It's Time for Some Common Sense in Airline Searches.

[donco6]

In celebration of the holidays (Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, Solstice, et al.), I took a short trip to Mexico. I have never been so poked, prodded, scanned, X-rayed, yelled at, or ordered about in my entire traveling career - and that's saying a lot.

It started with the scan in Denver to Houston. That went OK - the usual, shuffling through the line, taking off jackets, cell phones, shoes (which always makes me cringe, but I do it anyway). Then the scanner found the lighter I had mistakenly left in my pocket, so I had to go to Terrorist Sublevel alert status, where I was wanded and finally released into the free world once again.

Once in Houston, we went through Customs. This was a little more intrusive, with bags being opened and contents pawed through. Walked through sniffing dogs and armed soldiers, down a hallway while some alert was shouting, "Attention passengers, an alarm has been triggered. We are investigating the source. Please listen for further information. . ." over and over again. We meandered through the cattle lines, letting out a solitary "moo" now and then. Other than always feeling inherently guilty when faced with someone wearing a badge, and being worried that that false guilt would scream "terrorist!" to the Gatekeeper, I made it through to the next stage.

Upon arriving in Mexico, I presented my completed papers to the Mexican Gatekeeper, who also pawed through my belongings, looking dubiously at my package of dry soup and packaged tuna fish (cheap lunches in the condo.) Finally I was free for a few days, though the government knew where I was staying and why (I wrote Grand Mayan Nuevo - for fun in the sun).

The return trip ramped up the searches to a higher pitch. My bags were searched again leaving PV, my papers checked and stamped. I got a more than a little frustrated when I was forced to take off my glasses, jewelry, shoes and belt to go through the scanner in PV. I mean, for God's sake, I'm wearing shorts and a T-shirt! Did they think my watch had a built-in laser or something? My rings? What possible harm could they be to anyone? And the belt? What? G*ddam Nazis.

After redressing in front of a large, busy Duty Free shop in PV with no chairs to sit on to retie shoes, I was subjected to another check of ID upon boarding the plane. Then it was off to Houston. Upon arrival, we went through US Customs. Another scan of the passport, scribbled mark on the Customs form, and off to pick up the luggage for rechecking. Another check of the Customs form with my bag, then a recheck of the baggage (lines, lines).

And then, the piece de resistance, ANOTHER security screening. So, there I am, in my shorts and T-shirt, having divested myself of all other accoutrements long before, I stand in line to be scanned and prodded once again. This is regardless of the fact that I was scanned prior to boarding in PV, that I have moved from the secure plane through a secure Customs area, and through secure baggage to get TO this point, and that no one could possibly have slipped me so much as a cigarette lighter (after all, mine had been confiscated in Denver) . . . no, that didn't matter; we get to go through again.

So, I begrudgingly place my stuff in the bins, wait to be waved through the cattle line of shoeless, beaten, dispirited people, and the security guy asks me, "Is this your stuff? Have any video cameras in here?" It was 10:00 p.m., I was tired from traveling all day, and so I stupidly answered, "No."

Alarmed, the agent asks, "So, this ISN'T your stuff?"

Confused, I say, "No . . . it's

"It's not your stuff?"

"Wait, yes, it's my stuff, No, I don't have a camera."

And because of the confusion, I get moved yet again to Terrorist Sublevel to be wanded in my shorts and T-shirt. It was probably the highlight of their day.

Now, I ask you, is this all really worth it? What are we really gaining by allowing ourselves to be subjected to these airport Nazis? Are we really any more secure? Or - as I believe - are we focusing on a molehill and missing the mountain? With what we're spending on airport harrassment, could we be hiring more trained agents and rounding up known threats to national security? Maybe we could be rehiring some of the CIA agents who have resigned in disgust after being forced to confirm Bush's lies about the war intelligence - put them to work providing truly objective analysis of our security situation.

All I know is, I used to like traveling - even the process of it. Now the traveling itself is simply an endurance contest. At some point, I'm wondering when it simply won't be worth it at all.

[jseankil]

1. searches give me peace of mind, no complaints. /nm

nm

[donco6]

2. Moo. eom

[seabeyond]

7. moo again to your peace of mind. shooting a passage gives you

peace of mind too. better hope the gun isnt pointed at you cause an easy pull of trigger will give the next person peace of mind.

[DELUSIONAL]

22. I'll bet the Germans said that when guards demanded to see PAPERS!

Now I understand how a whole nation could be cowed (moo) by a little dictator and his cult followers.

[seabeyond]

25. truly for a lifetime i would ask self, what kind of person would allow

the holocaust. we are getting a front seat view how it is done and what people allow it. who are these people, this poster above. my father. friends, family. those that are so fearful in life they dont have the courage to stand up to it. pretty soon the very people they are depending on to assuage their fear will be the people they become fearful of.

