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Here's an awesome TSA story for you: Late last year while trying to fly out of LAX a TSA employee thought I was carrying a throwing star. They called the polic
by tehwebguy 11y ago
Here's an awesome TSA story for you:
Late last year while trying to fly out of LAX a TSA employee thought I was carrying a throwing star. They called the police, who correctly identified as a toy in seconds.
I thought the whole ordeal was over until I got a "notice of violation" in the mail from TSA 45 days later.
Now I'm banned from pre-check for three years, even though I have global entry and even though the fine was thrown out. It's a kangaroo court were the only two options are you pay the fine or they convert it to a warning.
Some shit head got a gold star for "finding a weapon" and I get fucked.
Please defund these 0-terrorist-catching losers.
- raldi 11y agoWhat kind of toy was it?
- tehwebguy 11y agoIt was from League of Leagends (Sivir). It's not sharp or aerodynamic, just a "spinner" toy. One of the vendors from the League convention I put on gave it to me as a token of thanks just before the event ended. I dropped it in my bag and forgot it until flying a few weeks later. Bonus: My business partner was given the same one and the same thing happened at BUR. TSA asked if she wanted to mail it home, she said "toss it" and never heard another word! Bonus 2: Cop asks me "who do you main?" (as in, what champion do you mainly play in LoL)
- koolba 11y ago> Bonus: My business partner was given the same one and the same thing happened at BUR. TSA asked if she wanted to mail it home, she said "toss it" and never heard another word! Free business idea! UPS/FedEx/USPS packaging site at the end of the TSA line. When they say you can't take your cologne, knife, or toothbrush because it's too dangerous, you can immediately give it one of our helpful agents and they'll instead mail it your home!
- tehwebguy 11y agoTSA already have a deal with USPS in some airports.
- seanp2k2 11y agoYep, and IIRC getting out of line to mail something (plus you have to track down postage stamps elsewhere again IIRC) means you have to then go through the whole thing again.
- SystemOut 11y agoThey have this option in Seattle already
- nostrademons 11y agoThey have this at many airports, but the prices are exorbitant. It was something like $10 to mail a swiss army knife home (vs. $15 to just replace it). They have a captive monopoly - there is one place you can mail it from, you can't step out of the terminal, and you have to decide immediately if you want to toss or mail - so they can charge whatever they want.
- raldi 11y agoI'm having trouble picturing this. Could you upload a photo to imgur?
- noxToken 11y agoThis[1] isn't the toy, but this is splash art of the character with good view of her weapon. It's based off of the chakram. The toy would have looked something like that. [1]: http://static1.eclypsia.com/images/lol/champions/Sivir_Splash_0.jpg http://static1.eclypsia.com/images/lol/champions/Sivir_Splas...
- tehwebguy 11y agoThe worst part is I'm garbage with Sivir /s
- lisper 11y agoSomething like this I'm guessing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rotatable-LOL-League-of-Legends-Sivir-cosplay-metal-sword-Shuriken-chirld-toys-/321719001682 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rotatable-LOL-League-of-Legends-Sivi...
- tehwebguy 11y agoYeah exactly that. I can imagine that looking really scary through the x-ray but it's definitely not a weapon. I'm not indignant about being stopped with it - just about being treated like a criminal instead of someone who just made a mistake. It was like my 30th flight of the year and I had (real) status with 2 airlines, and I was in a tiny little PreCheck screening wing with maybe 6 other passengers and 10 TSA at 5:00 AM. It just seems like everything lined up for this to be a simple process that would have been easily determined to be inadvertent and not a danger to anyone, but I still got hosed!
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- jghn 11y agoAs a child in the early 80s I had my bag searched due to some GI Joe toys, in this case knockoffs of missiles for some SAM launcher or somesuch. It's not just a modern TSA thing.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- coderdude 11y agoA standard-issue toy throwing star that every adult has on them when trying to get through security checkpoints.
- crispyambulance 11y agoYep, the whole point for why pre-check exists is to allow frequent travelers who will always pass screening to get through the security clusterfuck faster. pre-check is for people that know how to travel and are willing to observe the rules. A grown man carrying a "throwing-star" toy through pre-check SHOULD BE banned from this privilege and feel the scorn of other pre-check folks who just want to go through smoothly.
- tehwebguy 11y agoI hope you never find yourself on the other side of someone with the badge, even though these people don't even have the power to arrest me it was very scary feeling like they thought I was a criminal and nothing I could say could convince them otherwise. "Did you know what you did was a felony? Did you know it's illegal to possess one of these?" - that's what I had to endure until the police arrived. For the crime of forgetting an item in my bag even existed after running a convention. Of course it's my fault for not checking my bag before I left the house, if I was a weapons collector I'm sure I would've thought twice but I'm not.
- crispyambulance 11y agoYes, think about what you're putting in your bag. It is sad that TSA is just a bunch a phony-baloney security theater, but that's not going to change anytime soon. In the meantime please be careful about what you put in your bag so that you don't delay others. Airports are stressful enough already.
- tehwebguy 11y agoThanks for the advice.
