ruff and Jo:

Did you watch the video? How do you feel about the number of TSA being charged with crimes? Do you feel it is proportional to the profession compared to other professions?

As a side question to you both: do you have any concern for the radiation put out by the backscatter machine?

Thank you for your input.

it's pertinent to mention that i wore hijab (covered my hair and most of my body) up until about six months ago (on my id i'm covering so sometimes that still gets raised eyebrows). i'm also disabled and use a cane, but i don't "look disabled" (whatever that means, i guess because i'm 24), and so i usually encounter a lot of prejudice/disbelief because of that. also, one of my partners is an airport security consultant (he works separately from tsa - he's employed by the airport - but he helps run security and communications at an airport and also devises security tests for tsa).

since november 2010 i've flown out of tallahassee, jacksonville, philadelphia, charlottesville, kansas city, detroit, columbus, and miami, most of them multiple times. i always travel alone.

most security checkpoints don't have a plastic cane that i can use to go through the metal detector, and when they do have it, i can't use it to go through the full body scanner. normally things are hectic and they're not prepared to handle passengers with disabilities. i get separated from my carry-on luggage frequently. when i was covering i used to get my head and body patted down, no matter how small my scarf was or how obvious it was there was NO way i could be hiding a bomb under there ;) because of my fear of being separated from my luggage and having things stolen (my partner has told me a lot of horror stories), i've never requested a private screening instead of the full-body scanner. i'd prefer it but i don't have the energy to deal with it.

i never bring anything unnecessary through the checkpoint. just my laptop, kindle, a notebook, my wallet, my phone. i wear shoes that are easy to get on and off and i never wear jewelry through the checkpoint. i'll go through extra pains to check everything else just so i don't have to deal with managing it through the checkpoint.

by far the worst experience i've had was in the jacksonville airport - i was put through the metal detector and the full-body scanner and patted down twice, then i was patted down again by every tsa agent that passed me on the way to the gate. having to put down my laptop case, figure out what to do with my cane while standing in the ridiculous pat-down position, and being humiliated in front of other passengers when it was obvious i was the only one being singled out for extra screening just made the whole experience pretty awful.

the good experiences mostly outweigh the bad. the good news is a lot of agents are too tired/overwhelmed to bother with a ton of extra screening, and every now and then i'll run into some who are really compassionate about the fact that i'm disabled and that makes screening more difficult, and who try very hard not to separate me from my belongings. even most of the ones who have made things difficult for me were at least not rude about it. it's made flying a rough experience which is kind of annoying because my amount of flying has been increasing a LOT, not decreasing...but i do love to fly. i just dread the security checkpoint a lot and i'm paranoid about making it to the gate in time to pre-board. i usually get to the airport 1.5-2 hours early just in case (1 hour is plenty of time for most people).

tsa is there to do their job. i get that. i have a lot of respect for them and everyone else working in airport security. but sometimes i question the efficacy of what they have to do (and i get that it's not their choice) - but, like, patting me down multiple times when it's obvious i'm not a threat rather than using some of that time/energy to pat down other passengers who might be? that doesn't seem efficient to me. but whatever. i don't have a grudge against tsa by any means. but i don't trust them with my belongings and i just wish their policies didn't make it so inconvenient for disabled passengers.

There was this time when Tiny Son was about 5 and the TSA agent asked if we had anything flammable, and Tiny Son said, "Just shirts." His reasoning was that shirts could be used to start a fire. They told him shirts were okay.

Then there was this other time when Tiny Son was old enough to have discovered sarcasm and when the TSA agent said, Do you have any firearms or other weapons?, Tiny Son said, "Right, we have guns." He claims that I actually punched him in the chest, but I don't remember much from the time period immediately following.

I truly appreciate the responses so far. Anyone else care to share their thoughts?

just thought i'd share that i'm traveling from kansas city international today (through dulles to charlottesville) and had a wonderfully painless experience with tsa :) a little bit of difficulty getting through the metal detector as they didn't have any way to assist me while my cane was going through screening, but it only took a minute so i could mostly walk on my own. it all went very quickly and i didn't get separated from my stuff, patted down, or not so randomly selected for additional screening. yay for good security checkpoint experiences!

I am happy for you the experience was painless, and happy that you are able to walk without your cane for that minute. It is nice to hear of near painless experiences in addition to the bad ones.

In case you missed it.... TSA unable to let a woman through the security check because there wasn't a woman TSA working should she need a pat down.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/30424404/detail.html

Peanut butter is a liquid?

http://blog.sfgate.com/crime/2012/02/15/pot-in-the-peanut-butter-jar-doesnt-fool-tsa/

If it's really creamy...

LAX isn't much better, tho I did have the assistance of an arm from a TSA agent.