[high density]

14. I can't wait until we get searched going into supermarkets and malls

Won't that be great? But we'll have such peace of mind, I guess it will be worth it!

[TahitiNut]

18. the cavity searches are thrilling, huh?

moo :puke:

[leftofthedial]

20. good Murkan

good.

never mind those clicks on your phone. if you've done nothing wrong, you have nothing to worry about. also, we will be installing a small computer chip under your skin and giving you a little bar-code tattoo with your number on it. These will help us to keep you even safer. Thank you. Move along.

[PDJane]

3. I think.........

That may be the point of all of the poking and prodding.

[China_cat]

4. At some point, I'm wondering when it simply won't be worth it at all.

That's the point right there. A stationary citizenry is MUCH easier to control than one that's mobil.

[darkmaestro019]

9. (points at China_cat) (mimes applause, coaxing same from audience) nt

[Divernan]

5. You don't feel safer when they make old ladies get out of wheel chairs?

I really feel sorry for people traveling with little kids. Like how many blonde, blue-eyed couples with matching kids are suicide bombers? And how many silver-haired, fragile old ladies have a wheel chair cushion packed with explosives? I have no choice but to fly once a month, and I totally hate it. I go in and out of mostly the same 5 US airports and each of them is different in some respect as to how they want you to go through the security line, and then each of them can change. I saw some travel "expert" on TV mention that of course you didn't have to take your shoes off to go through the lines. HAH! And the signs ask you to take off your coats/jackets. So I take off my coat but have a thin cardigan sweater over a matching shell. The guy ahead of me gets through with his suit jacket on, and I am yelled at to take my sweater off. Of course if I protested that the sign just said to take off your COATS ! ! !, I would doubtless be shuffled off to god-knows-where and miss my crowded flight.

But you had ANOTHER screening after you got through Customs and Baggage? That is insane!
My experience in Mexico/Cozumel, was having every piece of my baggage gone through to get into the secure section of the airport, and then my carry on baggage was opened and pawed through again before I went through the door to the tarmac to get on the plane. And the screeners were the SAME people who moved from the front entrance point to the airplane boarding area.

Meanwhile, every passenger plane is also carrying commercially shipped items which have NOT been screened.

[Thor_MN]

6. Sorry to hear about your ordeal, but asking for common sense

from minimum wage TSA employees...

Heck even from the people who set up the procedures. Think about it, someone (with no assistance other than their memory of names) compares your ID to a easily faked boarding pass bearing the name on your ID, jump through several line and hoops, present the real, valid, checked by computer boarding pass (bought by someone else, in their name) at the gate where it is actually checked, but no check of your ID - and Ima Terrorist is aboard a plane facing only the memory of a bored, minimum wage employee who has looked at hundreds of IDs in the last half hour.

Airport security is not about making you secure, it's about making you feel that you are secure.

[Gormy Cuss]

8. Yep. It's one giant dog and pony show.

We didn't take off shoes until that British nutcase Reid was apprehended. The coats and jacket rule came after the Chechen(?) women blew up the planes. Woe unto the air travelers if the next nutcase is found with explosives or weapons in a body cavity...

[donco6]

30. That is absolutely true.

My friend Ed, who travels way more than *I* do, is always noting this. All we've done is create this Leave it to Beaver calibre neighborhood watch program, with Eddie Haskell in charge. The power has gone to his head and now he's making ever-more-onerous and nonsensical rules, and threatening anyone who dares question him. Someone HAS to stand up to this!

[PSPS]

10. We are living in a prison

If you've ever had the occasion to be a "guest of the county" for a day or two (ahem), you'll see the similarity. These invasive and worthless procedures aren't intended to accomplish anything except to denigrate and inculcate subservience. Add to that the revelation that ex-prison guards are hired for the sky marshal program (despite their having been fired from their prison guard jobs for brutality), you begin to get the picture.

[tjwash]

11. So you're the one in front of me going through security....

...clogging up the line because they haven't figured out how to travel on an airline yet. Listen guy, I travel over a hundred thousand miles a year on airlines, and have gone through every major airport and customs shack in the world, and what you are saying is a tad bit exaggerated. As a frequent traveler,nothing is worse than getting behind someone at security who has not figured out that you:

1) Put your ID in your front pocket, and everything else in a fanny pack that slips on and off off and through the xray machine easier.

2) Same for your shoes. Don't wear shoes that take you a half an hour to unlace and put back on. Belts? Do you really need a belt? If not don't wear one, if so, buy a "travel belt" that won't set of the metal detectors.

3) Minimize your carry ons. Oh gee, I have a huge carry on that is going to bogart half the overhead space and should have been checked in, in the first place, and now I am going to act surprised that they are going through it with a fine tooth comb.