- nfriedly 11y agoThey're just as bad at identifying actual "weapons": I flew to South America with a layover in Miami a few years back. Got past TSA without any trouble on the domestic leg, then I had to go through again for the international leg. The second time through security, they said they saw a blade on the x-ray.. turns out they were right. I forgot I had left a multi-tool in my bag. Thankfully, they just trashed it and let me continue on my way. The story still flabbergasts me, though.
- peterwwillis 11y agoFYI you are allowed to carry on screwdrivers, wrenches and pliers less than 7 inches long. More bulky than a multi-tool, but at least you can carry something? https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/prohibited-items https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/prohibited-ite...
- morcheeba 11y agoThey can still confiscate whatever they want, regardless of the rules: https://bbs.boingboing.net/t/makers-tsa-compliant-multitool-finally-confiscated/76457 https://bbs.boingboing.net/t/makers-tsa-compliant-multitool-...
- aqme28 11y agoThey confiscated a friend's _comb_, because it opened with a switchblade-style button.
- i_are_smart 11y agoNo, I'd wager the comb got confiscated because the TSA agent thought it looked cool and wanted one.
- themartorana 11y agoJust like iPads. http://www.wired.com/2012/12/tsa-ipads/ http://www.wired.com/2012/12/tsa-ipads/
- KKKKkkkk1 11y agoThe USCIS (the former Immigration and Naturalization Service) is a US government agency that functions without funding from the government - it gets all of its money from the fees and penalties paid by the people who require its services. Based on your story, I'm wondering if the TSA has a similar business model.
- firebird84 11y agoThat sounds about right. I married a foreigner - costs $1500 and about 6 months to process the paperwork that lets her stay. I got sticker shock when I first learned that. I've never before seen government fees that high.
- emodendroket 11y agoThe wait times are way up now.
- kogepathic 11y ago> costs $1500 and about 6 months to process the paperwork that lets her stay Really not cool. Probably justify it by saying it takes a lot of time to process paperwork (that they created the requirement for in the first place...) Did you know that it also now costs $2350 for someone to renounce their US citizenship? It also takes an undefined amount of time (typically 12+ months) and they publish your name online on a State Department shame list of ex-Americans. A decade ago, it was free to renounce your US citizenship. Around 2009 they started charging $450, and then suddenly raised the fee to $2350 in 2014.
- CuriouslyC 11y agoI had to go back and check a necklace because TSA agents claimed it could be used to whip or garotte. A freaking necklace!
- pavel_lishin 11y agoDon't let them see your belt or shoelaces.
- julian_t 11y agoI often fly with a travel-size guitar (one of these: http://www.guitarbench.com/Images%20for%20articles/brunner/8.jpg http://www.guitarbench.com/Images%20for%20articles/brunner/8...). The neck comes off and it packs into a case that's small enough for carry-on. It has often struck me that a guitar neck with six metal strings attached would make a fairly effective weapon (at least, by TSA standards!) but I've never had any trouble getting through security, apart from occasionally having to put it together.
- gnud 11y agoMust be hard to keep the action and tuning good on that, after re-assembly?
- emodendroket 11y agoWell, as the article illustrates, just defunding without actually changing any of the rules won't help.
- spinlock 11y agoIt will eventually. You just have to stay strong and not let the terrorists win.
- superuser2 11y agoPlease fund them fully or eliminate them entirely. The inbetween states just suck for everybody.
- enraged_camel 11y agoWhat will funding them "fully" accomplish? Do you believe that their inability to catch terrorists is a matter of lack of funding?
- ihsw 11y agoTerrorism is irrelevant at this point. The wait times must be reduced regardless.
- TheRealDunkirk 11y agoThis is like the time I asked someone on Reddit what they meant by funding education "fully." They said, "double." So... we'd be a world leader in primary and secondary education again if we just spent twice what we currently do? Well, I guess it was an answer. There are 2 kinds of people: those who think that more money will somehow fix everything (them), and those that think more money will only exacerbate the problems that have brought us to the current point of the debate (me). As a matter of fact, as I write this, I think that may be the single most significant distinction between "conservativism" and "liberalism," as practiced in the US.
- enjo 11y ago>As a matter of fact, as I write this, I think that may be the single most significant distinction between "conservativism" and "liberalism," as practiced in the US. Ugh.. no it's not. That's a massive mischaracterization of liberalism. Liberals, by and large, do not think that throwing additional funding at things (for the sake of additional funds) will improve systems. It's an unfounded and cartoonish view of liberal policy.
- TheRealDunkirk 11y ago
- drzaiusapelord 11y ago>Some shit head got a gold star for "finding a weapon" and I get fucked. Everything about security and law enforcement has some level of perverse incentives. People learn to game the system and their supervisors don't care as long as there's a benefit to them. I'm certain this guy knew it was a toy, but he wanted that gold star and his supervisor wanted a report showing all the gold stars that month were from his guys. This is a classic problem in management. The real question is who can fix this? In government, perverse incentives eventually become the norm, not the exception, as everyone eventually gets in the game and there's no reason for anyone to upset the cart. Especially when the higher ups are riding the pension/public sector union bus and anything that could risk that or cause a political issue is just ignored. They're not going to be the fall guy here. The shitheads outnumber them vasty. More than likely these managers are just ex-shitheads who played the game better than the other shitheads in the past and got promoted. If airport security was run by a private company, the government could fire these guys and go with a different vendor if there was enough political pressure (or threaten to to get needed reforms), but because the TSA is the government, we're stuck with them.
