5 ms·

"I won't be opting out again"? What? Give me a break. I fly weekly for work so I know the routine. 99% of the time the TSA agents are perfectly happy to do

"I won't be opting out again"? What? Give me a break. I fly weekly for work so I know the routine. 99% of the time the TSA agents are perfectly happy to do the pat down. I have had a few that have given me a hard time but then I've also had others come and apologize and emphasize that it is my right to opt-out. Keep opting out and next time someone gives you a hard time calmly ask for (1) a manager and (2) a comment card. They have both and they are eager not to have you make an official record that there has been a problem. An agent should never express their political opinion to you or try to influence your decision to opt out. Instantly when one of them does this you should ask for a manager and a comment card and refuse to talk to him anymore. ALSO (jeez) don't send your stuff through until you go through! I have been told this repeatedly so most agents actually know this already but even the ones that won't prompt you to do it won't prevent it either. Anyway, man don't give up so easily.

coldpie 13y ago
I agree with you, though the longest wait I've had was about 15 minutes. My girlfriend has had about the same length, since they didn't have any women clowns at that station and had to call one from another station. The TSA clowns aren't there to make your life hell, they're there to do their useless jobs. Like any other position, sometimes the employees are bad at their jobs. I am confused about this, though: > ALSO (jeez) don't send your stuff through until you go through! I have been told this repeatedly so most agents actually know this already but even the ones that won't prompt you to do it won't prevent it either. I always wait in the line, send my stuff through, and then tell the clown next to the scanner that I'm opting out. Do you approach the clown first, carrying all your stuff? When do you put your stuff through the scanner (i.e. how do you "cut" into the line)?
- eagsalazar2 13y ago
  Yeah just tell the agent when you first walk up then hold your stuff aside as needed. Mostly they totally get it but once I had a guy tell me to send it through. I told him no way because I always travel with an instrument and he backed down so I guess my situation is a little different. Honestly I've never been made to wait more than 5 minutes and in the last couple years I've probably been on 100 flights but I have had asshats try and tell me that I'm wrong for wanting to opt out. I ask that person for the manager and the comment card every time and I've been profusely apologized to by the manager every time.
- xxpor 13y ago
  You lose all credibility when you refer to TSA agents as "clowns"
  - arjie 13y ago
    Eh? What's the relationship between credibility and civility? He may be losing your respect, but he certainly loses no credibility. Still, it reminds me of what Vonnegut says in _Hocus Pocus_: > Profanity and obscenity entitle people who don't want unpleasant information to close their ears and eyes to you People will search for reasons to dismiss anything you say. Being utterly civil takes away the easy reasons. Vonnegut takes this to such extremes in the book that it becomes satirical, but taken at face value it is still meaningful. As someone whose family is frequently stopped at airports and borders because of their Muslim names (the Christian-named half of my extended family universally makes it through, the ones with Muslim names universally have trouble, even when both travel together), I've learnt that the word 'damn' is near horrific but that hours of detention are okay.
  - coldpie 13y ago
    They perform a meaningless task with no purpose other than to instill a certain emotion in their audience. Lots of job titles fit that definition, I like to use the word "clown." Edit for a slightly less flippant response. I do not respect the job these people do, and I like to degrade their position of authority. I like to make them hate their job, which is one of the reasons that I opt-out of the naked scanners and wish more people would. I want to tear the TSA down to where it was pre-9/11, and I think making people realize that the job these people perform is pointless security theatre ("clowns" performing dumb and silly actions like groping my testicles) helps do that.
    - xxpor 13y ago
      > I want to tear the TSA down to where it was pre-9/11 So non-existant. > I do not respect the job these people do, and I like to degrade their position of authority. Then you're just an asshole. Do you seriously think most people become TSA agents to go on a power trip? Do you actively degrade prostitutes as well? What about newspaper editorialists you disagree with?
jf 13y ago
I've also found this technique to be effective in getting a speedy opt-out: I get in line for the imaging machine; when I reach the front of the line, I firmly and loudly announce "OPT OUT"; they have me step aside; then I let 5 people pass me, get back in line, and repeat.
- DamnYuppie 13y ago
  That is a great idea! I have not really ever had to wait long for an opt out screening but I am keeping this one in my back pocket for if the wait is ever egregiously long.
orblivion 13y ago
> ALSO (jeez) don't send your stuff through until you go through! I have been told this repeatedly so most agents actually know this already but even the ones that won't prompt you to do it won't prevent it either. Wait, how do you do this? Do I wait holding my stuff until the assist comes up, and then make them wait as I put my things on the machine? Do I get to "cut in line" and put my stuff in front of everybody else's stuff on the conveyor?
- websomniac 13y ago
  Yes, in fact as parent has stated this is the standard procedure. I've have been yelled at and demeaned many times by these self entitled federal mall cops for this and many other non-issues. They treat you like criminals. Only two weeks ago as I flew from SFO to JFK, I was held up for twenty minutes before I even got a screening. Then the guys tells me he has found chemical traces on his gloves prompting a screening they refused to do in public. With his supervisor present and giving me dirty looks, they turned my bags upside-down and grabbed my junk with their palms. Luckily the plane I was flying on was delayed two hours from its previous destination or I would have missed my flight. The kicker is, some other passenger is walking around the airport scot-free with the "chemical traces" they are supposedly looking for. I get harassed about 50% of the time when I fly. I fly back and forth through the same airports every other month. I recognize these guys harassing me, I see them a dozen times a year. It's because I have an Arabic last name and a hefty beard. These guys are racially profiling American citizens. Oh yeah, after all of it, they always recite the canned "Sorry for any inconvenience, have a nice day" with a fake smile. Well, this turned out to be a little longer than I had expected. At least the first sentence was relevant to your post =)

