TSA Continues To Embarass The Elderly With Unnecessarily Degrading Search Procedures
from the why-grandma-and-grandpa-don't-fly dept
The TSA is, once again, defending its screening procedures after reports came out of degrading and embarrassing searches performed on three different elderly passengers at JFK, each of which involved passengers with medical equipment that it appears the TSA did not know how to handle in a reasonable way. While the TSA emphasizes that it didn't do a "strip search" on any of the passengers, that seems to ignore the point that, in all three cases, the searches appeared to be highly inappropriate. An MSNBC story about all of this summarizes the three passengers' complaints:In one case, Lenore Zimmerman, 85, of Long Beach, N.Y., said TSA agents took her into a private room in late November to remove her back brace for screening after she decided against going through a scanning machine because of her heart defibrillator.The letter discussed above came from Senators Chuck Schumer and Michael Gianaris, asking the TSA to have an "on-site passenger advocate." It seems like that would certainly make some amount of sense, though I imagine getting rid of security theater would be a better solution. But, in absence of that, having someone in authority who actually has the passengers' interest in mind seems like it could be useful.
"Zimmerman said she had to raise her blouse and remove her undergarments for a female TSA agent," said Schumer and Gianaris' letter.
[....]
In another recent incident, Ruth Sherman, 88, of Sunrise, Fla., was asked about a visible protrusion from her waist band, which she identified as her colostomy bag.
She was "escorted to another room where two female agents made her lower her pants for an inspection. Sherman raised concerns that the agents would disrupt her colostomy bag, causing pain and potential damage," the letter said.
A third woman, Linda Kallish, of Boynton, Fla., said that after she revealed she was a diabetic with an insulin pump in her leg, she was escorted to a separate room where she was told to remove her pants so the agents could check the pump, the letter said, without saying when that incident took place.
Even more bizarre, however, is that while the TSA admits that its agents were at fault in the first case above, and should not have removed the brace, it still seems to recommend that passengers be the ones to bone up on the rules:
We recommend that all passengers familiarize themselves with security protocols and inform officers prior to screening if they have medical devices that require special screening. It makes things easier for everybody if all parties know in advance what to expect.Yes, JFK personnel are receiving additional training as well, but should traveling by plane really require individuals to study up on what inhumane and degrading treatment they should expect before hitting the airport?
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Management vs Employees
In the end, this is why I've eliminated as much air travel from my vacation plans as possible. Between the unknown medical risks of being scanned, potential theft issues, groping issues, general unnecessary delays, etc, the increased speed of travel no longer seems to overcome the "hurdle" of driving or taking the train where possible.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Management vs Employees
The TSA are increasing the height of that "hurdle" all the time:
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110621/02225414782/tsa-takes-security-theater-road-mobile-gro ping-teams-can-pop-up-anywhere.shtml
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111020/11465616440/tsa-de cides-terrorists-must-be-driving-partners-with-tenn-law-enforcement-to-randomly-search-vehicles.shtm l
We might be able to walk to our destinations without all those hassles at the moment, but I'm sure they're working on fixing that too.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Management vs Employees
I know this because I was looking at spending my vacation bicycling from Tempe, Az to Ventura, CA; which it turns out isn't possible on backroads.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Management vs Employees
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Management vs Employees
Removing *all* screening exceptions would be just as stupid as the security theater already in place.
What are you going to do with the federal agents who are flying armed? Have them go through the screeners, which would then sound an alarm and draw everyone's attention to the agent as he/she shows the TSA their badge and paperwork, and which would serve to advertise to everyone in the terminal who the air marshals and FBI and Secret Service agents are?
Of course there should be exceptions from screening-- that's just basic common sense and OPSEC-- just not for all the folks who are currently enjoying it.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Instead, I intentionally opt-out of the stupid body scanners, insisting on the metal detector + pat down.
I go through this several times a month (to and from my destinations), and usually it's just an annoyance. So far, most of the TSA agents have been reasonable about the process - but I noticed the last guy I got was a bit more "rough" with his hands than most.
I want to make sure they know I strongly disapprove of their stupid scanners, and they're gonna have to pat me down every single time.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
I may want to make snide comments to them about taking me out to dinner afterwards, or asking if my wife can join.
"So, do you come here often? Yeah, you know what I mean, *wink*. I'll bet you do."
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Ummm, hey Einstein. Guess what? Some of the customers are TERRORISTS. But it's kind of tough figuring who's who without the "I jihad" t-shirts.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Existential...
Do you any evidence they actually exist?
Or do you only know what you've been spoon-fed Fox News and CNN?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Existential...
Yeah, there's a huge hole in the ground in Pennsylvania and a blank spot in the Manhattan skyline.
> Or do you only know what you've been spoon-fed
> Fox News and CNN?
Nope, I've seen both with my own eyes.
Moron.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Existential...
1.the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes.
US government officals are responsible for 1,000,000 civilians dead in Iraq and endless drone attacks.
