Mother of 9 year old and 6 year separated from children at BIL

My step-daughter was supposed to fly home today from BIL-MSP. I don't know all the facts just yet but she said she refused a full body pat down so she was separated from her children and not allowed any contact with them until they all cleared screening.

They also confiscated the 6 year old's yogurt as punishment.

By the time they got to the gate flight oversold and plane downsized so they gave up their seats for another flight tomorrow. Which means they will have to go through this crap again.

Her husband is in Iraq so she's flying on her own with no other adult to help her through security so I'm trying to gather all her options for tomorrow.

Suggestions?

I am livid...

 

Was she not able to see here children while waiting for the grope?

 

If she refused the full-body patdown (grope) how could she fly?

The alternative for Nude-O-Scoping is the grope, but there is no alternative to the grope unless you encounter that odd compassionate clerk with a conscience.

Suggestion: It's a nice drive from Billings to Minneapolis. We just did the leg from Rapid City earlier in the week. My spousal unit now believes in Wall Drug & jackelope, and I have a nice mount of a jackelope.

 

As I said I don't have all the facts, she is going to call me back...but she did say she couldn't see her kids at all while they resolved her situation and she was angry. More within the hour - still, I think the point is how can she be separated from her children while they do whatever to her?

 

This is insane. I'm sorry this happened to her, FetePerfection.

Having never traveled with children myself, I can only offer my moral support. Though why in the world do they insist on separating children from their parents? It's the same thing that happened to Chaffetz's daughters. WTH is wrong with these people?!?!? (rhetorical, no need to answer that).

Perhaps she can get a copy of the airport video to lodge a complaint and show how the children were separated? As a piece of advice, I've learned contacting the airport directly for this data is a lot easier and faster than going through TSA...

 

Here's the scoop - the 6 yr old has food allergies so mom carries a small cooler of snacks including gogurt and yogurt both small amounts. Mom puts her carryon bag and small cooler on the belt to have items scanned. TSO creep in a loud voice asks if there are any electronic items in her bag. Mom says as she's walking through WTMD small things, no laptop - her son says, but mom there's my iPod and DVD player, mom says that doesn't matter, its okay...TSO creep yells, "shut up, don't talk to your kids, don't say a word, you can't have any interaction with them during this process." Mom cocks her head and says "what did you say" TSO creep and creepette yell quite loudly, you can't have any interaction with your kids - Mom says, they're my kids and I'll speak to them if I like. They direct her to sit the kids down and wait nearby. So she wasn't out of view of her kids, although they were sitting on a bench dozens of steps behind her.

TSO's start harping on what's in the cooler - mom repeats for about the fourth time, snacks for my daughter - they ask is there yogurt in there. She says, yes, I've told you that several times now. They rescan the cooler two more times rather than open it.

This is the best part - TSO creep says verbatim "if you want to take the yogurt through security, you will need a full body pat down" mom says, nope, yogurt not that important, no pat down. He says it again, and she repeats no pat down, throw the damn yogurt away. Apparently creep and creepette were very hostile and just wanted a fight.

Because she's rebooked to fly tomorrow and most likely will encounter these same TSO's I suggested that at the very hint of trouble she call for a supervisor and to have her phone recording from the moment they enter screening.

I'm relieved she wasn't actually out of sight of her children and I'm happy I could give her some ammunition should she encounter problems - not literally of course.

Btw, what on earth does a full body pat down have to do with taking yogurt through security...can any sane person explain this to me?

 

PFFW! You expect sanity at a TSA checkpoint? Nonsense.

The threat of a "patdown" was clearly in retaliation for questioning their "authoritah!"

Here's the kicker - tomorrow she could go through the same routine, but put the yogurt in something other than a cooler so it isn't separated out as "food", and they probably won't even notice it.

Good for you daughter for standing up, and good advice, though to be honest I'm not sure the supervisor will help matters much.

If she does ask for a supervisor and one isn't forthcoming, I have found that loudly berating and insulting them on the spot makes a supervisor magically appear. Though, I can be a bit confrontational during these encounters, and I understand it isn't everyone's style. YMMV.

