Try Not To Hate the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
I don’t how many of you know this, but I used to work for the TSA. I was stationed at Los Angeles International Airport and that is where I remained the entire 2 years I was employed by the agency.
I left this job last September and because of actions on both our parts (I take responsibility for my shit), it WAS NOT on good terms. The road has been rough since, but totally worth it.
TSA is easily the worst job I ever had. There are several things wrong with the agency itself along with upper management, lower-level management, and the “regular Joes” who actually do the dirty work. The problems, in my opinion, start at the top and get worse the lower you go.
I cannot go into detail about the policies and procedures Security Officers are sworn to uphold because that information is designated as “sensitive”. However, when I come across news stories involving passenger mistreatment at the hands of security personnel, I have mixed feelings.
Woman says TSA forced piercings removal
(click on headline for the entire article)
Stories like this are a PR nightmare for TSA because they are not allowed to reveal security procedures to the public. So when a passenger claims mistreatment, all TSA can do is give some bullshit answer about “investigating the situation”. What happens when they are done investigating? It’s not like they can admit they made a mistake, and it’s not like “we” (the public) can prove they did.
Do you see the problem here?
From the article-
Hamlin, 37, said she was trying to board a flight from to Dallas on Feb. 24 when she was scanned by a Transportation Security Administration agent after passing through a larger metal detector without problems.
Her nipple rings then alarmed the Hand-Held Metal Detector, and after removing one piercing while in a Private Screening Area, this happened:
“Still crying, she informed the TSA officer that she could not remove it without the help of pliers, and the officer gave a pair to her,” said Hamlin’s attorney, Gloria Allred, reading from a letter she sent Thursday to the director of the TSA’s Office of Civil Rights and Liberties. Allred is a well-known Los Angeles lawyer who often represents high-profile claims.
Hmmm…
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Response from the agency:
“Our security officers are well-trained to screen individuals with body piercings in sensitive areas with dignity and respect while ensuring a high level of security,” the agency said in a statement.
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To me, articles like this are meant to imply the agency is ridiculous and just a tool to make the public “feel” safe. People like to mock the system because they don’t think it works, and feel it’s unnecessary. But I understand. No one likes hearing, “those are the rules” after asking why something is happening. And no one likes being “searched” almost as if they were a criminal. And trust me, I would also be upset over having to “surrender” my oversize body wash.
But this article is not the norm.
The big bad Screeners do not get off on making people remove piercings from sensitive areas, going through your carry-on luggage is not the highlight of their day, and doing a pat down search is as uncomfortable for them as it is for the person receiving it.
And while the details presented in this article make me question the actions of the Screeners involved, I feel the need to point out they all aren’t like that. Some of them consistently go above and beyond what they are called to do. I can name countless times I’ve given up a break (after being on my feet for 9 hours) to help a lost passenger or a pregnant mom traveling alone or an elderly couple that looked like they needed my help. I’ve witnessed Screeners patiently give out information about the surrounding area, miss their shuttles because someone stopped them for help, call the Police when something didn’t look right, and escort passengers to their cars late at night. And what about the toddlers we help dress, the shoes we tie?
Where are those news stories? That’s right, it’s more important to sensationalize every single negative thing that happens.
As a former Screener I have: been yelled at, cursed at, threatened, called all kinds of names, had things thrown at me, been vomited on, and had my intelligence insulted by management and passengers alike on several occasions. But even though the job is less than desirable, I believe in the agency’s overall mission.
My point is: Don’t let stuff like this speak for the rest of the Screeners who actually try their best to represent what TSA is supposed to stand for. Some of them do their jobs very well and aim to treat passengers with respect.
*****
THING OF THE DAY:
This is my new favorite song!
37 Responses for "Try Not To Hate the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)"
I guess, in this instance, it becomes news because it is so ridiculous.What was the woman going to do, hijack the plane with nipple rings? And, wouldn’t it just have been simpler to realize she couldn’t get one of them out without pliers and let her go?
Of course, now, a woman who could hijack a plane with her nipple rings, THAT would be a news story! LOL
I would have assumed on reading this that it was simple sexual harrassment. I’ve never once had to take out such piercings going through security.
What’s interesting though, is that I used to always get singled out for searches prior to 9/11. When I would ask what the deal was, they would tell me, “You fit a general description of a type of person we have to search.” For some reason, just me out of the other 200 passengers.
Apparently my “type” isn’t such a cause for concern anymore, at least since the terrorist attacks. Funny how the new heightened security gets me off the hook.
Frank- Yeah, I’ve checked several women with nipple piercings that have alarmed my hand-held metal detector. If proper procedure is followed the passenger should not have to remove anything. This report is annoying because there is no reason it should have happened.
