Frylock, laughing at customers/clients/patients happens in all fields. And frankly, the higher the stress level, the more it happens, including happening in front of them.
That’s not to say that most times, the laughter is mis-interpreted by the customer, but I’ll wager that at least 15% of the time, the employee did let the mask of professionalism slip. I’ve done it (an apologized for it), I’ve seen tons of my staff do it. It’s inevitable. To say it’s incoceivable, or that it doesn’t happen, or that it is mis-interpreted every time correlates neither with my own observations nor human nature.
I seriously doubt that one TSA culture pervades the entire country. Even so, there are ‘slips’.
But in any case, the giggling isn’t the real problem. It is the forced removal of something that doesn’t have to be removed to fly on a fucking plane.
Is there a rule that that says nipple piercings have to be in checked luggage?
Then get off the giggling point and get to the important one.
Heh. My stepfather has a metal plate in his ankle. Every single time he goes through security he has to take of his shoe and sock on one foot before they are convinced.
My dad had a hip replacement. His surgeon gave him a card to keep in his wallet, explaining the metal in his hip, but then said something like, “Of course, it won’t do you any good. You know you’re in for hell at airports for the rest of your life, right?”
At least twice I have been allowed through security with bamboo knitting needles. They may not be stainless steel, but I could sure as hell stab somebody with them. Nobody looked twice. I even had the print out of the TSA web page that said I could have them, just in case.
Their regulations are inane, their enforcement is spotty, and their staff is incompetent and unprofessional.
You realize that this was in Texas, a state that voted for Bush 4 times (twice as Governor and twice as President), where belt buckles are bigger than brains, and where they let Cheney handle a gun.
This drives me nuts. Mrs. Blather and I own a knitting store and we hear all sorts of different stories from travellers on how knitting needles are handled. Sometimes bamboo is ok but stainless steel isn’t, sometimes it’s OK if there is a project cast-on, sometimes they confiscate the needles regardless. Ripping out your nipple rings is one thing, but can you imagine frogging a months worth of FairIsle knitting?
What the fuck is so special about TSA 's? There’s plenty of examples of other highly trained professionals acting inappropriately - teachers, cops, judges, soldiers, prison guards, doctors - you name it. If they’re human, it will happen from time to time.
To be honest, I have only been to the US thrice after 9/11. Every time it has been slow, uncomfortable, humiliating and plainly not what you want in a vacation.
Sorry guys, I *really *like your country (heck, I pay taxes there, I might as well use the infrastructure), there are a ton of places I’d like to visit. Traveling from here is cheap and fast, but until you fix your USSR-type airports I will only visit if strictly necessary.
I always carry a SASE large enough to drop my needles + project into when I take my knitting in my carry-on. Because, yeah. I might go all postal on someone’s ass if I had to take my needles out of colorwork or (as is more likely for me) a month’s worth of lace knitting.
This reminds me of the idiot from my burb’s “garbage contractor” who hates to pick up garbage and offers every excuse why they missed my block once again.
The contract for picking up recycling allows homeowners to put up to 2 gallons of waste oil at the curb in “#2 plastic containers such as milk jugs”.
Mine was rejected because I re-used the motor oil container! I went round and round with their brainless receptionist about how “such as a milk jug” doesn’t mean “MUST BE in a milk jug”!
Dear God, my nipples are aching from just reading this thread.
And I heartily concur with the statements abovethread vis a vis avoiding US airports. My family now gladly pays extra to fly through Aruba, Canada or even Havana if necessary to bypass the stress and scrutiny that is US security checks nowadays.
My father actually pitched a fit the last time he flew through en route to Quito because they pulled him out of the line for fingerprinting and to have his retina scanned. He’s a Swedish citizen and went ape over the fact that his own government doesn’t have his fingerprints, but a foreign nation he’s not even setting foot in (apart from the airport, obviously) feels entitled to demand them.
Suprisingly, IIRC, they ended up not fingerprinting him after all.
Does anyone other than that woman corroborate the laughing detail? (Because, well, yeah, I do find it kind of unbelievable.)
To be clear, my claim has not been that TSAs are particularly good people or driven by professionalism. Rather, my claim is that in the TSA working environment, stuff like what this lady had to do just isn’t the kind of thing that is funny.
Well, you’ve acknowledged that some TSA people can get angry with airline passengers because of the stress of their jobs. You’ve also acknowledged that some TSA people can be petty assholes in general. My own experience with human nature does not remotely rule out the possibility that a petty, angry asshole would laugh at someone else’s discomfiture, particularly is that person is the perceived source of their anger, and most particularly when the victim is not in any sort of a position to get the petty asshole in trouble.
So, yeah, while it’s entirely possible that the woman heard someone laughing at something else and misinterpreted it, it’s equally possible that things went down precisely as she described. Since the undisputed facts of the story already cast the TSA personnel in a very bad light, I’m inclined to give more weight to the woman’s version of the story. I certainly could be wrong, but I’m not likely to be swayed by, “My wife used to be a TSA, and she wouldn’t do that!”
I personally kind of chuckle at uncomfortable or bad situations, probably as a coping mechanism of some kinds. It’s possible one of the TSAs was using the same thing. They were uncomfortable witht he situation they put teh women in so they kind of did a half-nervous chuckle while she was complying with the piercing removal.
I and my wife are from Texas, born and raised. We vote (and have since voting age) Democrat. Neither of us has large belt buckles. Neither of us owns a gun.
And you know that how? From all your years working there, or because wifey said so? Even though she apparently quit due to the all-around environment.
I mean, WTF, how many testaments is it going to take for you to believe that TSA is no different than any other group with a badge? Even more so when we know that they where pooled rather quickly and many where found to be unqualified (as in “with prior criminal records”) shortly after. Do you honestly think the ‘cleaning’ has been so thorough that there are no assholes left?
Interested in some of my Fla swampland?
MG, wimp? Next time we get together I’ll tell you about the time I swam over, only to be turned back because they said I had a gun in my shorts. They were right of course. How else would I have kept all those sharks away?
Seriously though, the measures keep changing and one can’t get more ridiculous than the last. For instance, about six mothns ago I had the two lighters I had with me confiscated (meanwhile, my BIL, who was on the non-terrarist line, went through with FOUR) while being told that matches were OK. :rolleyes: Turns out that now lighters are OK now. Some brainiac must have figured that both can light a fire in an airplane.
Okay, next time I fly I’m wearing a Saranwrap sarong and maribou mules - no carry-ons, no purse. Serves them right when they need brain bleach after having to look at my saggy, sorry middle-aged ass.
Whenever I encounter competing claims about an organization from customers vs. employees/former employees/stockholders, etc., I always figure the customers are the ones telling me the truth. They have no vested interest in anything other than the truth. It’s a simple rule of thumb … always follow the money, and assume that it is lying its ass off, or at the very least, deeply misinformed.
