You do know that the TSA agents wear gloves during the pat-down, don’t you? So I’m not sure what you think you’d accomplish by pretending to have an infectious disease.
What if I sneeze a lot?
You do know that some people have an irrational fear of AIDS don’t you?
{cough}
{cough}
.
There was a recent case (don’t have a cite at the moment, I’ll get you one later) of a woman who had had a masectomy having to remove her breast prosthesis.
No, if you actually are. However if you’re not, and giving them a scare for not keeping their hands to themselves, then I’m pretty sure that’s gotta break some law. I may be wrong.
They do slow things down, in my experience (apparently I had suspicious-looking Kleenex in my pocket, necessitating a second trip through, then my leg-cellulite might have been something almost as scary, getting me a leg patdown).
I wonder how a TSA pat-down would handle my many, many large lipomas?
Hope you don’t have any inconvenient medical equipment on you.
This, really, is where the outrage for me is. Not for those of us who might simply be uncomfortable being touched, but those who have to reveal intimate details about their medical history just to be allowed to fly, and who have the potential to be truly inconvenienced or even humiliated by the patdown security procedures.
I mean, this is stuff that even your employer isn’t legally entitled to know. This is information that if your doctor reveals it without your permission, it’s a HIPPA violation; and yet you have to let the TSA know all about it and handle it and inspect it closely and maybe spill it all over you, 'cause they’re afraid an old man with bladder cancer might sneak a couple ounces of explosives in with his baggie full of pee or something.
Nitpick: HIPAA
This is the part about airport security that scares me. I could deal with the searching and the scanning if it was all explained ahead of time, everyone had to do it and it seemed to have some purpose. But getting into a line and having to do whatever I’m told, at the risk of breaking the law, for whatever indefinite time security deems necessary is too much for me. I get claustrophobic after a half hour of shuffling along in my sock feet with no option but to continue until told I am free. I’m afraid to step out of line and I hate, hate, hate that trapped feeling. Two hours in line once and I was ready to explode.
Went through TSA at Miami International this morning. Luckily, I managed to get into the priority pass line because the scanner was not in use in this line. In the hoi polloi line, it was being used constantly. I had come to the airport prepared to opt out. I’m not interested in going through the scanner and unnecessarily exposing myself to radiation that doesn’t help me in the least.
Pat me down, if you feel it’s necessary, but don’t touch my junk. I managed to get two ziplock baggies of toiletries in my carry-on, which included a 7 oz bottle of sunscreen, and a jar of peanut butter through without a raised eyebrow. I don’t feel safer, but I’m glad I got to keep my stuff. That sunscreen was $13.
That’s not fair. Guys can’t hide that much stuff in their junk. 
I see what you did there.
And I like it.
I too would welcome the opportunity to show off my 12-inch ding dong. 
Bingo. I just heard on the radio that pilots and flight attendants will be able to just go through the metal detectors. Let’s see what effect (if any) this has on the Opt Out Day. I heard a lot of people talking about the fact that the pilot’s union was a big voice in the outcry about radiation exposure to their members.
I didn’t have the option of opting out last Thursday and yesterday, when I flew to DC and back. Neither location had scanners or was feeling anyone up. But at DCA, I was at the old “A” terminal which is the budget airline terminal. Maybe they only have the new system at the big-name airline terminals. I’m not surprised that RSW in south Florida does not have the new gear.
I agree, but a fire on a plane traveling over the Atlantic is a pretty serious matter. Particularly one that has its own oxidant. It might not take it down, but I wouldn’t want to be on that plane.
It is Wednesday morning here. I wonder how much TSA + protesters will disrupt travel. I suppose we shall see.
In his column yesterday, he pointed out that while pilots and flight attendants need to go through the security checkpoints, the cabin cleaners, baggage handlers and caterers do not.