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The actions by certain TSA employees as depicted by recent articles on HN are reprehensible. No doubt about it. However! I fly about every 2 to 3 weeks in and
by physcab 16y ago
The actions by certain TSA employees as depicted by recent articles on HN are reprehensible. No doubt about it.
However! I fly about every 2 to 3 weeks in and out of big airports and small airports. I have had pat downs and swipes and millimeter wave scans. I have even worked on next generation explosives detection technology(THz,Long Range, Surface UV). Yet, over the past 3 years of this type of mobile lifestyle, I have never observed or have been subjected to the types of harassment recent articles have detailed. Surely it happens, yes. But my experience both on the inside and out of this industry tells a different story. Privacy IS respected by people developing and deploying these technologies. Privacy IS respected by TSA employees who are concerned for the safety of each passenger.
Whether these policies or technologies are effective is another debate, but I just think there is a great deal of overgeneralization going on here. Maybe I'm just an outlier.
- RK 16y agoThe article (and others) is in regard to the very recently implemented policy changes by TSA in the past couple weeks. Otherwise I agree with you and haven't personally experienced problems in my frequent travel.
- physcab 16y agoI understand that. I flew as recently as last weekend to Chicago and Jacksonville and didn't notice a single difference. My point is that these changes are not implemented universally or equally. People shouldn't be so quick to paint TSA with a broad brush of criticism.
- gfodor 16y agoI see your anecdote and raise you mine, where I saw a old lady get invasively patted down for about 15-20 minutes at SFO.
- harshpotatoes 16y agoI haven't flown in a few months, and it sounds like from these articles that these pat downs are fairly recent (possibly in response to the printer cartridges?). I otherwise agree with you. The security procedures I have been used to for the past few years were annoying because there was a rather small line to wait in, but I did not feel my privacy was breached during those trips through the security line. However, these new pat downs (if they are as widespread as I am lead to believe) would be where I would draw the line.