These types of mistakes are constantly reported on and give the impression security personnel are a bunch of insensitive idiots and that the rules designed to keep the airways safe are just a load of rubbish.
I had a woman flash me once, she desperately wanted to prove she was harmless!
.45- It’s weird just referring to you as a number, btw.
LOL @ that explanation. Good grief. That is sooo wrong. Stuff like this tells me there is only so much I can say in defense of my former co-workers.
Maybe you were looking just a little too happy to be there. Everyone knows there’s no smiling in line.
Media only gives what the people want to see and hear about. I agree with Fwidman, what could she do with nipple rings??? She must be lucky not to have any other piercings that day.
Jillian, You can now be called the ambassador for the TSA employees and the millions of workers in Public Service around the world. Point taken. Keep it up.
“weird just referring to you as a number”
It beats some of the other things I’ve been called.
I’m gonna go out tomorrow and ask women to prove they’re harmless.
“there is only so much I can say in defense”
No matter what the organization, there will always be people in employ that give it a bad name.
He handed the traveller with a pair of pliers to take out the nipple ring? Fucking hell. Welcome to 1984, I guess,
Arv- Oh, the nipple rings are harmless. The problem wasn’t the nipple rings exactly, rather it was using the correct procedure to resolve the alarm.
Hand-held metal detectors are very sensitive, so during a search most small bits of metal are picked up. For instance if someone is wanding you, the button on your jeans might set it off. You and the screener know it’s just a button, but they still have to follow through and check the area. Haha, I don’t even work there anymore, why the Hell do I care so much? Argh!
.45- See this was where you say, “Oh, my name is…..” And you’re right, dumbass employees make everyone else look bad. Seriously… I really shouldn’t care this much.
Qelqoth- I say the real crime was the marring of delicate nips.
Also, they’ve had guys voluntarily remove their Prince Edwards. Heh.
Yikes - I’m still stuck on the thought of even GETTING a nipple piercing to begin with (let alone getting it yanked out by pliers)! Ouch!
I do agree with you wholeheartedly though. A situation like this is a one in a million thing, where the media use it as a sensationalist tactic, instead of recognizing the excellent job inspectors do on a regular basis.
And we wonder WHY people actually ACT OUT in America?? Lemme see… um… maybe because it’s a basic human requirement to get attention - ANY attention - even NEGATIVE attention, if it isn’t achieved via “normal” means (i.e. acknowledgement from employers as to what a GREAT JOB done routinely, praise for overall hard work, etc.)
Anyway, good topic to blog on! And I’m sorry the job didn’t work out for you as you had anticipated. Hopefully you were fortunate enough to find something where you’d be better appreciated!
Excellent post Jillian… The media uses sensationalism tactics that are totally outrageous. I think it applies to a lot of work places.
The media isn’t here to make us feel good… it’s about sensationalism. They want to scare the living shit out of us so we can all act like animals which will then give them more shit they report on.
As for Miss Thang and her nipple rings.. YIKES. Of course, she has Gloria All-idiot as her attorney which instantly makes me roll my eyes. I know I would have been locked the eff up before I would have eeeeeevvvvvvvvveeeeeerrrrrrr removed anything from my body with pliers.
Slim Shady?
You know, that’s the problem when people make assumptions based on what they do not know and only on what the media propogates.
Everything has two sides: positive and negative. The TSA is no acception. People just forget about all the positive things about the TSA when the media only focus on the crap.
Although, it IS hard for people to accept an entity treating them like a number or a threat…we’re all guilty of that. Who likes to have their body scanned or be de-humanized by the “system.” Unfortunately, that old saying, “One bad apple spoils the whole barrel” is true. Some lunatic (or lunatics) had to go screw things up for the rest of us law-abiding citizens. Those fuckers!!
Maybe we should give those lunatics nipple rings and take them out with pliers!!! Muuhaw ha ha ha (that’s my evil laugh).
i echo with dawn and monique..
news = only negativity..
You make some great points, and the news has to sell the negative stuff otherwise nobody would be interested.
Your new favorite song? I am scared to ask if you just discovered it or if you just re-discovered it. This a classic song to me but I don’t want to age myself too much so I am done.
Kimba- Thanks and yeah I had to leave. When you make suggestions and management says stuff like: “If you don’t like it then quit!” or “There are tons of people waiting to take your place.” You know it’s time to move on.
Dawn- Ahh well. It’s funny, because while the actual job sucks, I believe in the mission and the ideal behind the agency.
