ABombazine: Another TSA abuse, another day in the USA

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Another TSA abuse, another day in the USA

Unfortunately, Blogger is on the fritz and has been for days, so I can't update the Master List of TSA Crimes and Abuses (see menu at top of the page -- Pages 1 and 2 both). I give up. So here's an addition (along with my reply to her) that might someday be added to the list, if Blogger ever gets its act together. From February 2, 2015:

Trish24 2 days ago

I may never fly again and I am serious thank you TSA. I was TSA prechecked but my hands got wanded and supposedly something showed up. My carryons were totally dumped out including my wallet I was taken to a room for full pat down..breast, groin they reached inside my pants...degrading, humiliating and frightening..I am a 63 year old woman with high blood pressure they are lucky I didn't stroke out! As I tried o repack my carryons and tuck in my shirt I heard the agents state that I was the fifth false positive that morning and they knew the wand was defective. Not going back to RSA Fort Meyers!

Lisa Simeone Mod Trish24 2 days ago

Trish, very sorry this happened to you. Unfortunately, it's common. And it has nothing to do with the airport. RSA Fort Meyers is no worse than anywhere else. Check my Master List of TSA Crimes and Abuses to see what thousands of people have gone through:
http://abombazine.blogspot.com...

Also, as we've reported here dozens of times, false positives are the norm. The norm. The TSA knows it. TSA employees joke about it. Soap residue causes false positives. Hand lotion. Garden fertilizer. Etc. Also, Pre-check is meaningless. Pre-Check is a scam, another thing we've covered many times.

But I confess I'm fatigued with writing about this whole topic. I've been doing it since 2008, this blog has been around since 2011, and I know nothing will change in my lifetime. As long as people continue to fly and continue to put up with this abuse, nothing will change.

Edited to add: Also, never, ever agree to go into a private room with these people. You are not obligated to go into a private room. And they can't force you. They can perform their abusive search in public.

Bombazine

Bombazine is a fabric. You can see more info and literary references at this Wikipedia link.

I chose the name because of the fashion reference and the inherent play on words -- "bomb" as in "you're the bomb," "that dress is the bomb," and "zine" referring to the independent publications of yesteryear. Since I write about politics, fashion, art, design, beauty, etc., I thought "bombazine" was the perfect name.

The fact that "bomb" is also a trigger word for our DHS/NSA overlords is icing on the cake.

In addition to doing original writing, I also re-publish other things that I think are worthwhile, with, of course, full attribution to the authors. I don't think I write deathless prose; therefore, I have no problem calling attention to the prose of others. I realize this is anathema to some in the blabbosphere (who apparently think they do write deathless prose). Tough shit.

Sorry, this blog doesn't accept comments. I don't have time to wade through spammers, plants, and trolls, not to mention pearl-clutching Pollyannas who go into cardiac arrest over naughty words. This is an adult blog that discusses adult topics. If you're offended by language -- or ideas -- this isn't the place for you.