- JupiterMoon 11y agoContracts for private sector companies doing work for the public sector tend to protect the private sector company from being fired. Also you may want to check who sits on the boards of some of the private contractors working for your government (or you might not want to - the results might make you more cynical).
- drzaiusapelord 11y agoObviously we can't have a perfect world, but vendors get fired all the time. Contracts go up for renewel, a new administration fires old vendors, etc. Public sector unions are eternal and only get worse over time. As far as "connections" go, Theranos is imploding right now even with its deep government and military connections.
- themartorana 11y ago
- lettergram 11y agoI didn't get a warning, but I did have my bag opened, all my belongings thrown out on the ground, and was delayed for 30-45 minutes... All this because I had a box of poptarts that apparently looked like a bomb.
- stephengillie 11y agoIt may be an unpopular opinion to express, but these "horror stories of TSA incompetence" are somewhat entertaining to those who cannot afford to fly. It's like that "Cops" TV show, on location in the airports of America, with the men and women of law enforcement - the TSA in this case. Your having LEOs violate your rights and go thru your belongings - for someone thinking your box is a bomb - is no different than a cop stopping a driver for thinking the driver's Coke can is a Budweiser and searching their car.
- spinlock 11y agoThis is why I can't support high speed rail enough. You get from downtown nyc to Washington dc without having your human rights violated. And its faster too.
- nitrogen 11y agoIIRC the TSA occasionally sets up airport style security checkpoints at train exits. A search of HN should show some examples.
- mikemac 11y agoBoston police (or transit police) does this randomly on the MBTA train system.
- op00to 11y agoVIPR is what you're looking for: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visible_Intermodal_Prevention_and_Response_team https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visible_Intermodal_Prevention_... It's not exactly airport style - at least in NYC and Philly they swab you for explosives and check your ID. No X-Ray or nude-o-scope. You're free to not go through the checkpoint (but you won't board your train).
- gcb0 11y agoserve you good for giving up your freedom for a little convenience (paying TSA bribe: pre-check). I have no simpathy for you :( do what you must. bite the bullet on 1h plus for security, and opt out of the undocumented scanner. your country thank you.
- themartorana 11y agoI always opt out, although I've heard rumblings about that option going away. I always feel bad for the poor dude who had to feel up my junk with the back of his hand, but it's my tiny little bit of civil disobedience.
- laxatives 11y agoI've flown with shaving razors and pocket knives attached to my keys numerous times. They get found and confiscated about 20% of the time. I recently forgot to remove both and the TSA agent spent 5 minutes looking for something. He found the shaving razor, but not the pocket knife and was very pleased with himself. Its absurd the profiling going on with the TSA. If I dress well, I get rushed through the lines quickly. If I dress like a slob, I get subjected to additional baggage checks and pat downs on a regular basis while TSA agents bark orders at me like I'm incompetent. This article makes it sound like they are trained to do this under the guise of "behavior detection". Once I got precheck, I started getting treated like a human being. Fuck the TSA. If we need to provide jobs to dropouts, give them something meaningful to do without subjecting the rest of the population to their "authority".
- fbuilesv 11y agoSimilar story here. I'm a smoker and usually do international/inside-US flights on a monthly basis. In 7-8 years the only lighters I recall losing have been in my home country (where pat downs and having your bags opened are a common thing). Curiously, I haven't had a TSA line longer than 45 minutes flying from places in NY, CA or FL (I mostly flight late evening/disgustingly-early morning though) in the last few months. PS: laxatives, you mention being treated like a human. Why not help by not referring to TSA employees as "dropouts"?
- praneshp 11y agoI think the parent commenter was using "dropout" as an adjective, not a derogatory term.
- laxatives 11y agoFWIW I've had agents inspect my bad and allow me to keep lighters. I've only had lighters confiscated on a handful of international flights, and never in the US. Yeah you're right its not fair to call them dropouts.
- dionidium 11y agoLighters are not forbidden. I was told to toss out all but one when coming back into the U.S. from Canada, once, but that's about as far as it's ever gone. I travel a fair amount and almost always with one or more lighters.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- JustSomeNobody 11y agoFew years ago, went to South America on a mission trip. Got a new Passport for the trip as I'd never been anywhere that required one. Every TSA checkpoint on the way home I was stopped, frisked and searched. I almost missed every single flight. I ran miles and miles that day trying to catch planes. Edit: Ok, maybe not miles, but seriously, had to run to every plane.
- kelnos 11y agoWeird, didn't know they did that. On literally my first flight after getting pre-check, I somehow had a razor blade stuck under the insole of a pair of shoes I was bringing in my carry-on bag (a pair of shoes I hadn't worn since before I had moved apartments, so I assume somehow that's how it got in there). The metal detector picked it up, the TSA agent took my shoe apart, found it, seemed totally unconcerned, threw it in the trash, and waved me through.