Children in the Gulag?

Travelled Denver to San Francisco in November 2011 on government business. Had to go thru x-ray scanner. There was a girl about 5 or 6 years old in the scanner before me. Big woman TSA Agent barking at her "put your hands over your head!! Hands over your head NOW!" Just like the police on a cops episode. Little girl was sobbing. Finally let through. I got through alright, but was seriously disturbed by this. Is this what America is now? I drive whenever possible. Very sad.

 

That is your standard highly trained professional TSA employee showing their skills set to the public.

 

Where were the kid's parents in this? Where were the demands to the smurf-clerk that it stop yelling at their child?

 

A normal parent would not permit the child to be subjected to the untested Xray Backscatter Equipment in the first place. Good parents are by definition unreasonable people who will not tolerate the slightest threat to their progeny's well being.

 

A normal parent will not allow his/her child to be fondled either. This leaves the traveling parent with a bit of a dilemma.

 

What the F*** happened to the "new" methods for screening children under 12??? THIS INFURIATES ME!!! (Oh, crap! Mike, how can I insert about 100 of these mad faces without wearing out my mouse?)

Edit to add: Welcome to TUG, Carrie!!

 

Anyone who behaves like this toward the public should be terminated immediately. THAT would send the message.
Anyone who gropes a passenger without probable cause should be terminated with prejudice.

This cannot and will not be tolerated in a free country. Things will come to a head at some point.

 

I came across this on the TSA website while prepping for an upcoming trip with my two young children:

Gently and with respect, eh?

Also, I have Bart's assurance that I should be able to approach the metal detector with kids in tow and be allowed through, and if my son is directed to the scanner, I'm to ask for a supervisor and explain that my son is well under 12. We're going ahead with the trip, and I'm tentatively confident that we'll be okay, but stories like this make me wonder if I'm going to wind up with a mug shot on Drudge.

 

I quote my sister-in-law, who has two small children -- age 5 and age 9 -- "I have no issues (sic) with the TSA. I just don't share your concerns."

And there you have it. Why we will be putting up with this sh*t for a long time to come.

 

Bart does not live in the real world - he knows only his airport and believes that all others operate as SAT does.

 

That screener is likely in line for promotion.

 

Which is worth exactly... what? Keep in mind that you're talking about the "assurance" of someone whose continued employment is entirely dependent on lies - just like every TSA employee.

 

Same attitude that leads to putting football first at Penn State and children a very distant second.

 

Im sorry but Bart is a liar, and trying to reason with anyone from TSA is like banging your head against the wall thinking it would get ride of a headache. Its a exercise in futility

Then again Bart has been silent ever since he opened his insensitive mouth and promptly got smacked for it and pissed off a few people. Makes me think he is either in hiding or someone finally found him and made a example of him.

 

Oh, I know the only person who matters is the one manning the metal detector. I'm also basing my intrepid optimism on most reports from the field, which say people with babies in arms generally get through the metal detector, and usually the other kids go through too. I'm also prepared to double opt out if they try any funny business with my five year old son, who is prepared to throw a major fit (and if anybody can do it, this kid can). This is the last flight we're attempting, like, ever, and we're now expediting plans to leave Alaska and move to where we can drive to visit family.

Believe me, I know this is sketchy, but now that they're putting in scanners here, we're essentially imprisoned in this state. Driving or the ferry takes just too long for us to make a trip to Arizona. And when you've spent two years straight in the frozen tundra, you start thinking about making a prison break.

 

Driving or taking the ferry can also be fraught with TSA (expletive deleted).

 

Yep. We're very much trapped up here.

 

Well, at least she didn't have to take off her shoes!

 

Happened to my daughter (for no reason but she had an insulin pump--she was 4 years old!!!). Where was I? Detained and separated from her. When I objected to their treatment of her, they spent an hour searching our stuff and we missed our plane. This was at SFO--never went there again.