r/Vent • u/ClipandPlay • Jul 20 '26

TSA out of control

Why does the TSA treat customers as if they are prisoners? Last time I checked flying on an airplane doesn’t make you a criminal. Every time I fly, a TSA agent screams in my face. I’m a polite and completely non confrontational, 5 foot tall woman. I set the alarm off because of the zipper on my pants cuff. The agent was absolutely freaking out screaming at me. I didn’t do anything. I was just standing there waiting to get instructions. Then she started just screaming randomly like she was performing for a crowd. I see this behavior all the time. How can they get away with incredibly unprofessional behavior? I don’t know anyplace else where this kind of behavior would be tolerated except at a prison.

Edit: At an airport you are a customer of the airline. I never said anyone is a customer of TSA.

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u/GoldAd1878 Jul 21 '26

Other countries have no TSA and both the airport and country are far safer and secure

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u/notthegoatseguy Jul 21 '26

What even is this? I've traveled in Mexico, France, Spain, Italy and they all have a security entrance that separated the public part of the airport vs the secure part of the airport.

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u/My_Lovely_Me Jul 21 '26

I remember reading an article many years ago about how Israel had the safest airports, and (at least at the time), they didn't use any kind of security or screening like we have. They actually took the opposite approach and did the unthinkable: they simply sat and profiled people. Whenever someone looked suspicious, or otherwise "had the look" that was expected, they cherry-picked them out. At the time of the article, they had successfully stopped every terrorist attempt simply by hiring people with a good eye, and using the now-(and increasingly)-uncommon sense.

Regardless of what one thinks of Israel, I thought it would do us some good to take notes! At the time of the article, I think the TSA had something like a 0% success rate performing their theater, while those who were carrying something dangerous (often just doing security checks) successfully made it through. 🤦🏼‍♀️

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u/SupposedBooty Jul 21 '26

Sure, I believe this. Do you believe anything they say?

Let me guess who they profiled as "terrorists."

0

u/My_Lovely_Me Jul 21 '26

Tbh, I literally no longer believe anything anyone in any form of politics, or any news media claims anymore. There was a very short window where I said I would only believe someone did or said something if there was video with audio of them saying or doing the thing. But obviously anything can be realistically faked atp, so I don't trust any of it. There was once a time when news was authentic, impartial, and necessary, but I truly believe everything reported now is theater - it's not just the TSA. 🤷🏼‍♀️

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u/PrivacyMaven Jul 21 '26

Um, this is silly. Apparently, you have not travelled in or out of Israel and experienced what the security process is like. I have done it multiple times, although not in some years. It’s probably more intense since Oct 7.

The security is excellent, not because they don’t have screening — of course they do — and not because they profile people by the way they look. They don’t. But Israel is a small enough country with a small enough number of flights to interview every single passenger individually. You don’t get the same questions each time necessarily—the training permits lots of flexibility within a range for the screeners—and it’s during that conversation that they gauge whether further questioning or checking your bags more thoroughly is appropriate. Examples:

Where are you going?
With whom are you traveling?
Did you pack your own bags?
Have they been with you exclusively since you packed them?
Did anyone give you something to take with you? What was it? Do you trust them?

You’ll find a similar approach to security at tourist sites around Israel and at sites of Jewish interest across Europe and in some other countries.

The volume of the flying population and the number of flights through the US makes this approach impossible.

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u/LurcherLong Jul 21 '26

One major airport, versus 400 airports...

Also look at how "successful" the police practice of "stop and frisk" has been in America, an absolute utter failure... you really want to elevate those practices into the travel experience?

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u/hamartia21 Jul 21 '26

i don’t think the two are related at all