annoyatron: crickets and tumbleweed

I just have to make a comment (or two)

The following post by pigtailsandcombatboots should be read by everybody that ever flies.

Here’s my version of it: Don’t bitch at the TSA agents. Grow the fuck up, get in line, take your fucking shoes off, read the directions, and quit holding up the line with your inane bullshit. I have somewhere to be as well and it’s not my fault that you are fucking retarded and late for your flight.

Depending on the airport and the volume of passengers it can take quite a while to get through security. The longest wait I have had for a domestic flight was 30 minutes. Not too bad. I spent it reading Tumblr and using Twitter.

Now, try this on for size: Try traveling from abroad and flying into MIA (Miami International). You will be in a massive line for about 2-3 hours just to have an agent take a look at your passport. Now shut up and quit whining about the 30 minutes you are giving up for security that benefits us all.

pigtailsandcombatboots:

…about the various TSA jokes that I’ve seen floating around recently. Everytime I see one, I feel this nauseating pressure down in my gut that seems to give me the urge to want to go out and severely injure somebody.

See, my dad is a TSA agent. He is 71 years old. He took this job after he retired with a crappy pension from an airline that he worked for since he was 18 years old, in order to have a government job with somewhat better medical benefits for him and my mom. He did not apply for that job because he enjoys “feeling up” people, nor does he feel it’s a good thing that we have to undergo such personal infringement when we want to fly somewhere. BUT, this is not his decision to make. It is his job, as he is instructed to do by the TSA branch of the goverment. Hence, it is not fair to complain about, make jokes of, or even harass the TSA agents. They are doing their job. They have to undergo multiple tests on a weekly, sometimes daily basis that measure their competency at detecting anything suspicious, so they are not some regular joes off the street that randomly decide to poke around in anyone’s personal body space.

On a daily basis, they are constantly harassed and yelled at for countless other things that are not their fault, such as the fact that travelers are running late because of the security process, or the fact that people can’t follow the simple directions posted everywhere on how to progress through security.

We have to remember that the actions by the TSA are not carried out just for the fun of it. If you want to blame the source of what we have to go through to get on a plane, blame the terrorists, for God’s sake. Because of the increased security checking, possible terrorists have to be pretty crafty to try to sneak something on board a plane, such as the shoe-bomb thing. Remember, before that happened, we did not have to remove our shoes when going through security. These things are obviously done for a reason. Also, the comments about searching kids being something ridiculous, apparently don’t take into account the fact that terrorists often use children to carry contraband for them, BECAUSE the average person would not seem to expect a child as a threat. Remember, terrorists have often used children as suicide bombs in other countries, so they see children from a much different perspective than we do.

You know that if the TSA pulled back on their searches and God forbid, something potentially dangerous got on a plane, the general public would blame the TSA for relaxing their policies, just minutes after they blamed them for being too invasive on their searches. It just doesn’t make sense. Don’t forget, air travel completely changed after 9/11 and that’s because of the threat of terrorists, not because the TSA wants to arbitrarily make up rules and procedures just to make going through the security process something uncomfortable for the average person. On top of that, as I stated above, the TSA agents, are just doing their jobs. They do not make the rules, they carry them out because IT’S THEIR JOB. They are regular people, just like my dad, trying to earn some type of living, and to get medical benefits. Don’t take your anger and frustration out on them…especially my dad (if you’re going through Midway airport in Chicago), because in that case, I may have to come to your house and teach you how to respect people who are just doing their job. ;)

Source: pigtailsandcombatboots