4) Show a little empathy and respect for the TSA people that are working the gates. They are overworked, under a load of pressure, and have a handful of seconds to search thousands of people a day. Don't be a jerk by making smart-ass comments like "no those are not bags" and then acting surprised after they take you seriously.

[PSPS]

13. Not everyone shares your enthusiasm to submit to these worthless theatrics

[DELUSIONAL]

23. Sorry so empathy for the TSA nor for you

and I love the ignore list.

[donco6]

24. Duh.

I have almost a million frequent flier miles racked up pal, and I'm not exaggerating my experience in the slightest.

ID - I carry a neck case with passport and boarding pass. OK with you?

Shoes - I rarely wear lace shoes, but this time I did. So frickin' sue me.

Belt - yes I need one.

Carryons - I take one backpack. That's it. I almost always check my bags because they're too big to fit in overhead. In fact, of all the things about traveling that are problematic, I've never had the misfortune to totally lose a bag for good.

Smart ass comments. It wasn't a smart ass comment at all. I was answering his question, but he asked both a yes and no question at once (Is this your stuff - answer: yes. Do you have video camera - answer: no. I made the mistake of answering the second question first)

At least read the material first before you make dumb ass comments like this.

[Not_Giving_Up]

12. I flew from Houston to Chicago and back...

I got tagged both directions for the "randomly selected" search. Like everyone else, I removed shoes and put my things in the bin. Then, I was wanded, patted down, and my purse was gone through, right down to my pack of cigarettes being opened, and the inside of my purse being swabbed to check for bomb residue. One of the times I went through, the underwire in my bra set it off, although two times previous it had not. The screener asked me if I was wearing an underwire, I confirmed that I was, then she had to feel it. I had on my DU t-shirt and a heavy sweater, and was carrying Bush's Brain, which I read on the flight. My brother, an airline employee, laughed his ass off.

[Berry Cool]

15. I do not understand why people should have to go through another

security check when they have already gone through one just to be in a secured area.

In other words, it makes sense to go through security to get ON the plane. But why force you through another one when you get off? It makes no sense to me at all.

And the varying standards at different airports as to what you need to do to get through security are just crazy. There are some, for example, at which you need not remove your shoes; for others, it's a necessity.

I do my best to anticipate and not do stuff that will take up more time at the check. I always wear easy-to-slip-on-and-off shoes (although I'm surprised more people don't pass out on contact with my foot odor) and get my ID out beforehand. But as many people can tell you, you don't always know what is going to set off a detector in one place that didn't in another. And it's not as if you can just not wear an underwire bra if you really "need" one.

Unfortunately, the original poster here got nabbed for making a sarcastic joke (essentially "No, those aren't my bags--I'm just STANDING HERE WITH THEM, IS ALL!") out of frustration, impatience and exhaustion. That was a mistake. As tempting as it may be to make a "DUH!" snark when asked an obvious question at security, you simply cannot afford to. These people are forced to take all statements at face value, or else. The only thing you can do, annoying as it may be, is resist all temptation toward sarcasm and just answer their questions--as much as you need to, and no more. Period.

[madeline_con]

26. "why people should have to go through another security check"

Maybe the authorities are afraid they'll pull something out of their ass, like the misadministration does all the time.

[donco6]

29. Ha! That's what I was wondering myself.

Hmm, do they think maybe I swallowed some condoms of C4 while sitting in the airport in PV? Because THERE'S OBVIOUSLY NO WHERE ELSE I COULD BE HIDING ANYTHING IN THESE SHORTS AND TSHIRT!

GRRRR.

[Deja Q]

16. TSA = Tough Shit, America.

I've no judgment one way or the other.
(and that's because there's nothing I (or you) can do about it.)

[madeline_con]

17. "Have any video cameras in here?"

So, they would have watched your home movies??!! :eyes:

[leftofthedial]

19. it is training for good, compliant Murkans

in the neocon's new world order

if you don't shut up, we have a special room for examining you and your things.

[harpo]

21. Hence the reason I quit flying and now drive everywhere...

sure it takes a LOT longer...but no TSA to deal with :) :)

[ProfessorGAC]

27. Well Obviously Threre's One Air Marshall Who Doesn't Think We're Safer

The only possible rationale for the air marshall shooting the guy in Florida is that the marshall thinks it's possible to sneak a bomb past TSA. Since it's never happened before (a bomb being spirited onto a commerical plane, in the U.S through carry-on), then that air marshall must think we're LESS safe than before.

BTW: I agree that the country has gone around the bend on this issue.
The Professor

[Jim__]

28. If I'm traveling less than 1,000 miles ...

I drive. I hate the airport hassels.