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By David Parker Brown, on November 22nd, 2010 at 6:00 am
![Why should you feel like a victim to just visit grandma? [©2010 M.Trombly / M.Prophet Photography]](/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/193x300xFlyWithDignity1-193x300.jpg.pagespeed.ic.nvvc29qgjI.jpg "FlyWithDignity") Why should you feel like a victim to just visit grandma? ©2010 M.Trombly / M.Prophet Photography I normally don’t like to write about super popular things that you can see all over the news, but hating on the TSA didn’t used to be so popular. I have been very critical of the TSA and their “security theater” for quite sometime and it looks like they are finally getting some of the attention they deserve. Passengers, pilots and even TSA employees are standing up and saying no to aggressive body scanners and pat downs. This makes me happy.
Since I don’t like being angry and writing on the TSA always makes me angry, I am not going to spend a heck of a lot of time talking about what has been going on, but link to other sites that provide much more detail. There has been a lot going on with the TSA since their ban on printer cartridges a while back. Here are some of the highlights:
* Airports can opt-out of TSA: If an airport is fed up with what the TSA is doing, they can kick them to the curb and get private security. But not so fast cowboy, guess what? If you go with a private company, they have to follow all the same rules and are regulated by the TSA. Really, other than politically telling the TSA you are not happy, it won’t help passengers any.
* Pilots don’t need to be scanned or groped: After lots of protest from pilots and their unions, they no longer need to get body scans or enhanced pat downs. This just makes sense. Why should someone who has total access to the cockpit need to be scanned? If a pilot wants to do harm (hopefully that will never happen) they do not need any special devices to do so. I only ask that flight attendants and maybe someday passengers can get that same level of treatment.
* Do not hate on the screeners: Steven Frischling on his blog Flying with Fish takes a look at these enhanced patdowns from the screener’s perspective. He spoke with 17 of them and they had some pretty powerful things to say. Many are not happy about having to violate a person’s personal space nor the hurtful comments they receive daily. One of the quotes that stuck out to me: “I don’t know how much longer I can withstand this taunting. I go home and I cry. I am serving my country, I should not have to go home and cry after a day of honorably serving my country.”
* Photography of TSA security area IS LEGAL at most airports: Again from Frischling’s blog (he does a lot with the TSA), he talks about how he was recently detained at Hartford’s Bradley International Airport (BDL) by the TSA and a state trooper for committing a federal offense. Luckily Frischling had some TSA folks on speed dial and he was released, but what about those that do not have those sort of connections to the TSA? If you take photographs of the TSA security process, make sure you know your local rules and be polite and professional if you are questioned. However, definitely stand up for your rights, I wish I would have during my TSA encounter.
* The TSA is listening, but not caring: I have talked before about the “TalktoTSA” program, where they seem to take feedback, but not really care to reply. Now the TSA Administrator John S. Pistol has posted a video via YouTube to assure all of us that the TSA is ONLY caring about our safety and will continue their privacy invading body scans and “enhanced” pat downs. Mr. Pistol, you need to listen to the people you are supposedly put in charge to protect.
* We do not have the same parts: Many people argue we all have the same parts and why should it matter that we get scanned or groped? We we do not. I recently talked about a transgendered person having issues and more recently a man ended up urinating on himself, being humiliated by the TSA.
Argh. See, now I am angry. Did I miss anything? I just feel lucky I am not planning to travel at all during the holidays, but good luck to the rest of you that will be flying. If you need a little humor to add to this situation, check out this great TSA video from Saturday Night Live.
Photo from FlyWithDignity.com
By David Parker Brown, on November 10th, 2010 at 5:00 am
 Is this plane going to the US? TSA says no printer cartridges allowed -- gotta protect America. I am angry and frustrated at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) right now. In classic form they have once again over-reacted in an idiotic fashion. I am not saying the recent mailing of bombs in printer cartridges across the world is not serious, but it demands real solutions, not knee-jerk reactions.
In a statement released by the DHS, they state that they are banning all cargo from Yeman. Okay, this makes sense. It is not like we have a lot of imported goods coming from Yemen. However, they are also banning cargo from Somalia. I will give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they have some intelligence that we do not know about. The release also states, “No high risk cargo will be allowed on passenger aircraft.” Okay, so far I am actually with the TSA here. Banning dangerous cargo from certain places in the world until we can figure out the risk actually kind of makes sense.
