One of our readers, Doug, notes something very important here. The TSA has all the power. Our only real power is to stay away from them. The solution is to abolish the TSA. It is broken by design. We need real choice in passenger security so that we can hold security providers accountable when they screw up. Accountability is the secret sauce to respectful service. We will never have it with TSA because it is a state monopoly.
The problems with the TSA did not begin, nor will the end, with the naked scanning machines. The screeners are acting like police officers without any police powers. So, the slightest push back by the public makes them go into overdrive to try to prove to the passenger that they are in control and your are dirt.
Many in the security areas are rude, unpleasant and downright mean. So what? Well, it is not a very good way to bring a trip, especially a vacation. The slightest question will provoke a mean response. They think they have to tell you what to do at all times and if you don’t simply comply, they turn the screws.
I once got SSS on my boarding pass because I had brought a one way ticket (actually, I bought one way out, one way back on a different airline, but they didn’t cross check the files). Because of the SSS, I was treated like a terrorist every time I tried to board. The woman at the ticket counter, right off, took a good hard look at me, as if she wanted to see for herself what a potential terrorist looked like.
At every boarding, I was given the full treatment. As a result, I got to witness what goes on out of public view. I saw a screener take a baby from it’s mother’s arms and pat it down. I saw an 80+ woman near tears because she was being crossed examined about her sewing kit.
Now, they have the would be passenger in a trap: either submit to naked scanning, take a patdown or face the possibility of arrest and civil penalties. Say what? Yes, the TSA maintains that you cannot decline screening and simply leave the airport peacefully. They claim the right to force you before allowing you to leave the airport. This is what the guy in California was told after he peacefully left the screening area. Napolitano claims that the arrest powers would only be used in extreme circumstances, but anything the TSA says is extreme then gets tested in a court, with you as the victim.
What can a citizen do who is felt inappropriately? Nothing. It is your word against theirs. What level is too much? The passenger looses the right to define too much by ‘consenting” to the search. Plus, you are told you are forbidden to photography in the security area, which means you will have no proof to back up your claim.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
As a lawyer, let me tell you now, never give these people the consent to search anything, and never make an admission of anything. Answer their questions without elaboration. If you feel like you are under suspicion of anything, notify them that you wish to have your lawyer present, and probably law enforcement as well.
I don’t like these procedures one bit. I’m a lawyer and feel as though we have ZERO Constitutional rights in airports. That’s a crock. I don’t want to submit and fly under these conditions. That said, I can handle it if I absolutely have to, but I draw the line at my wife and children. The government is totally out of control.
WOW. Is this the start to end of our freedoms? I wasn’t scared, but I am now. If we don’t stop them (TSA) at this point, what will happen next? The terriorst will win, not by blowing up USA with bombs, but with FEAR and economic collaspe. Will we lose tourist money to vacation places? see the bailout of airports (Due to people, not flying)? What kind of message does that send to kids to be “touched”. When does our personal freedoms become extinct due to fear? Talk to your closest friends and ask them what they think about this new TSA patdown / screening.