I Hate the TSA

[Raviel the Phantom]

So my wife and I (still getting used to that idea) were on our way back from our honeymoon when we were stopped by the TSA, I had forgotten that I had a bottle of Jamaican Jerk Sauce in my bag. The guy pulled me aside had me got through my bag and I was asked a bunch of questions. I had to go back and check my bag go back through, got scanned because my shoulder showed something on the scanner. The same guy asked me if I had anything in my shoulder.

We get back home, my wife grabs her bag and it is wide open, her clothes fall out on the carousel. We found a slip from TSA saying they checked the bag and failed to properly zip it back up. Moved to today we decided to open up one of the bottles of rum we brought with our checked bags and we find that the seal was undone.

Needless to say I do not like them and never have. The last thing I am not even sure they are allowed to do that.

[Dark Desire]

where did you guys go for your honeymoon? I've never had much trouble with TSA as long as I haven't warranted their attention, and I've probably been through there like a hundred times x.x

[Red_Chaos]

as much as we don't care for them they do have a hard job. I remember when I was coming home from my schools euro trip I had bought a sword, and the customs lady at Miami asked me what I was going to do with it and I told her I was going to mount it in my room. She gave me one of those dirty looks and let me pass. Still have that sword mounted to this day.

[Eternal Edge]

Working at an airport I can give a bit of insight. TSA has every right to open your bag and go through it should their scanners pick something up. As for a seal being broken...do you mean on your rum? If so then THAT they are not allowed to do. They can confiscate it if it qualifies as a dangerous good (more than 70% alcohol, aka 140 proof) but they should not be opening it.

As for your bag being open on the carousel, that might not be TSAs fault depending on how tightly everything was packed, howe carefully your bags were handled, etc. If the zipper is actually broken, unfortunately you cannot make a claim on the bag as airlinesoon generally are not liable for zippers, handles and wheels. However if the bag was just not closed properly by TSA I would suggest filing a complaint.

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

As the son of air crew, who's whole family has worked in airports and overall frequent flier I can say that: you don't have to like the TSA. Their job is to keep you safe, not to make you like them.

[Chevaleresse]

a lot of what the TSA does isn't actually helping airline safety though. Not hurting, but not actually helping either, I'd have to find the source again to give specifics

[Kagamine]

TSA is always like that, at least from my experience considering majority of the airports I use are either in/near NYC, or are just huge airports in general.

However, they do have some asinine rules, like tweezers are banned from planes. How can you hijack a plane with tweezers?

Depending on surgeries, things can appear on a scanner. Things like surgery for scoliosis or ACL surgery can often trigger this. As a precautionary measure, my family brings some medical documentation to prove that we had surgery. Needless to say, you can still be pat down. I used to be braced for scoliosis, and my brace triggered the alarms and they made me take it off (keep in mind that the purpose of a brace is to realign your spine to prevent the curvature of your spine from progressing to a larger curve, so seeing as it's compressing your spine and abdomen, you cannot fit anything.) and I was told to take it off and pat down half-naked by some older men, when I was fourteen. A little over the top.

Depending on the contents of the bottle, it can be confiscated, and I think by certain company standards, opened. I remember it cannot exceed a certain amount of ounces, and certain ingredients and solutions are not permitted on airlines.

There have been few cases of bombs and the like, but I remember hearing years ago about the underwear bomb guy, and people shoving things up their rectums/vaginal canals. The things people keep in their bodily orifices are usually drugs, and not bombs.

About the bag, I don't even think a complaint will help, as certain airports have different rules and regulations and odds are it will be brushed under the rug.

What I find weird is bag checks are usually done by a machine, and you are told to remove things like keys, phones, stuff that would trigger it.

And to Red Chaos, was it a decorative sword? You can't really hurt someone with a decorative sword, and I think depending on the size and kind, it's limited how it can go back to the country. I'm trying to remember, I had traveled through Europe in high school and brought back a decorative dagger, and there was some special way we had to transport it back, I don't remember. I would think that someone in an airport would be able to distinguish between a decorative weapon for display, and something authentic.

Eep, sorry for talking so much! But sadly, as annoying as the TSA is, there isn't much we can really do other than tolerate it.

[Red_Chaos]

And to Red Chaos, was it a decorative sword? You can't really hurt someone with a decorative sword, and I think depending on the size and kind, it's limited how it can go back to the country. I'm trying to remember, I had traveled through Europe in high school and brought back a decorative dagger, and there was some special way we had to transport it back, I don't remember. I would think that someone in an airport would be able to distinguish between a decorative weapon for display, and something authentic.

Eep, sorry for talking so much! But sadly, as annoying as the TSA is, there isn't much we can really do other than tolerate it.

The box was more decarotive than the sword and the baggage guys from miami did a really good job at stacking it .....but the sword itself isn't 2 dull in my opinion. They problem was the sword it self was 2 big to but in checked luggage back, BY AN INCH, so it was an extra bag they had to worry about.

[Avatar of Grima]

TSA does wonders with bowling equipment... like take it off to check it then get your stuff to you 3 days late, after you bought new equipment

[Anvilicious]

I think that this is possible proves how useless the TSA is:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/21/us/hawaii-plane-stowaway/

[Skullkin]

Everyone hates the TSA.

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

I think that this is possible proves how useless the TSA is:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/21/us/hawaii-plane-stowaway/

I remember a quote; "Goalie can make 1000 brilliant saves against the world's best players, but everyone will always remember the one time he failed"

In other words: just because they failed once, doesn't make it useless. Just because it happened twice, or thrice, or a 100 times doesn't make the TSA useless. Yeah: it's a pain in the ass. And it can make people very uncomfortable, but it is the best for airline safety in the end.

[Chevaleresse]

I remember a quote; "Goalie can make 1000 brilliant saves against the world's best players, but everyone will always remember the one time he failed"

In other words: just because they failed once, doesn't make it useless. Just because it happened twice, or thrice, or a 100 times doesn't make the TSA useless. Yeah: it's a pain in the ass. And it can make people very uncomfortable, but it is the best for airline safety in the end.

except it's not, really; the rates of successful terrorist attacks (or terrorist attacks in general) involving planes and such haven't really gone down in correlation with the TSA; in fact most TSA agents will admit that their job is literally all for show.

http://www.thewire.com/national/2014/01/tsa-business-security-theater-not-security/357599/

the TSA exists only to make you feel safer, they do nothing to actually make you so. Though if you're anything like me, the amount of fuss they make actually makes you feel unsafe, particularly when I know security personnel tend to profile me based on appearance (because all long-haired guys wearing black tees are stoners or criminals amirite.)