Monique- You’re right. And there is proof every time I turn on the news and the first hour is people going crazy and shooting people and other such violence.
I agree, I wouldn’t have removed them either. And as an employee, I wouldn’t have asked her to even try. TSA has the highest turn-over rate of all the government agencies AND the highest injury rate as well. The Screeners could have very well been fresh from training, still learning procedure. You would think they would address employment problems, but they like to pretend they don’t exist.
.45- Ahhh, it’s secret??? I like secrets.
Random- LOL. I hate bad Screeners… seriously. I should get over it though.
You know, Screeners get screened just like regular passengers. They are held to same regulations as the public. So they remove their shoes, get searched, patted down, and have to “surrender” prohibited items accidentally brought to the checkpoint.
I agree with you, though!
Bindhiya- Yup. These days it’s painful to watch.
Mr. Shife- LOL. I guess you could say I “rediscovered” the song!
“Eighteen and life you got it… eighteen and life, ya knoooow! Crime is time and it’s eighteen and it’s eighteen and life to go!!!”
Awesome. And the lead singer is HOTT.
You’ve successfully demonstrated why I don’t read or watch the news. Ever. It’s so narrow - like viewing the world through a straw. Thanks for highlighting the good that’s always out there too.
Why does this story come out when I am going to be flying to America this year and have piercings, I know I will be the bloody one picked out
I dont really belive it will be problem as I have never beeped yet, although I do close my eyes when I go through the scanner in fear
I’m actually blogging about about this at some point in the future, but I (mostly) disagree when people ridiculing the media for sensationalizing stories.
The thing most people don’t understand is that they are the ones who decide what newspapers cover. If they didn’t, there wouldn’t be any newspapers. People want to read about that kind of stuff, so that’s why newspapers write about it. It was always absurd to me when I was interning in Phoenix last summer and every morning at least 6 of the top 10 most read stories were celebrity gossip. It’s sad that newspapers can’t get by covering more of the good stories, but reader’s hold much of the power and that’s how it is.
And, to be honest, most papers cover just as many positive stories as they do negative, but people aren’t engaged so they either don’t read/watch them or don’t remember them.
In this case, I think it’s actually a good example of showing some of the TSA’s absurd policies. Because the TSA doesn’t make it’s policies public, which is understandable, people are interested in getting a better understanding of how airport security works. This story seems to show that some of the policies, like hassling a woman over her nipple rings, sort of miss the point when it comes to national security.
Yo Jill! I think most of the public organizations are like such. I mean look at the fucked up banks all around you. They charge you all exorbitant fees for Lord knows what all heads. If you threaten them wth legal action they promptly refund everything but if you stay shut and accept it, the banks totally get away with it!
Now my question - Why doesnt the Feds and other govt. agencies do something about this when they know all this is going on majorly!
Life sux eh?
Hmm, I heard this story, but didn’t read it. I personally have never had a problem with a screener even when they delayed my trip, it was me who didnt follow the rules (lotion size)..they were doing their job.
As far as the nipple gate, I guess after inspection, they could have let her go through w/o taking it out. If they were just going to give it back to her…oh well, i guess we should be glad it was only the nipple. i’ve seen more sensitive areas. ouch.
Pliers????? Owwwweeeee!
Cxx
Keli- Thanks!
Claire- LOL.. you’ll probably be fine!
Garrett- I’ve never seen a positive TSA article in the 2 years I worked there. And just because people tend to focus on things like celebrity gossip and other such fluff, doesn’t mean the papers have to focus on that lowest common denominator.
Because TSA doesn’t make their policies public, people tend to dislike them anyway. And when people listen to the media all they see is the negative highlighted and that just serves to reinforce their predisposed opinion.
Also, this particular story doesn’t highlight absurd TSA procedures at all, instead it highlights what happens when the policies aren’t strictly adhered to. The employees involved in this story made a mistake, this in no way reflects on actual TSA operating procedures.
However, when you are being searched with a hand-held metal detector, every single alarm needs to be resolved. Screeners can’t just take a passenger’s word for it. If that was the case, why get screened at all? This woman’s nipple rings set off the hand-held metal detector, there is a way to resolve alarms of that nature without embarrassing or making the passenger remove anything.
This story is being spun as if TSA thinks nipple rings are an actual threat and that people should be careful because the idiotic agency will go to the extreme to scare and embarrass them. That’s not the case at all. Does TSA try and resolve all alarms? Yes. Were the employees in this article following TSA procedure that have been set forth to specifically deal with situations like this? No. Are they a poor reflection on the agency? Yes.
Screening passengers and resolving alarms is not absurd, it just needs to be done correctly.
