Reader Spencer writes:
En route home through Charlotte, our 6 year old son was subjected to an aggressive pat down by a female TSA employee. He was pleading for me to help him and I was admonished for trying to comfort him. His genitals area was groped. He walked down to the plane in tears. When the stewardess asked why he was crying, I explained my frustration and I was further admonished for not being more compliant. My wife was in a wheel chair so she also recieved the pat down by another very unfriendly TSA worker. She felt violated afterwards. We were not given the choice of a full body scanner but would have preferred it over this humiliating experience. The scanners are still intrusive, but at least my 6 year old son would have been unaware of the intrusion. And just to be clear, I am NOT endorsing the scanners either. Both methods are too intrusive on our rights as American citizens.
Is that the idea, TSA? Are the patdowns this aggressive and outrageous in the hopes of getting us all to expose ourselves in the porno-scanners? I won’t send my small son through the scanners because he’s still small and I don’t want to ruin his life by risking some medical issue. What a stupid, fake “choice”: traumatize your children emotionally or traumatize them medically.
{ 4 trackbacks }
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
While I can appreciate the efforts of all involved, I can’t get past the idea that all this effort might just be a day late and a dollar short. FULL BODY CAVITY searches are allowed under the 4th amendment. This was true before 911 and post 911 it seems to be demanded by many of our citizens. Even logical after the rectum bomber’s detonation in the middle east. Seems to me that it is possible the courts could rule the ONLY thing unreasonable is searching body cavities that are too small.
It would be a shame if TSA had to post signs like the ones at the amusement park. You have to be under a certain height or weight to be exempt from cavity searches. I am pretty sure the courts are not going to reverse decades of case law that allows cavity searches at borders, prisons, and other places. If you so much as approach a cop to ask directions he has a right to pat you down for his own safety. This has been the law for 50 years.
From what I understand you can opt out of the pornoscope but you CAN NOT opt out of security once you start the process. If TSA is yelling opt out in order to persuade people to get the pornoscan, is it so far fetched to think they will start screaming cavity search when confronted with large numbers of individuals refusing the pornoscope? Surely they will find something that requires further exam.
4 years ago before this new crack down, I was grabbed and pinched around my middle because I have a large belly. The agent said he was making sure it was real and not a body suit. No warning just lefting of my fat then pinching. I almost floored the guy. Asked for a superviser and was told that if I intended to “cause trouble” I might not make my flight. I thought this was America and not a dictatorship country were we have rights. I guess I was wrong. I also have not flowen since and was flying 6-10 times a year.
wow… I can’t believe people are so submisive and in great fear that they think patting down a 6 year old is fine. you know these tsa can pretty much do anything… even pat down your wife if they think se is hot… but oh no. this doesn’t hapen In the great america…. were deviating far off from being right… I’m in support of this angry poster… email me if you need to talk…. take care…
The government is completely out of control. It used to be that laws were written to protect people from rape, abuse, and violation. Now the laws are written to enforce abuse and violation. And they call it security!
For an adult to touch a childs privates is criminal. Parents who allow thier children to go thru a machine that allows a pervert to see them naked or allows them to be groped, touched, felt up, etc by an adult need to face the fact that one day they are going to meet face to face with Christ.
It’s awful that Mr. Spencer’s family had to endure such outrages. What kind of country IS this? It boggles my mind that this is happening! How stupid does a person have to be to imagine that someone who is wheelchair bound or someone who is six years old is a terrorist? Clearly, John Pistole, the head of TSA, has an IQ of minus 100.
Why don’t ALL airlines stop flying period. Bring the world to a halt. In a few days those scanners would b gone. I’m a pilot & would stop flying to protest. Even without pay. T
I’ve wanted to go to Ireland for many years. Now that I am free to do so, and could possibly get the money, I won’t go. We may be safer from terrorists, but at least they won’t hate us for our ‘freedoms’ now…………….
Do we have to bail out the airlines after the TSA get’s done with them ?.
Again my wife tells me.