Myths about TSA and screeners

What most Americans forget is why we have these procedures in the first place. There was an outcry when the underwear bomber almost took out a Detroit-bound plane, but little focus on what it would take to prevent such actions, until nearly a year later. The same thing happened with the shoe-bomber; you'd be surprised how easy it was for people to start complaining about taking off their shoes in the airport. But if we've learned anything about terrorism, it's that terrorists don't follow last-year's plan. Instead of a new underwear bomber, they chose to ship explosives in packages via courier. Better intelligence or planning on next time's strike wouldn't be a bad thing to consider, as we buy more and more expensive security gear and develop more intrusive practices.

Myths about TSA and screeners

Apparently, some people don't know that it's the "motion in the ocean" that counts.

If this guy was embarrassed before . . .

TSA Worker Assaults Colleague For Joking About His Genitals During Body Scanner Training


The smallest things can cause the biggest problems.

Rolando Negrin, a TSA employee at Miami International Airport, was arrested for aggravated battery after he attacked a colleague, in response to coworkers poking fun at the size of his penis during a body-scanning machine training session. According to a local NBC report, sources say Negrin became embarrassed and angry by a supervisor's jokes as he walked through the machine.

A police report obtained by NBC states that Negrin later attacked a colleague with a police baton in a parking lot, and told the victim to kneel down and say "sorry." After being arrested, Negrin told police that coworkers often made fun of him.

Full body scanners have raised privacy concerns since they were first introduced in airports. Of course, as a result of all this, Negrin has only succeeded in drawing nationwide attention to his, ahem, situation.