SMF TSA Charlie Foxtrot
I used to love to fly. SMF was my gateway to a world beyond California. To Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver, New York, all kinds of magical places. Today, though, it was another matter. We checked in with plenty of time to spare, and entered the secure area gingerly. My jacket and shoes off and placed in a plastic bin, my laptop in another bin, my bag in still another bin, my boarding pass in hand and my pants around my ankles, I approached the metal detector.
I watched as the family in front of us moved through. Mom first, then Dad picked up their 2 year old toddler to take her through. He made it one step before the TSA goon instructed him to back up and to remove her shoes. Dad looked incredulous, and the goon repeated himself. Not wanting an anal probe today, he removed his daughter’s shoes, to the girl’s incredible trauma. She was crying, and frankly, I’d have been bawling too. Through security they went Dad comforting daughter that the mean TSA goon wasn’t out to get them.
What kind of world is this if we expect the shoes of two year olds to be carrying explosives?
On a side note, when I went through today, I presented my Library of Congress Reader Card as Identification. I was rebuffed by the TSA checkin woman who told me it was no good there. The regs on the TSA site say: “We encourage each adult traveler to keep his/her airline boarding pass and government-issued photo ID available until exiting the security checkpoint.” I’m fairly sure that Congress constitutes part of a “government” and they were the ones issuing the card, so it really shouldn’t have mattered. But it did.
What’s really funny? I can check out from the Library of Congress a multitude of heirloom-grade archival resources, spend time viewing all manner of invaluable documents, but I can’t get on an airplane. What a topsy-turvy world this is.
And not to mention the fact that they are supposed to let you through without ID if you so desire. Something they believe enough to contend it’s true in a court of law, but not enough to train their employees on.
Tom, as a parent, I wouldn’t expect any special treatment given to my kids–whether 2 year old or not–in a matter of security. Unfortunately, too many children have been used as decoys in time of war. Not to say I don’t agree it must have been traumatic to watch–but the kid’s father should have been ready for that…
On a side note to your side note, I remember being outraged that the Central Library downtown wouldn’t accept my husband’s Green Card as a valid form of ID. Maybe it’s a reciprocity issue?
I never trust a man who reads . . . .
I feel for everyone who has issues with TSA and I admit that no one has it as bad as parents of small children who can’t understand what is happening, or why.
However, in addition to having to go through the rigmarole of security screening, I have to check in at the counter *every time*, present my ID, and have the counter person call someone just to verify that I am me and not some other guy with my name. I have a very common name I share with thousands of other white and black men, including a Congressman from Georgia. I never get to use express check in, or print out my boarding pass the night before, or all that other good stuff that makes flying just a little easier.
On my way back from Montreal a few years ago, the counter agent actually joked with me about it and said “you must have voted for the wrong guy.”
I agree that security is necessary, and at some level I don’t mind the inconvenience of being singled out, but I do not fundamentally believe the TSA is capable of protecting us.
As a side note, in most cases the airline counter agents have been very efficient and apologetic when they have to check me out — I only ever had one issue with a Northwest Airlines agent at SMF, and I still made that plane. Others in my situation have not been so lucky. I live in fear of a day they won’t let me fly.