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    MisfitToyMeher Ahmad
    4/11/13 2:44pm

    The whole thing is just a false sense of security. Unless every person who works there gets screened every time they go back into secured areas the whole thing is just crowd control and a comforting pat on the head, IMO.

    Good for you Texas, we agree on this.

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      Sparkle_MotionMisfitToy
      4/11/13 3:09pm

      I wish it were only a "comforting pat on the head."

      But it's instead lots of pats in other places — hence this (futile?) Texas law.

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      BobLobLaw2013MisfitToy
      4/11/13 3:09pm

      I wonder about the liquids thing. They have plenty of food shops past security. Do they obsessively check every bottle of water that's sold after the security gates? Do they open every packet of chips?

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    Loose_SealMeher Ahmad
    4/11/13 2:48pm

    Not sure how I feel about this. But my mother-in-law was just visiting and I feel so bad for her when she flies. She hasn't had a TSA agent get all up in her business, but she does seem to get extra-inspected no matter where or when she flies. It might be because she has had 2 knee replacements and the pins (or whatever bionic parts she has in there) set off the scanners. In any case, they often take her in another room and give her a double full body pat down. She's so used to it now that this last time she just sighed and said "At least they didn't make me get naked, but it was still humiliating."

    My mother is still mad about not being able to lock her luggage. She frequently recounts the story of when they first instituted the new security regs and when told to unlock her luggage she said she was worried something would get stolen. I'm not so concerned about the luggage lock thing. I don't put valuables in checked bags. But I am amused by the TSA agent's response which was to stress that all the employees were federal—as if somehow that magically made them honest. It also ignored the fact that federal agents aren't the only ones who have access to your luggage. On a side note, my mother has way to much faith in those little luggage locks.

    Also—that could totally be my mother in that picture.

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      kcunningLoose_Seal
      4/11/13 3:09pm

      Buy your mother a starter pistol. It's legal in all states, but it's still considered a firearm. Have her pack it in her luggage.

      When she gets to the gate, have her tell them that she has a starter pistol in her luggage. They have to get an agent to fully inspect it there. They then lock it, and no one is allowed to open it without a LOT of paperwork.

      I do this when travelling with electronic equipment that I can't carry on with me.

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      Loose_Sealkcunning
      4/11/13 3:16pm

      That is hilarious.

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    GemmabetaMeher Ahmad
    4/11/13 2:48pm

    If I run the world, before you board an airplane, you have to take off all your clothes and put on a animal onesie provided by the airport. Your clothes will be shipped to you with your stowed luggage.

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      a cat is a cat is a catGemmabeta
      4/11/13 3:09pm

      I had a similar idea a while ago: Naked flights.

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    rokokobangMeher Ahmad
    4/11/13 2:44pm

    At the Delhi airport in India, they have separate scanning lines for men and women, and have men/women employees in each line according to gender. I kid you not when I say the woman patting me down full on grabbed my breasts. When I'm uncomfortable, my immediate reaction is laughter, and so I started giggling when she did that (it also tickled). She looked at me like I had just said, "I'm strapped with a bomb!" I'm shocked she didn't call in the SWAT team. My male friend who was traveling with me said, "So, that guy just cupped my balls" when he got out of his line. Good times.

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      BobLobLaw2013Meher Ahmad
      4/11/13 3:06pm

      I refuse to feel embarassed about my mismatched socks at the airport. Haters to the left.

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        Kat Callahan (鮎川きお)Meher Ahmad
        4/11/13 9:41pm

        My state... doing something right? Wow. Go, Texas.

        I know this legislator wasn't thinking of me, but you can imagine TSA pat downs are not my example of fun. The TSA agents find something they weren't expecting, and the experience is absolutely horrifying.

        Welcome to the wonderful world of Flying While Trans.

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