When reading, I assumed we must be talking about dangerous things like explosives, flammable items and bombs right? Think again. In the next sentence they continue with, “Toner and ink cartridges over 16 ounces will be prohibited on passenger aircraft in both carry-on bags and checked bags on domestic and international flights in-bound to the United States.” Say what?
This is stupid. I hate to call anyone names, but there is just no other way to say it. This no-thought reaction actually makes me feel less safe. This is telling me that the TSA cannot detect a bomb no matter what form it takes. Do they think that terrorist will give up since they can’t figure out anything else to put bombs in? Please. Not that I think there are a heck of a lot of people carrying around large printer cartridges in their baggage, but what’s next?
Since the ban is sort of a shock, you might have missed the part where this is only for flights within and inbound to the United States. So, it is totally fine to fly with a printer cartridge on an airline departing the US, you just can’t bring any back. What sense does that make?
It is easy to ban printer cartridges since they are not common, but what if terrorists start using items that would be difficult to ban? Would the TSA start banning laptops or stuffed animals if terrorists start using them? I wish the TSA would stop wasting time and money with pointless security measures like this. They need to be honest with the public that there is no 100% solution and be smarter about bomb detection. The airline business has seen many good and horrid changes since 9/11. However, in the last nine years 0 Americans have died from terrorism on airlines. Compare that to the about 315,000 Americans who have died in automobile accidents over the same period of time. Some might say that scanning shoes and your toothpaste is related to those 0 deaths, but I say it has more to do with this not being the huge threat the TSA and the media like to play it up to be.
When I got word of this story a few days ago, I tried to contact two different TSA sources, but no one would contact me back (and I was not this snarky). The TSA is proud of their “Talk to the TSA” campaign, but I guess you can only talk to them about stuff they want to talk about. I have tried to get the TSA’s side to things, but they just don’t seem to want to talk, which is greatly disappointing to me. If you are not happy with the body scanners and their crazy knee-jerk reactions, I highly suggest you trying to talk to the TSA. If you get a reply, let me know.
By David Parker Brown, on November 1st, 2010 at 8:22 am
 Security at Denver International Airport If you are flying today or in the future, you might want to double check that your ticket has all the new Secure Flight information required by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). This means your ticket must have your name, date of birth and gender that matches your state issued identification.
I am sure you are aware of the TSA’s watch list. This is a big list with a lot of names of people that shouldn’t be flying or need to have a special screening. Previously airlines have been responsible for checking passenger’s names on the watch list and now that will fall to the TSA. There have also been a lot of mistakes with the list, causing frustration for many Americans.
Of course in the name of making us all safer than we already are (yes there is a bit of sarcasm there), the TSA is upgrading their watch list. Most of these changes you won’t notice, unless your boarding pass doesn’t match your ID. Do not worry, if you bought your ticket in the last year, you should be fine. Most airlines have been collecting Secure Flight Information for a while now.
“Delta began requesting Secure Flight data from customers on August 15, 2009. As of June 12, 2010, passengers were required to provide the information,” Susan Elliott with Delta communications told me. When asked what will happen with passengers without Secure Flight information, she explained, “The TSA is requiring the information for all passengers as of November 1 and customers that have not provided their full name, gender and date of birth at least 72 hours in advance may have their reservation canceled.”
It might be worth your time to double check via your online reservation. Although the TSA won’t let you change your reservation and add the additional information 72 hours before your flight, you can still make a brand new reservation up until the time the flight leaves.
The TSA isn’t totally clear how off your name has to be before not letting you fly. On their TSA blog they talk about what will happen if names don’t match, but they come far from being obvious. What if my ticket has David vs Dave. What if you have a hyphenated last name? How about if you have many different names? In what situations will the TSA let you fly and in which will they not?
One of the big issues I have had with the TSA is consistency. Different locations do not enforce the rules the same and how can we expect this to be any different? What if the TSA gives you authorization at one airport, but you can’t make it home from another?
