Michael

If you travel from or to the US you will probably not forget your encounter with TSA (Transportation Security Administration). I really did not want to post anything at the moment since I am busy but I guess I had the idea come up in my head since I was looking at purchasing travel luggage recently and it reminded me of how rude, vulgar, and disrespectful these individuals that work for this agency can be.

I travel, when I do, with my camera and lenses which overall the main thing they look at. I will not forget the last time I was at the airport getting ready to travel to Canada that I had to open up my bag and show the TSA guy what was in it. I have no problem whatsoever showing anyone anything in it. I truly believe that since I have nothing to hide why hide anything at all. My issue here is not that but rather the way they handle your equipment at times. I have heard/read horror stories of laptops, cameras, and other electrical items being abused or improperly handled when the owner of such an item could have easily shown whatever it was to the agent. I remember the agent that was looking at my bag literally start poking at things in it without even asking me. He could have damaged some sensitive equipment I have which I would have patiently shown to him. Additionally, if it wasn't for me grabbing the camera first and showing it to him he more than likely would have yanked it out and detached the lens himself without knowing which would have really pissed me off because I have seen them handle equipment that they are nothing but ignorant to.

So, this brings me to the point. With luggage being cut open by TSA on a consistent basis and agents handling personal items of passengers roughly without anyone to stop them or put them in place, who will place checks on these individuals to prevent the future of theft and or abuse to personal items of passengers? Who is preventing this at the present moment?

I am frustrated while I write this thinking that one luggage may be torn open just because they didn't have the time to find the TSA key to open the TSA locks that many passengers are using today while traveling.

Any thoughts on this?

The Diva

Sorry to hear about your experience Michael..

They will cut through your lock for sure if they believe there is something suspicious (personal experience).
In my case it was a bag of M&M's imagine the danger of giving sugar rush to others!!!!!

I do find it weird to have to walk a line with no shoes ( ahh well I'm a shoe fanatic) through a metal detector
that goes off every time because I wear a medical alert bracelet!

Why travelling though some aiports, I've been questioned why I carried Spenda ( and artificial sweetener) in my purse
and blunt nail-files were confiscated ( what am I going to do? manicure a pilot to death????) .

They're are some rude ones, but the majority are very kind,
and have no horror stories to tell. I guess I don't look suspicious enough

Michael

You see my main issue is who is setting the tone for TSA to work? You see, in some places people that have a certain job must follow certain guidelines or laws in order not to violet anyone's right. If they cut through your bag and nothing happened then you have to cough up the money? It's as if who is there watching them cut it up and making the decision on cutting? My sister had her bag opened up by being cut up and she had the special TSA locks. Isn't that ridiculous?

We go out of our way to purchse TSA locks--which it should also be noted who is keeping track of such keys and are they falling in the wrong hands?--and they will, at times, overlook the fact that you have obliged by the law and cut through your back. That is ridiculous. Do you see where I am getting at?

My concerns:

1. Who is making sure that they will not abuse their power? You see, we have seen cases of police brutality and we have an idea of what they can and cannot get away with, but it seems that no one has brought suite against TSA or any of its workers as of yet.

2. The locks that they make use purchase so that if they have to check the bag they can open it. Who keeps track of the keys? How do you know someone is not making copies of it or stealing it? Who is making sure that the bags are being protected?

3. The attitude and the way they carry themselves at times. I don't think they have any authority other than to request to search your bags while you are present. From then on, you can show them whatever they ask but they have no right, in my opinion, to search throuhg all of your things and negligently damage it.

notic

TSA is very poorly trained. Last time I went to vegas there was so many hurdles to jump through just to return to Vancouver. no liquids, fine. but why make me throw away my starbucks at the security check point only to have another sbux on the other side of the check point?

i've also had the same experience with them playing with my gadgets. the guards in canada just ask me to turn it on and to show them if in fact what i carry is what it seems which i can tolerate because it seems reasonable. but the ones in the US want to poke around with the buttons, give the lens a swirl, etc.

check-in luggage. if the TSA is going to "randomly" open my luggage, can they at least close it properly (that means all the latches, even the ones on the side) so that i don't find my luggage on the conveyor belt in vancouver ajar with one of my shirts hanging out?

you pose some very valid questions michael, and i've read a few stories online where the TSA has failed random tests on airport security. the headline was something like "TSA fails, confiscates babies milk allows fake bomb to pass"

Giannis

Sorry to say that guys, but this is rediculous. Walking on a straight line with no shoes? Opening your luggage and showing even your very personal items to people you don't know and that noone garantees you that they won't abuse their powers, or they won't be fined if they damage something or, worse, they are not supervised at all!

What's next? passing the TSA checks completely naked while somebody is checking if you are hiding drags or explosives or a 1.5m long Winchester hunting gun up in your a$$?? Thanks, but no thanks?

If the so-called terrorists are willing to import something in the US then they will do it, no matter what other "security" measures the officials will think of....

Sorry, but i refuse to visit any country that even the base personal freedoms are non-existence in the name of terrorism protection!

Sorry Michael, but even though i have nothing to hide, i don't want to show it to anyone. That's the meaning of the word personal.

Choleric

I saw something somewhere, I think it was Glenn Beck, that TSA let through an average of 90% of fake bombs at LAX, where as a private firm that the San Francisco Airport uses let through something significantly lower like 65%