What not to wear for TSA

[RuthC]

Why do they feel the need to do that?? To yell at you??? To force you to look at them??? The way they treat people is so demeaning and does nothing to encourage co-operation.

I understand the looking at them part, as it's easier to get a read on a person if they make eye contact. But the yelling? Beats me why they feel the need to do that.

It takes the same amount of energy, and the work day lasts the same amount of time, when they're nice.

[Scrapchick]

I understand the looking at them part, as it's easier to get a read on a person if they make eye contact. But the yelling? Beats me why they feel the need to do that.

It takes the same amount of energy, and the work day lasts the same amount of time, when they're nice.

 

The moment they start yelling LOOK AT ME!! LOOK AT ME!! is the moment I become determined that I will not look at them.... I'll be damned if I'll make eye contact with someone who treats me like that. I agree with the comments about security checks in the UK, and not just because I was born and raised there. They do their jobs with courtesy and professionalism and I don't understand why the US can't do the same thing as a rule in every airport.

[RuthC]

The moment they start yelling LOOK AT ME!! LOOK AT ME!! is the moment I become determined that I will not look at them.... I'll be damned if I'll make eye contact with someone who treats me like that.

I figure they're a major barrier between me and my destination (the plane), so I do whatever I have to do to get there.

[dfish]

The worst time I had going through security was in the Charles DeGaulle airport in Paris. I had a foot injury and my foot was in an air cast and I was on crutches. The wheel chair that had been ordered in Frankfurt never showed up and we could get no assistance from anyone to get from gate to gate, so we set off walking. We had so far to go that we had to go through security again. They took away my crutches and took the cast off my foot. The woman then said she was going to wand me and wanted me to stand on one foot with my arms out. When I explained that I would fall over and injure myself futher, she indignantly gave me back the cast and expected me to be able to put it on while standing up. I was never offered a chair to sit in. I had to tell her three times that I required assistance before she quit yelling that I needed to cooperate with her. Yes, this was followed up with a complaint.

 

Debbie

[jiminyC_fan]

Has anyone ever asked if they could collect their things before being "frisked"? I mean, really.....even security cameras watching doesn't satisfy me. It would be so easy for someone to grab something, put it in their carryon or whatever and take off blending in with the crowds. I live in fear with that thought.

 

If I was told to "look" at them, I think I would have to politely tell them I am worried about my abandoned belongings.

[Himself]

TSA puts everyone through the mill because they don't want to be accused of profiling. We all know where the potential problem lies but they violate the Constitution of the U.S. which prohibits unlawful search and sizure because they would rather be politically correct than do what needs to be done.

[wander]

JiminyC_fan,

 

I have always asked to have my stuff collected before being wanded, frisked or put at a different table to have a bag checked. (I have flown many, many times over the past 10 years. About half the flights alone.) They have always been willing to put my stuff where I am when I ask. This still was done when I flew after 11/1/10. Some do it with a pleasant face, some with a grumpy one.

 

Why am I usually "searched"? Usually due to camera gear and/or computer gear and/or a CPAP machine. Last flight due to a sling for my shoulder which they tested for explosive material residue. I was not carrying much time.

 

After teaching school and spending about 10 years as an investigator doing interviews for legal cases I know the value having someone of being able to look you straight in the eye. However, I too would be worrying about my "stuff" if I did not have it with me.

[chrispb]

Sounds like the TSA are ex-prison guards - in all the films I've seen they yell at prisoners like that.

[Seenie]

I had to tell her three times that I required assistance before she quit yelling that I needed to cooperate with her.

Debbie

 

Well, obviously the agent knew Communication rule #1 ... when having difficulty speaking a foreign language, YELL!!!!

 

Good that you complained.

[Palmetto Lady]

I liked that one sentence which stated "dressing to the nines".

 

 

Now, it's not worth dressing up to board a plane. :rolleyes:

I haven't seen anyone "dressed to the nines" on a plane for many years except a few business travelers plus a French woman on a flight from Paris to Nice. It was so unusual, I complimented her.

[Seenie]

Oh yes, those were the good old days! Back then, dressing very well sometimes scored you an upgrade.

 

My sister and her husband used to have a little scam. They'd both dress up, and she'd do her hair fancy and put on a corsage. On check in, they'd giggle and chat about being excited and its being a special day. (They would not lie ... but they definitely gave the impression that they were honeymooners.) They scored several good upgrades that way, the sneaky devils!

 

Wouldn't happen these days!

[m steve]

just gets weirder every week. I know America is protected by using zip lock bags. What if someone put a sex toy in their clothes going thru the scanners how would the agents react?

[Lizzie1213]

I wear slides (sort of like a dressier version of flip-flops) so I can remove my shoes instantly and put them on in a second. I weat a knee-length comfortable skirt, a nice tank top, and a jacket or hoodie that is easy to remove quickly. No jewelry at all. I also carry change in a seperate little change purse that I can easily remove from my larger purse. i keep tickets and passports in a passport holder so they are easy to reach.

[jiminyC_fan]

JiminyC_fan,

 

I have always asked to have my stuff collected before being wanded, frisked or put at a different table to have a bag checked. (I have flown many, many times over the past 10 years. About half the flights alone.) They have always been willing to put my stuff where I am when I ask. This still was done when I flew after 11/1/10. Some do it with a pleasant face, some with a grumpy one.

 

Why am I usually "searched"? Usually due to camera gear and/or computer gear and/or a CPAP machine. Last flight due to a sling for my shoulder which they tested for explosive material residue. I was not carrying much time.

 

After teaching school and spending about 10 years as an investigator doing interviews for legal cases I know the value having someone of being able to look you straight in the eye. However, I too would be worrying about my "stuff" if I did not have it with me.

Thanks Wander. I was wondering IF it was possible and I guess it is.