TSA humiliation - You could be next

I am absolutely furious and know there's not one damn thing I can do about what happened. A person close to me - one of the sweetest, most gentle people on earth - was humiliated in an airport recently. It was uncalled for and showed how dangerous our government is getting. Why dangerous? Because we're putting systems in place that have inadequate quality measures. Put another way, we're putting incompetent, untrained people in positions of authority without proper guidance and oversight, then wonder why there are so many stories of abuse and humiliation in public places.

Beyond that, we seem to be using methods of our own design rather than looking to worldwide best practices. Why? It depends on the method used, who designed it, what the budget was and, as always, who has the most influence with the recommending agency. In many cases, it seems we've reinvented the wheel with what seem to be oval, off-centered or square results.

In this instance, the person was going to board a plane, hence go through TSA security, and opted out of being irradiated in the scanner. They chose the manual "pat down" search instead because this person has an ostomy bag – a huge burden unto itself – and didn't want that displayed on a screen. The TSA agent feels the bag and takes them into a room for a search. But wait, it gets much worse.

In their infinite paranoia, the TSA agent orders them to put their clothes around their ankles and under their arm pits with everything inbetween exposed. They decide to swab for gunpowder - yes, gunpowder on an ostomy bag. The agent gets in the middle of the procedure, leaves the room (ostensibly) for another swab and leaves the door wide open exposing my friend to everyone passing by. That is unforgivable and humiliating. If the agent were working for a private company, they'd have recourse. Since they're a government agent, all the aggrieved can do is file a complaint, and that seems to haveall the impact of a paper fan in a hurricane. Even if the complaint is filed, it's quite likely the employee will hear nothing whatsoever, meaning their incompetence will be perpetuated.

Now, imagine if that was you or someone you love. Who deserves that sort of rank humiliation? How totally incompetent or stupid can someone be? What's worse is that, if you raise hell, then they lock you up and further humiliate you for hours to spite you for daring to show anything but ultimate patience in the face of unreasonable or incompetent behavior. Beyond that, non-compliance can get you up to a five-figure fine and possible jail time. We are at the mercy of employees who are often not suited for dealing with the public, much less high security issues. To be sure, the TSA has some good employees, but what recourse do we have when dealing with those like this person had to deal with?

What's worse is that, now that I've dared to speak up, it's likely that I'm now on a watch list. I could be the next person harassed or humiliated by a TSA agent – I sort of expect it now. Why? There are myriad stories of folks speaking up and finding themselves in the situation they protested. As an American, this galls me because I have the right to speak up without governmental "pay back," especially if bad behavior is called out. I expect pay back because of the many stories posted by those who have "blown the whistle" before.

What are our choices? You can write your Congressman, spread posts like this to your friends and Congressfolk, or write the TSA (and hope you're not targeted), or continue to queue up like cattle and hope that you're not yanked out of line and subjected to the humiliation my friend went through.

This is bad, folks, and we're the cattle they're herding. Please spread this post because our liberties and right to dignity are going down the tubes. Perhaps George Orwell was right.

Here are a few YouTube videos if you want a closer look at what's going on:
Rep. Ron Paul and "The American Traveler Dignity Act"
A member of Congress says, "Enough," and takes action (finally).
TSA strip searches boy at Salt Lake International
ABC News report: TSA Screening Outrage Continues As Holidays Near
In this report, they compare what the U.S. is doing with Israel, who hasn't had an incident in eight years. The standards to be a security agent for them are more rigorous, too.