If she's in a wheelchair full time, that doesn't help her when she gets to her destination.

Again, I'm viewing this as a publicity stunt and the TSA said FUCK-YOU.

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The TSA shouldn't say FUCK YOU to anyone. A passenger either clears security, or they do not. This lady followed the rules. She was detained unreasonably by the TSA. There's no reason that a pat down of a women in her underwear should take over 60 minutes.

There's no reason a woman should have to go through security in her underwear, either. IDK, this is all one big mess.

/igiveup

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Agree with that totally.

I usually agree with you Squanto but this lady was asking for it. Is it right? Nope. But when you go out of your way to mess with anyone you can't be surprised by a strong reaction. If I tried to go through customs with say (for example) a fake beard, "Muslim" garb and had a bag full of electronic devices and a copy of Bomb Makers Weekly, I could also say that the TSA shouldn't say Fuck You to me. Not doing anything "illegal" but would I be right to think they woluld let me skate through with no problems?

I know that is an extreme example, but if her wheel chair had traces of potentially dangerous chemicals on it, why is it a bad thing that they detained her? The "pat" down didn't last an hour, the testing and what not did. The only reason this is an issue is that she had no clothes on....which was her bitchy retarded stunt in the first place.

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another woman showed up in a bikini last week. she WAS hot.

this is getting absurd. they can ensure safety on an airplane without this crap.

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The TSA isn't saying they should do it. They're just being assholes (the ones showing up scantily clad).

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i feel, asshole or not, they obviously pass the security test.

I completely agree wiith Pat, but these assholes can't hold up their hands in surprise when they are detained. They asked for it. TSA shouldn't react like that but I'm not shocked.

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it's that part of society when "revenge" is okay to overshadow "professionalism".

being the bigger man has never been so far gone as it is in these scenarios.

First off I never said "revenge" and I never said that it was okay. The woman's wheel chair had something on it that needed to be tested, what is wrong with that? I don't find anything wrong with detaining her for chemical testing, and if she happens to be in her panties and bra well fuck her, it's her fault she's cold.

To the point of "revenge". When I'm a curvy road where you can't pass any cars, I'm going five over the speed limit and some jackass comes racing up on me, rides my ass and is pissed I won't go faster.....I like to play a game called let's see how you like it when I go ten under the limit. All I'm saying is that if you fuck with people on purpose, how can you be shocked if you aren't treated like a tactful princess?

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i was not shoving words down your throat. none of that was pointed at you so i'm not sure why you took it as such. no one said you said it was okay. all i was saying is that's what happens, and it's not right.

if someone is wronging you (riding your ass) and you do something to piss him off (slow down) then yes, it's revenge. i never said it shouldn't be expected most of the time. sure, i would do the same thing if i was driving that car in front, but that's not the same as a TSA agent, who should be a professional, intentionally giving someone who (granted, is being a smartass) easily passes security requirements a hard time so you get the last laugh.

that's where revenge crosses the professional lines. the tsa agents should just say fine, go. but they take it as a personal sleight which is not the case. the people aren't going after the TSA agents themselves (except the ones that are obscene), but the policies of the administration.

So even though the lady wearing the underwear was in a wheelchair that set off an alarm for explosives, they should just let her through? Perhaps you're speaking of a different example, forgive me if that is the case, but i'm just not seeing the logic here. Nitrates do exist in a lot of things, one of those things is bombs. We've now seen bombs put in peoples underwear, shoes, and printers...why on earth would a wheelchair be exempt from scrutiny?

How long should it take to determine that the wheelchair did not contain an explosive? There's not a lot to it.

One trip through an xray machine should show you that there's nothing stuffed inside of it.

I've never seen an x-ray machine at the airport large enough to put a wheelchair through.

How long should it take to determine that a wheelchair that has set off bomb alarms isnt a bomb? As long as it takes to determine there isnt a fucking bomb in it. Squanto, I'm not sure of your other credentials besides once being an EMT, but how would you know what an acceptable amount of time is to determine there is no bomb in the chair?

I just dont 'get' this incredible backlash, it's like you guys trust the intentions of every single person you're on the plane with, over the people who's livlihood it is to make sure it's a safe trip. Ass backwards if you ask me.

They have larger X-ray machines that they use for checked baggage.

No, I don't know how long it would take to adequately screen a wheelchair. I'm taking an educated guess that it wouldn't take that long with the equipment that the TSA is known to have.

That's not even the problem with this. Let's follow the events as reported:

- Woman shows up to catch flight. She's wearing underwear only under her trenchcoat, partial protest because of prior treatment.
- Woman is pulled aside for secondary screening. TSA says it's because they detected nitrates.

Now, from here, there should be only one of three possible outcomes.
1. Woman refuses security checks, and is escorted from the airport.
2. Woman is checked out, found to have a bomb or other contraband, and arrested.
3. Woman is checked out, found to not have a bomb or other contraband, and allowed to clear security and move on to her flight.

None of those things happened. She was questioned for an hour, then told to come back tomorrow and try to fly again. The next day, she was searched again and allowed to proceed.

There is no reason that the TSA should have told her to 'come back tomorrow'. She is either a suspect, and should be detained until proven otherwise, or she is not a suspect, and is allowed to continue. End of story. The TSA can not arbitrarily dictate travel plans. Passengers either clear security, or they are detained.

To your final point, I trust that 100% of the people that I've been on a plane with had no intention of blowing it up. I feel that as citizens we should not be subject to unreasonable searches without probable cause. In this case, they had probably cause to search based on the nitrate reading (if that's true), but no reason to deny her access to her flight if they found nothing.

i was speaking of a different one, but it doesn't take that long to check a wheelchair. an hour? sure. but if she was missing her flight, there's no reason why they couldn't loan her one (i'm sure they have some) and once they finished checking that one, they could send it to her.

I completely agree that it isn't right. My only point is that you have to be pretty niave (not you, i'm speaking of said smartasses) to say you honestly are surprised that smartasses like this don't get treated very well. I agree that TSA agents should be professional and not let antics like this get under their skin but I would be lying if I said that I feel sympathy for people like this lady that pull stunts like this. The flip side could be said about this lady which is that she should recognise that security check points aren't a place where you should show boat your shenanigans.

The bottom line in my opinion is that security lines are not the place to be an asshat. Common sense tells us that if you fuck with "authority" you tend to be fucked with in return ten fold. It isn't right but it's just the way it is.

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Yet another person wanting desperately to be violated, offended, and seen on the news to cash in on a cheap 15 minutes. All at the expense of the TSA joe just trying to get through the day without ending up on f-ing youtube.

TSA workers are the new bastard child of the decade, if not the last several years. They aren't all a bunch of stupid people that couldn't get another job. Some are retired from very respectable careers. Some are a victim of the economy, some are just starting out after hs/college. I worked a regular off-duty job for several years at these security checkpoints and saw firsthand all the crap they have to put up with, from TSA and from travelers. Some people think others' jobs are so damn simple, black and white issues with clear easy solutions, from the outside.