Will we be safer because of these changes? No, I do not think so. Might there be less people being harassed because of errors with the watch list? Probably. Will there be more people harassed and inconvenienced because of name issues? I am guessing so.
Image: quinn.anya
By David Parker Brown, on September 9th, 2010 at 8:38 am
 Make sure photographers don't steal planes! When I saw this poster yesterday via Carlos Miller on Photography is Not a Crime, I thought it might have been fake. Making photographers look like bad people is a bad idea. It will cause more people to be fearful and waste the time of law enforcement officials. Yes, if you see someone by an airport doing something suspicious, report it. Taking photos of aircraft is not suspicious.
Every time I fly I am constantly taking photos. I used to use an HD camcorder, but decided to stop and use a standard digital camera. There have been multiple times I have received odd looks for taking photos using the camcorder and I even had a run-in with the TSA.
If you are a photographer and “get caught,” it might be a good time to inform them of your hobby. Drewski2112 shared on Airliners.net about his run-ins with the law plane spotting in Seattle. He once had five cars pull up on him at the same time. Instead of getting angry, he calmly explained what he was doing, shared his passion and by the time they left, some were asking for his website address to take a look at his photos. I only hope I could keep that calm and collective if I had five cop cars on me due to being a perceived security risk.
Unfortunatly this poster is not a fake, but it is very real. Knowing that many people were upset about the poster, the TSA confirmed on their blog yesterday. They tried to play it off that photographers are important for seeing suspicious activity, but I am not buying it. “In fact, many photographers would be prime candidates to use such vigilance programs to report suspicious activity since they’re extremely observant of their surroundings.” I am guessing this is more of an afterthought.
Photographers are not criminals and they should not be treated as such. If you do take airport-related photos, don’t let fear of law enforcement stop you, but be prepared. Have identification on you, know your local laws and try to talk to them with a smile and be proud of what you are doing. Oh and if you get some good airplane photos, email them on over to me and I would love to share them on the blog!
By David Parker Brown, on August 19th, 2010 at 4:00 am
 It is time to improve privacy! I haven’t been able to talk about body scanners for a while and it is about time I bring them up again. When I blog about them or am doing research, I constantly see the same argument, “What’s the big deal, we all have the same parts, get over it.”
The thing is we are not all the same and even if we are, we still have a right to privacy. With my obvious dis-like (maybe that is too nice of a word) for the body scanners, I get people who write me in support and calling me fool. Recently I had a woman write me who is a pre-operative transsexual, meaning she self-defines as a woman, but still has male genitalia. It is absolutely her right to keep her situation private and no one should have the ability to invade her privacy. Talking about privacy, I will call her “Jane” to keep her anonymous for this blog.
I asked Jane what it is like being asked to go through a body scanner and she told me, “that having to go through a body scanner would be particularly difficult for me as the body scanners actually reveal a person’s gender. ” She also explained it becomes even more difficult because she has, “anxiety which makes the thought of using these even more difficult.”
Jane lives in the UK and unlike in the US, passengers cannot opt-out of body scanners. If you get “randomly selected” , you must be scanned or you don’t fly.
Another argument people often use is, “if you don’t like it, don’t fly then.” There are so many reasons why this argument is weak. If you don’t agree with something, you should stand up for what you think is right and try to change the system.
Jane told me she doesn’t fly as much now due to the fear and has missed out on some very important life experiences. “I have relatives in India who I would like to see again and would also like to travel to India to pay my respects to relatives who have died but feel unable to pass through an airport whilst passing through a body scanner is a condition to boarding my flight,” Jane explained.
We are a global society and need to allow people to fly around the world to continue to grow and prosper. We should not become society that violates a person’s privacy, so passengers can get a false sense of security that the body scanners provide.
Trans-gender fliers, disabled passengers, folks with body issues and those that have gone through a traumatic experience involving their body should not have to endure invasive security to be able to function in our society. Is giving up your privacy worth the false sense of security you get going through body scanners? I say absolutely not.
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![Why should you feel like a victim to just visit grandma? [©2010 M.Trombly / M.Prophet Photography]](/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/FlyWithDignity1.jpg "FlyWithDignity")