 

& hedge her bets with a pen camera & a watch camera, although it's probably to late for her to order them in Billings.

Seriously, people need to plan ahead & have these devices running at the checkpoints.

Don't know what to suggest for tomorrow.

The idea of requiring a grope for yogurt is insane.

 

I was thinking about this more - perhaps I should revise the title - Sexual Favors for Yogurt

 

Or apply for a grant from DHS to study the interrelationships of gynecology, yogurt & terror.

 

Sounds like this is a medical need...

and the screeners are playing doctor, while threatening a retaliatory secondary.

Screeners have no authority to keep parents from talking to their kids.

There's a whole bunch of FAIL going on here.

 

I would publicize it widely: "No grope? No yogurt for you!"

 

This is so creepy. What does sexual assault have to do with taking yogurt through security?

I can't get over this.

 

Hi everybody -- I've been lurking for a while, but this one made me have to sign up to comment. This is this second time lately we've seen kids told not to interact with their parents, same thing appears to have happened with the amputee and her son. I'm so disturbed by this, especially when children are ages like 4&6. Maybe I'm stating the obvious here, but little kids often need to hear it from their parents what they need to do. Sometimes people say things to my almost 5yo using words he has no clue about and I have to translate for him.

How can this possibly be any part of the screening process? I understand the (rather asinine) idea that they would want to stop somebody from, like, having the kid set off the bomb in their pants or whatever, but simple interactions and instructions? A parent isn't supposed to offer that? And then we're also told we're supposed to prepare kids for the checkpoint, how to stand in the scanner and get groped just like at the doctor and all that (which one is the sarcastic smilie?), but how can we cooperate and help ease them through the process if we're not supposed to even interact with them now?

I hope these are just rare incidents of screeners gone rogue, but when I see it reported more than once, like with the strip searches, I get concerned it's part of procedure. And a seriously fascist procedure at that. Actually, I don't know if I'm more disturbed that it might be part of procedure, or that the checkpoints are so out of control with thuggery that it's happening on its own. I've been a committed no-flyer, but I'm considering a trip next winter with my two young children through NoS-free airports. But then I hear crap like this and I wonder if taking kids through the airports can even be considered responsible parenting anymore.

 

Agreed - I'm half inclined to fly to Billings just to help her out, however, so far she's handled things pretty well on her own.

 

I believe this is just another case of TSO creeps making up rules as the go. My step-daughter is a mother bear when it comes to her children, yeah I'm so proud of her, so my guess is the creeps wanted to show her who's boss. This is all just so sick.

 

Is this true? Is communicating with your own small children in this situation interfering with screening? How stupid can you get? If this is true, criminals have taken over airport security.

 

Everything about the TSA is criminal. The fact they still exist is a national disgrace. This country is going downhill fast.

 

Welcome, phoebepontiac!

Until the last couple of days, I've been somewhat optimistic that the TSA will, at some point in time, be brought under control, but I've about let go of those thoughts. Congress isn't going to do it, the courts aren't going to do, perhaps the media will help but it's going to take full scale rebellion on the part of the people and I just don't see that happening.

The analysis of the pat down on Andrea Abbott's daughter, from nachtnebel, on the other site:

was the final straw.

And now this: you are forbidden from talking to your children.

Where in heaven's name do they find these people? I know, from pizza boxes and gas station ads.

 

Yes, welcome Phoebepontiac. Thank you for your post.
Doober:

I think this takes an offline organizing effort with youngster libertarian/social media/YouTube media-savvy types and a full-blown alternative media campaign that goes viral. Humor is the best way to handle it, coupled with links to the serious stuff for EZpolitical contact, not endless blogs. I am so grateful to have found folks at TUG who are serious and organized on this issue. Surely there are some unemployed film students out there who can help be the ignition to such campaign. But I do think this needs to be organized like a political campaign. Phoebepontiac, are you a MI-native, do you know Michael Moore?