TSA Patdown Problem

[Richard B the EMT]

People, I have to apologise. I never heard of the "Dead Serious News' website until it popped up on my aol news screen, so I had no clue it was a joke site. I thought it was a legitimate site, even when I couldn't find a collaborating mention, as I had already indicated.

"I done got took", and took youze guyz along for the ride.

For what it might be worth, I put it in the "Funny Stuff" because I actually had no idea where else to put it, being such a strange story, even if it had turned out to be true.

[HERBIE1]

Funny story anyway.

[FireMedic65]

Well now I am canceling my flight!

[EMT155]

As this story was not true, I can just conjecture away on it.

1- Being as we have a ton of friends who are in the LGBT community and have access to their knowledge base. If a guy has a PA (Prince Albert, or piercing through the glans) it is possible to be stimulated to an ejaculatory state with minimum 'attention' simply because of the location of the nerves and such.

2- The new 'intrusive' pat down is pretty invasive and involves significant body contact. Therefore, it could potentially provide significant stimulation to the passenger to cause an ejaculatory state.

3- The passenger can not be held at fault for having a physical reaction to this contact. It's like saying that if someone wears a cologne that i am allergic to, and I sneeze on them, I assaulted them by sneezing on them. It's all a perfectly normal reaction to an outside stimulation that you have no control over. Besides, the TSA Agent should have been wearing gloves for that exam anyway, and if not, then it's their own fault for making it a 'personal' experience.

LOL... I did my best to keep it fairly clean and clinical, but we were just having this conversation the other night with friends of ours and having a great laugh about it.

Jim

[Richard B the EMT]

Not for nothing, Jim, but the newscasts concerning the new scanning equipment always seems to show the TSA folks wearing gloves. While the contac itself might be at a personal level, the gloves seem to be attempting to keeping it at a clinical level.

Edited December 5, 2010 by Richard B the EMT

[Lone Star]

I guess with the last name of 'Cum'mings, used in the context of the whole rumor should have been a 'tip off'....

Although, this isn't doing much to convince the women that we're not all that 'quick on the trigger'....

Even though this turned out to be a 'load', you just gotta shake your head at the 'spunk' of some people!

I guess I'd better quit before I have to roll over and go to sleep.....

[Just Plain Ruff]

I just went through the Enhanced patdown that everyone is so inflamed about.

The metal detectors at the Airtran airways security gate in Kansas city was broken so they had to pat down every person who went through. For 4 flights within the two hour period you can imagine the lines that were there.

The agent was nothing but professional. Wore gloves and explained everything to me.

Did he touch my junk, no he didn't. Did he get pretty intrusive, yes, he had to put his fingers inside my pants at the belt line.

Did I feel violated? Not in the least.

I was expecting a fully grab my junk pat down and it actually took 47 seconds from start to finish.

I witnessed the agent screening/pat down a 6 year old and it was done with the utmost respect with the agent completely telling the little girl what was happening and fully involving the parents of this little girl.

We hear terror stories and stories of catheter bags and ostomy bags being removed, we hear stories of fingers down deeper than what should be allowed but I think those are the stories that are seized upon by the media and they piss us off so the media jumps on these stories and it blinds us to the fact that many thousands of passengers each day, year in and year out are subject to these patdowns and the majority of those patdowns are done in a respectful and professional manor.

I had pre-conceived notions of what the pat downs would be like and those notions were changed today.

I specifically asked the agent if this was an enhanced pat down and he said "yes, these are what all the rage is about".

Maybe the agents at KCI are different and maybe I got a good agent. Who knows.

[HERBIE1]

I have no doubt the TSA agents are being professional- too many people are watching this. That said, I think this whole thing is ridiculous.Patting down 6 year olds and little old ladies? REALLY?

Why? Can someone give me ONE GOOD REASON we are allowing this to happen?

Here's a novel concept:

How about targeting the people who actually pose a threat to us and stop not only wasting our time and money, but stop needlessly invading our privacy?

Even a cop must have probable cause to pat a suspect down. What probable cause do these TSA agents have to pat down random travelers?

Last time I checked, the folks who have been committing 99.9% of the terrorist acts have a very specific profile.

I realize this is old news and an even older discussion, but I for one am sick and tired of this PC BULL.

[Just Plain Ruff]

Herbie, I am completely and totally with you on this.

I did discuss the fact that they should have a backup metal detector so we don't have to go through this but the supervisor told me that the metal detectors are calibrated to each airlines gate and for this particular gate they did not have a spare. Hence the patdown.

I totally agree that patting down a 6 year old is absurd as well as an old lady but in all fairness either they do it the same for all people or you don't do it at all and since the TSA thinks that all is better than none then we are stuck with this process.

The big technology companies are in this together and they see a cash cow and a way to keep the money flowing to them as long as we keep doing what we are doing. To hell with the passengers and public.

For example, Michael Chertoff is now working for the very same company who's multi million dollar security contract he signed off on. He left the HSA shortly after that contract was awarded and guess who he went to work for. The very company who's contract he signed. HMMMMMMM conflict of interest, the government certainly doesn't seem to see it that way.

Until we have a major terrorist attack that foils the current technology yet is proven could have been prevented by a trained dog or a trained person looking for certain traits, we will all suffer through this type of security screening.

The funny thing is, Israel security forces provide security at the airports in Israel. They are trained to spot certain activity or goings on that our security people are not. I don't remember reading about a single incident aboard an Israeli airplane and I don't believe they are using the technology we are using.

Something has to give.

I don't have the answers. None of us do.

[Richard B the EMT]

Hey, Lone Star? Suggest you repost your last comment from this string into the Pun=demonium string.