Scope or Grope?

[digitaldiscipline]

Phoenix Sky Harbor has backscatter scanners deployed for the majority of travelers, at least on their C Concourse in Terminal 4. As I was directed to enter it, I turned to the agent and said "I'd prefer to opt-out, please."



The screener paged "Male opt-out, lane three," and I asked her if this happened frequently. "Not so much, really."

Three pages were needed before a TSA dude to perform my pat-down was acquired. It turned out to be the same agent who had checked my ID and boarding pass five or ten minutes prior.

"Which bags are yours?"
"The green one, and the bin with the combat boots."

We wandered fifteen feet past the scanners, still in the main security lobby, and he asked me to step away from my belongings, but remain facing them.

"I'm going to explain what I'll be doing. I will be using the front of my hand everywhere except in the area around your groin, where I will use the back of my hand. Because you have the kilt on, when I get to your legs, I'll need you to place one foot forward and one back. Please extend your arms to your sides, palms up. Okay, please take a step back with your right / left leg. Now, take another step back and I will check your front. Please wait here while I perform the chemical test on my gloves right over there."

"You might find gunpowder residue. I wore this kilt to the gun range a couple days ago." (I had taken the quartet of spent brass cartridges that had fallen or been ejected into my pockets out.)

The pat-down was, surprisingly to me, almost a non-event. I didn't feel anything worse than amused inconvenience (and, having already learned that my departing flight was delayed two hours, it's not like I was in any kind of rush, so the extra five minutes weren't make-or-break). I wasn't socked, fondled, groped, or anything untoward.

I have to say that my preferred travel wear - workout shirt, short socks, and Utilikilt - make this almost trivial for the screeners (the heavy "workman" model kilt was the only minor impediment; had I been wearing a lighter one, that probably would have been less of an issue). Plenty of exposed skin, and what's covered is not swathed in layers or bagginess.

So, my experience with the pat-down was about as positive as this kind of ritualistic security theater is apt to be - it was quick, polite, genial, respectful, and utterly uninteresting (except for the novelty factor).

After hearing the horrible things that other people had been subjected to, I had far worse expectations.

Comments

[critus.livejournal.com]

Did you opt out in Tampa as well? The last two times I've gone through there they were using the Backscatter machine on EVERYONE.

[etcet.livejournal.com]

Nope, there weren't anything but the usual x-ray things in C concourse (SWA) that I saw.

[pixirae.livejournal.com]

Yeah, my mom is treated pretty awfully every time because of her breast reconstruction. She ended up getting patted down even if she went through because they can't read her tissues, so now she opts out for everything (she used to do millimeter wave and just not backscatter, now she doesn't do either), and every time they harass her about her scar tissues and reconstruction (and sometimes the post surgery accoutrements).

That being said, I'm glad your experience wasn't bad. I think there are decent folks who work for TSA, and I feel bad for them, but there are also jerks who work for TSA, which sucks.

[bitogoth.livejournal.com]

ugh- that's a shame. there's a lot of stories like that on the disability boards. hopefully things will get better as they become more accustomed to medical needs and better trained on sensitivity.

[ivy]

I'm glad it wasn't so bad for you. Good for you for opting out.

[etcet.livejournal.com]

Given the horror stories (yours, Wil Wheaton's, Cat V's, etc), I was kind of expecting the worst.

[normalcyispasse.livejournal.com]

You were in PHX? Rats, if I'd have known and you had a long layover I'd have come to say hi.

[etcet.livejournal.com]

I was pretty much doing stuff the whole time, and totally spaced on meeting a bunch of local folks (you, a couple FB folks, a high school friend's mom, etc).

[plymouth.livejournal.com]

Hi, here from larksdream's link to you.

I've had three opt-out pat-downs so far this year and all of them were pretty much like yours, without the gunpowder :) The most recent one the girl said she was a traineee and needed supervision so another TSA agent watched. She was much more thorough than the others but still polite. Afterwards I asked her if it was a good training experience and she said the baggy parts of my pants were challenging (I was wearing my purple camo BDU pants). I was also a little tipsy because I realized last minute I had two mini-bottles of wine in my bag that wouldn't make it through security so I drank them... but that didn't seem to count against me (at that level alcohol mostly just makes me talkative).

[etcet.livejournal.com]

I've heard so many horror stories that I was expecting to have to exercise my first amendment rights a lot more vigorously; if it had been rough or invasive or confrontational, my intention was to give very audible play-by-play for passers-by.

The only time I've had to surrender booze was when I forgot I was carrying a bottle of Three Olives vodka (leftovers from a wedding reception); this pre-dates the S&G era, though.

[fitfool.livejournal.com]

I was given a patdown for wearing baggy clothes (cargo pants with bulky pockets even when emptied, untucked shirt) at the airport. Pretty much a nonevent. Quick but firm pressure. No groping and no inappropriate contact, to the point where I thought someone could have smuggled something in.