coldpie 13y ago

I agree with you, though the longest wait I've had was about 15 minutes. My girlfriend has had about the same length, since they didn't have any women clowns at that station and had to call one from another station. The TSA clowns aren't there to make your life hell, they're there to do their useless jobs. Like any other position, sometimes the employees are bad at their jobs. I am confused about this, though: > ALSO (jeez) don't send your stuff through until you go through! I have been told this repeatedly so most agents actually know this already but even the ones that won't prompt you to do it won't prevent it either. I always wait in the line, send my stuff through, and then tell the clown next to the scanner that I'm opting out. Do you approach the clown first, carrying all your stuff? When do you put your stuff through the scanner (i.e. how do you "cut" into the line)?

eagsalazar2 13y ago
Yeah just tell the agent when you first walk up then hold your stuff aside as needed. Mostly they totally get it but once I had a guy tell me to send it through. I told him no way because I always travel with an instrument and he backed down so I guess my situation is a little different. Honestly I've never been made to wait more than 5 minutes and in the last couple years I've probably been on 100 flights but I have had asshats try and tell me that I'm wrong for wanting to opt out. I ask that person for the manager and the comment card every time and I've been profusely apologized to by the manager every time.
xxpor 13y ago
You lose all credibility when you refer to TSA agents as "clowns"
- arjie 13y ago
  Eh? What's the relationship between credibility and civility? He may be losing your respect, but he certainly loses no credibility. Still, it reminds me of what Vonnegut says in _Hocus Pocus_: > Profanity and obscenity entitle people who don't want unpleasant information to close their ears and eyes to you People will search for reasons to dismiss anything you say. Being utterly civil takes away the easy reasons. Vonnegut takes this to such extremes in the book that it becomes satirical, but taken at face value it is still meaningful. As someone whose family is frequently stopped at airports and borders because of their Muslim names (the Christian-named half of my extended family universally makes it through, the ones with Muslim names universally have trouble, even when both travel together), I've learnt that the word 'damn' is near horrific but that hours of detention are okay.
- coldpie 13y ago
  They perform a meaningless task with no purpose other than to instill a certain emotion in their audience. Lots of job titles fit that definition, I like to use the word "clown." Edit for a slightly less flippant response. I do not respect the job these people do, and I like to degrade their position of authority. I like to make them hate their job, which is one of the reasons that I opt-out of the naked scanners and wish more people would. I want to tear the TSA down to where it was pre-9/11, and I think making people realize that the job these people perform is pointless security theatre ("clowns" performing dumb and silly actions like groping my testicles) helps do that.
  - xxpor 13y ago
    > I want to tear the TSA down to where it was pre-9/11 So non-existant. > I do not respect the job these people do, and I like to degrade their position of authority. Then you're just an asshole. Do you seriously think most people become TSA agents to go on a power trip? Do you actively degrade prostitutes as well? What about newspaper editorialists you disagree with?

jf 13y ago

I've also found this technique to be effective in getting a speedy opt-out: I get in line for the imaging machine; when I reach the front of the line, I firmly and loudly announce "OPT OUT"; they have me step aside; then I let 5 people pass me, get back in line, and repeat.

DamnYuppie 13y ago
That is a great idea! I have not really ever had to wait long for an opt out screening but I am keeping this one in my back pocket for if the wait is ever egregiously long.

orblivion 13y ago

> ALSO (jeez) don't send your stuff through until you go through! I have been told this repeatedly so most agents actually know this already but even the ones that won't prompt you to do it won't prevent it either. Wait, how do you do this? Do I wait holding my stuff until the assist comes up, and then make them wait as I put my things on the machine? Do I get to "cut in line" and put my stuff in front of everybody else's stuff on the conveyor?

websomniac 13y ago
Yes, in fact as parent has stated this is the standard procedure. I've have been yelled at and demeaned many times by these self entitled federal mall cops for this and many other non-issues. They treat you like criminals. Only two weeks ago as I flew from SFO to JFK, I was held up for twenty minutes before I even got a screening. Then the guys tells me he has found chemical traces on his gloves prompting a screening they refused to do in public. With his supervisor present and giving me dirty looks, they turned my bags upside-down and grabbed my junk with their palms. Luckily the plane I was flying on was delayed two hours from its previous destination or I would have missed my flight. The kicker is, some other passenger is walking around the airport scot-free with the "chemical traces" they are supposedly looking for. I get harassed about 50% of the time when I fly. I fly back and forth through the same airports every other month. I recognize these guys harassing me, I see them a dozen times a year. It's because I have an Arabic last name and a hefty beard. These guys are racially profiling American citizens. Oh yeah, after all of it, they always recite the canned "Sorry for any inconvenience, have a nice day" with a fake smile. Well, this turned out to be a little longer than I had expected. At least the first sentence was relevant to your post =)