You decide who the TSA should be searching
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Existential...
> dead in Iraq and endless drone attacks.
That's cute and all, but it's a complete non sequitur in regard to the question that was asked.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Existential...
Both of which could have been prevented if only we had been in the habit of humiliating the elderly prior to the attacks.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
Pre-9/11 - A hijacking occurs, the passengers know that if they just go along and don't make any noise they'll get a trip to Cuba and a cool story.
Post-9/11 - A hijacking occurs, the passenger know that they will be stains if they don't actively resist.
All of the (pathetic) attempts to blow up planes after 9/11 got past the TSA and were stopped by passengers. We had a perfectly fine screening process before 9/11 and I see no reason why we can't go back to that.
And finally...the TSA would NOT have prevented 9/11! None of the terrorists had freakin' bombs on them. A simple lock on the cockpit door would have saved us a lot of time, money, harassment, and civil liberties.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
The basic question is what you're willing to give up in exchange for how big an increase in safety. The TSA searches represent a huge expenditure of money and erosion of personal rights in exchange for a moderate protection against a laughably narrow range of threats of vanishingly small probability.
Honestly, it's as if you think there's a secret terrorist cell someplace where people say "let's kill a bunch of Americans exactly the same way we did last time-- oh, wait, we can't, never mind, let's do nothing." I don't know who's stupider, the fictional terrorists who can't think of a crowded place to set off a bomb, or the citizens willing to give up everything for protection against them.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
I know it all leads in circles but that's the whole point. Get people so dizzy they can't tell the difference.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
What we have is ridiculous spending of tax dollars on smoke and mirror tricks to make the public believe we are safe from terrorist attacks.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
And being prepared means nothing...
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111003/12305416186/tsa-force-breast-cancer-patient-to-submit- to-patdown-refuse-to-let-her-show-id-card-about-implants.shtml
Wait... come to think of it that was JFK too. Way to keep up the high standards!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:Another mike
Over summer, Paul introduces a bill that from what I have seen doesn't end the TSA but would force the TSA to follow laws regarding assault and the like and also the bill would of made the TSA treat everyone the same regardless of their political standing (such as congressmen) http://paul.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1796&Itemid=60
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
Either Paul is the worlds most honest politician or the world's greatest actor for keeping it up for so many years.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Lies
> get rid if the TSA.
Yeah, and Obama publicly stated he'd get rid of Gitmo, too.
Anyone who believes anything that a politician tells them is a special kind of fool.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
think it through
What authority would this person have? Who would pay this person's salary? What kind of behavior would get this person fired, and by whom?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
passenger advocate must be paid by other dept
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: passenger advocate must be paid by other dept
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Good idea: Transparency and accountability.
Bad idea: Easily bribed "advocate".
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
It's not because that your agents are incompetent, misfit high school drop outs that you found on the street randomly who doesn't receive proper training.
It's the people being push overs and bend over whenever the agents tells us to. I mean, it's totally our fault that we are such sissies and our rights are being violated by people who get paid by tax money.
I apologize for being spineless.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Driving 1600 miles this Christmas
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
All We Need Is One Colostomy-Bag Bomber ...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Does all of this screening mean I have to strip off in the middle of an airport just to prove that I'm not a bomb?
Hmmm, stuff your private room, how about right here, right now? Let's get to it!
(Same crap happens in Canada, and I threatened a screener with that and he decided to take the medical evidence that such things were actually inside me along with his little picture of my insides and outsides rather than have to suffer through that. I did have to talk to a very nice RCMP officer in the lounge as I waited for the plane to get going who thought it was the funniest thing she'd heard in years. I'm probably on Air Canada's no fly list now but I don't care as I don't fly on them, made that mistake once and never will again.)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
It was created in a vacuum when people felt we had to do something. So rather than say this whole thing is crap, we add another layer of people who can fail to do their job of making the first tier of people do their job they way we intended, and then we can create a 3rd tier of oversight to the issue. How many more layers do we add before we just admit we are putting more more shit on the shit pile?
They used DHS funds to buy $900 snowcone makers in Michigan, and a whole bunch of failed tech sitting in warehouses. More tech keeps arriving because they have never considered adding a simple clause to a contract of - If your item does not work as promised, your paying us back and taking your tech back.
We never hold them accountable for these things, and when you try you get promises of investigations and such, but do we yet have answers to the radiation dose from pornoscanners? Do they have a system in place to make sure the pornoscanners are working correctly and not delivering a dose outside of spec? I'm tired of the "great idea" with no follow through, how can you hand billions to a company with untested unvetted machines using radiation on people and not have the simplest question of - is this dangerous? - answered in a clear rational way?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
check the frigging bags
Get over it. These are allexception cases which have turned out to be non-issues so far. BUT, if the TSA were to allow someone through who blew up the plane with a bag they claimed was full of human waste, you'd all attack them saying they should have know better and we should shut the incompetet boobs down.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: check the frigging bags
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
The answer to all the world's problems
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]