John F. Believe it or not, Screeners are drilled with policy everyday. They are constantly tested on their knowledge and practical application of such. But like with any other job, sometimes people don’t do what they are supposed to. TSA has bad seeds just like any other job does, unfortunately it takes longer to get rid of them.
Natural- You know, most passengers NEVER admit to not following the rules. They like to think the world revolves around just them and that Screeners are being dicks because they have nothing better to do (passengers have said this to me many times, btw).
I believe in good customer service so I always tried to explain the rules (as much as I was allowed to) with a smile, but that doesn’t always work.
But yeah, I am very much annoyed at how Screeners handled this situation and also a bit angered by media reaction.
Claire- LOL. If they bother you, slip them a $20!
I have mixed feelings–on one hand, I would love to be safe, on the other han hand, I would love to be safe.
You see, this is why I don’t pay attention to the news. I mean I read the newspaper… but I don’t pay attention to little stuff like this. Because it would annoy the heck out of me too that they aren’t focusing on when someone went out of their way to help someone - because it doesn’t sell newspapers. Scandal, fear, devastation… these are the things that sell newspapers. How sad is that?!
On a completely different note, nipple ring huh? Maybe there were dagger shaped earrings attached to the rings? I bet she left that bit out huh?
You’re right about the policy. It’s not TSA who is at fault, it’s a bad employee that created the absurdity. I mispoke.
Although, while I really do feel for the woman in question, it’s sort of funny at the same time
“Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to remove both of your nipple rings.”
“But, it’s a bit cold outside and my nipples are more constricted than usual. It would take a pair of pliers to get them out.”
(hands her pliers)
“Proceed.”
I wonder if he kept a straight face, because I really couldn’t have.
lmao at your two part answer
ooops realised you were replying to other Claire aswell, curse that other one
Angel, Jr.- LOL. I believe that the work Screeners do is keeping us safe, and that it doesn’t have to be painful or embarrassing like it was for the woman in this article.
Fragileheart- I try to watch the news and all it does is make me feel unsafe, you know? Like any moment some crazy guy is gonna bust down my door and kill me. I have to remind myself to keep things in perspective.
Isn’t it sad that whenever I go into a public place, I wonder where I would hide should someone start shooting??
And you can advertise anytime!
Garrett- LOL… I’m guessing that’s exactly how it went down. Grr @ bad employees!
Claire- You know, I thought was you!!! LOL, I didn’t even check!
hahah! Okay I go back to my original comment
“lmao @ your two part answer”
I may get the other nipple pierced now, so I can make the point twice.
When has the authorities ever explained anything to anyone? The same kind of crap happens here too but you just don’t see it publicized much …
I suppose nipple rings could be considered a dangerous weapon, ever been hit in the eye with one of those things? LOL! And pliers? Damn, just what was she using?
I heard the news.
Saw the video.
I will agree with you.
I have not fly since way before 9/11
But considering that airports and security in those places have change, and considering that my info has come from news, if I was force to fly I would not have any piercing of any kind with me, or any jewlery.
I would not even have wire on my bra. I would be very clean, deodorant and a overnight bag with me at all times, id and passport on my pants at all times.
I would be ready for a full body search and I would be ready to spend some time before entering an airport and some other time before entering an airplane.
Anyways that is what I would do.
There is no need to insult a people just doing their job, it is better to be better informed and be prepared to face the new reality of air traveling,
hey it is not even new anymore.
Claire-
Nick- This situation was just an example of how things go when employees don’t follow the rules. Meh.
Shelly- Thank you!
Jillian-
I think you meant ‘Prince Albert’ as opposed to Prince Edward for the piercing- don’t ask how I know.
Pit- Dammit! You’re right! Hahaha, I knew what I said didn’t sound right, but I went with it anyway!
Thanks for letting me know and shame on me for not double checking!
I actually read this post during my “vacation.” The laptop I was on wasn’t good for long posts, so I figured I’d wait to respond.
In doing so, everyone else has pretty much said what I was thinking, so I’ll move on to something I’m surprised that NO ONE mentioned.
How unbelievably awesome is Skid Row? Nothing says 80s hair band like these guys. “18 to Life” is an awesome song and the video is just as great. When someone gets tossed through a glass door 30 seconds in, you know you’re in for a visual masterpiece.
I’m a big fan of 80s cheese.
TOPolk- Thank you! I am LOVING this song right now. Of course no one will ever replace Journey.
My husband used to be a TSA… people were so rude & foul at the airport that he was glad when the government took over and replaced the TSA’s with their own people. He said he wanted to get in a fight almost daily over how rude people were.
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