Dems even gave two flying fucks about constitutional provisions. The only thing I remember them raising a stink about was union protections.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

35. The idiocy and the sheer paranoia on display in these two threads is embarrassing. Stop

watching so many goddamn movies. Some of you sound ridiculous.

[railsback]

54. WTC

Oh, wait. Those are gone.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

67. GWB. No wonder he was able to get away with so much shit. And contrary to

what your scared shitless ass said upthread. The FBI knew there were plans to fly planes into buildings. How did they know that? By good old fashioned police work. You wanna soil yourself over exploding teddy bears. Cool. The rest of us will be over here living our lives.

[fujiyama]

69. And so are a lot of our civil liberties in the aftermath.

[railsback]

73. What, you can't fly?

When I fly, I think nothing of it, because I'm able to comprehend that complacency gets people killed.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

75. Just make sure you pack additional pairs of underwear... the extra

absorbent kind.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

37. Whose in charge of the federal government? We used to blame Bush for the security theatre.

[Arctic Dave]

53. TSA are fucking morons.

Can we crush them with sledgehammers.

[mwrguy]

79. If you don't want to deal with the procedures that keep us safe, then don't fly

Obama does not hire assclowns to protect the flights. These people are professionals.

You want to be free from civilized rules? Stay off the planes. Go join a militia in Montana or something.

[CreekDog]

80. so you're saying that the TSA is apologizing becaues they enforced the rules correctly?

you're saying that these guys did everything right, and also, this is the same agency that is apologizing.

i'm trying to work this out here...

1) the girl was subjected to the procedures needed to fly safely

2) TSA says the girl was not subjected to the right procedures

3) TSA apologizes

4) TSA says screeners were wrong

5) you say screeners were right

[mwrguy]

81. it's PR

they are assuaging the mob, some of whom are posting in this very thread.

[Union Scribe]

82. Awesome sarcasm.

Wait, that was sarcasm right?

[ScreamingMeemie]

88. How about "Live Free or Die?" If you think those procedures are "keeping us safe"

over just being window-dressing for the chronically paranoid, I can't help you.

[Nine]

94. Here is a TSA statement on the incident.

http://blog.tsa.gov/2013/02/clarification-on-screening-of-3-year.html

What we did:

Our officer did initially mention a pat-down. We admit this was confusing, and contributed to a stressful situation. Very quickly, a manager was able to step in and give guidance.

Also, our officer told the passenger that it was illegal to film at the checkpoint. This is not the case, and you can take a look at our filming policy here.

TSA’s Federal Security Director at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport (STL) reached out to personally apologize for the incident. He also offered to assist the family the next time they traveled through the airport.

What we didn’t do:

The child did not receive a pat-down. You can read our new procedures for children 12 and under here.

Neither the child nor the parent was detained. TSA does not have the authority to detain passengers. Only Law Enforcement Officers can detain passengers.

The child’s stuffed animal was not confiscated. It was screened and handed back to the child after being screened. All accessible property is screened prior to traveling to your departure gate.

[MindPilot]

101. "TSA does not have the authority to detain passengers"

I'm sorry, but when a government agent is searching or questioning me against my will, that by its very definition is "detained."

[ecstatic]

98. I'm against profiling

So if the TSA plans to continue screening passengers, I think everyone should be screened, regardless of age, race, religion, and disabilities.