TSA Experiences

[aishah]

Originally Posted by Andrea

Do you feel safer going through these procedures? Would you not fly if these procedures were not in place?

i thought i might have answered these questions in my earlier posts in this thread, but maybe i didn't. personally, the security practices of tsa don't make me feel safe - they often make me feel explicitly unsafe, actually, because i've been exposed to different kinds of discrimination by tsa due to being disabled and muslim. (i have similar mistrustful feelings towards tsa agents as towards police, though perhaps not as strong.) i worry more about feeling unsafe around tsa agents than i do around fellow passengers, to be honest. even if i were seriously concerned about being harmed by another passenger, i don't believe the current security practices are very effective to prevent that from happening.

as long as i can physically withstand the security and boarding processes, i would fly no matter what security procedures are in place because i need to for work. although it can be painful and aggravating to travel this way, it's nowhere near as painful and aggravating (not to mention time-consuming) as the alternative methods of travel.

not to mention aside from security practices and some of the hardship i go through trying to board/de-plane as a disabled person, i actually really enjoy flying and spending time in airports.

when i say "so-so" or "good" experiences with tsa, i mean that i got through the security checkpoint with a minimum of discrimination and aggravation/pain/suffering. (i.e. i made it through without getting patted down multiple times or in intrusive ways, having my mobility aids and luggage taken from me, or being questioned.) not that i actually think the policies or procedures were terribly good or effective.