ETA: I have a neuro stimulator and can not go through the machine, so I always get the "pat down", my cane however got the full treatment.

I've traveled quite a bit over the past 2 1/2 years experiencing TSA security checkpoints in Seattle, Phoenix, Ontairo California, Minneapolis, Albuquerque, and Dallas. I even traveled out of Phoenix the day before Thanksgiving. Never have I experienced any trouble. Security people have always been helpful and courteous---even when I pinged because I left my keys in my pocket. And I traveled with a lot of gear: a professional camera, a laptop, and a portable DVD player. They were always very professional and helpful. I went out of my way to thank them for what they do.

I have traveled a bit lately. Different experiences different airports.

One airport- no problem with sealed bottle of liquid med, with prescription written and signed by my MD. TSA told me it was great it was factory sealed.

Another airport, same med, same script, same seal: got me a public pat down in front of everyone in the security line. No offer of privacy, crotch and breasts included. Embarrassing, even if it was a TSA butch dyke doing the body check.

Third airport-TSA was happy it was unsealed this time. Checked it to make sure not explosives, no problem.

Three airports. Three different rules/treatments. Consistency would be nice.

Consistency would be nice. I flew twice last year. Both times from the same airport to the same airport and back again. Not one of the times was the same as the other.

TSA lied about the one supposed terrorist they caught. And the supposed terrorist is paying for it.

http://www.clickorlando.com/news/TSA-exaggerates-claims-about-2008-incident-at-OIA/-/1637132/8820472/-/f1k71tz/-/

How much retraining does it take to learn how to do the job?

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/03/dozens_of_newark_tsa_employees.html

Over the past 10 years I have have gone through allot of air ports and find each time an experience all in itself.

I have been through metal detectors, been pat down, gone through the puff machine (they have you stand there and it puffs air at you from every angle and detects if you are carrying a dangerous chemical substance), I have been through the x-ray and I have had my bags gone through. I must look like a devious character because I get selected almost every time I fly (or it's just shit luck). I do find that if I fly through the same airport often the TSA folks get to know me and I get through much faster.

I have never set off any alarms..I tend to know what needs to be done to ensure I don't set them off. I don't carry anything that will cause issue. I have found if I can that mailing certain things ahead of time (liquid vits, medications, etc) make it easier for me.

My pat down experience always depends on my own mood really...which tends to directly relate to the look on the TSA person face that is patting me down (I've been known to be a tad cocky depending on the look I get)

I tend to travel alone

I have no issue with them when it comes to most things, but do think that they could handle certain private items better. I have witnessed others be embarrassed because they had certain things in a carry on or in their checked bags (some airports require you to stand there while they x-ray your checked bags). I have had a couples experiences in my life time with same issues..but my wit tends to embarrass them more when they have attempted such things with me.

Honestly, what they do doesn't really make me feel safer than I did before 9/11. Why? because they still allow things on the flight that can easily kill people...only takes 1 pen or pencil, and I can bring on as many as I like :blink:

I've been fairly lucky with airports. I think it's because I'm always ready with my coat and shoes off, laptop and camera ready for the bin and usually with a don't-mess-with-me-I-have-no-coffee-so-I'm-looking-placidly-neutral look on my face.

I'm interested in what Corkey said about neuro stimulators... my brother is 21 with various disabilities, including epilepsy, and has a VNS. A friend came to stay with me last week, and he's taking nuclear medical technology, and he reassured me that they would pat him down. My concern is being able to stay with him, even if that means getting a pat-down myself (every time I've had a pat-down it's almost as though it didn't happen - very light touch, very respectful, open flat hands, no grabbing... my doctor gets more personal during a throat exam!)

My friend also reassured me that the amounts of radiation coming from a backscatter machine are negligible according to the recommended limit of radiation to which one should be exposed per year. Everyone has their own opinion about radiation exposure, though. Naturally I asked him all these questions because the answers are generally interesting!

I'm only wondering just because I wanted to take a flight within Canada sometime with my brother so we can visit our dad in another city. He's autistic with lots of learning disabilities, PDD and epilepsy. I just hope the pat-down doesn't freak him out and that they understand and respect that he's not exactly going to just stand there like a statue for him. I also hope that they understand that I'm in charge of not only my own effects, but of his safety, behaviour and belongings, as well.

Has anyone travelled with a special needs person? How has your treatment been at security? From the experts like Morgan, what should I keep in mind?

Thanks!

I haven't traveled with a special needs person but my immediate thought is contact the airline you are traveling on and see if they can help you navigate TSA et al. Often they provide a service like this for elderly or families traveling in groups. You may also want to go to the TSA (or Canadian equivalent) website and see if there is any FAQs on this kind of thing.